David S. Meyer
I'm a professor of sociology and political science at the University of California, Irvine. I've been thinking, and writing about, protest politics for almost ever. This site offers comments on contemporary events, informed (I hope) by knowing something about history and about the academic study of social movements.
Category Archives: academic
Social movement society conference
I’m happy to be at the University of Ottawa, participating in a workshop considering “the social movement society.” The idea is from a book Sid Tarrow and I edited nearly fifteen years ago. We argued that social movements were becoming … Continue reading
Notre Dame honors Pam Oliver
I’m pleased to be at the University of Notre Dame, participating in the third annual conference for young scholars in social movements (I’m not one of the young ones). Notre Dame’s Center for the Study of Social Movements will also … Continue reading
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Methods and movements: how to study social movements
I was part of an online roundtable of researchers discussing how to study social movements. It’s at The Society Pages, and includes Jeffrey Alexander (Yale), Neal Caren (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), Nathan Clough (University of Minnesota, Duluth), Myra … Continue reading
Travel to Israel
I I’m very pleased to be participating in the Seventh Annual Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Conference at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. I hope to learn more about about lots of things, including the tent protests in Israel earlier this year. I’ve … Continue reading
Activist lives
Courageous or crazed, activists tip into our awareness in the context of a moment and a movement. But when the media spotlight moves and the placards disappear, the activism often continues. Here are two new projects that put the ebbs … Continue reading
Politics, Power, and Movements: Sidney Tarrow at Cornell
I’m honored to participate in a conference recognizing the work of Sid Tarrow, who has been a major force in developing the study of social movements in political science and sociology–and a major force in my development as a scholar. … Continue reading
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Honoring Bill Gamson
I’m off to the University of Notre Dame this long weekend. Their Center for the Study of Social Movements will be honoring William A. Gamson with the John D. McCarthy Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Scholarship of Social Movements. … Continue reading
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Where’s the Peace Movement? (Protest is a blunt instrument)
It’s rare that social scientists studying protest get much attention from the mainstream press, opinion or otherwise. Although the scholars may get a whiff of excitement from the attention, they’re usually frustrated by the distortions and oversimplifications that seem inevitable–almost. … Continue reading
