Collective Behavior and Social Movements (CBSM) is a section of the
American Sociological Association (ASA) composed of
sociologists
This is a list of sociologists. It is intended to cover those who have made substantive contributions to social theory and research, including any sociological subfield. Scientists in other fields and philosophers are not included, unless at least ...
who focus on the study of emerging and extra-institutional group phenomena. These include the behaviors associated with
crowds,
disasters,
fad
A fad or trend is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short period.
Fads are objects or behaviors that achieve short- ...
s,
revolutionary movement
A revolutionary movement (or revolutionary social movement) is a specific type of social movement dedicated to carrying out a revolution. Charles Tilly defines it as "a social movement advancing exclusive competing claims to control of the state ...
s,
riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people.
Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...
s, and
social movement
A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of group action and may ...
s. The purpose of the section is to foster the study of these topics, which is done so by communicating through its newsletter ''Critical Mass'', organizing research-related participation, and sponsoring
workshops
Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...
.
History
Within the larger ASA, there are constituent parts known as sections. In the 1970s, there was a desire among some members of the ASA to establish a group that would study
collective behavior
The expression collective behavior was first used by Franklin Henry Giddings and employed later by Robert Park and Ernest Burgess, Herbert Blumer, Ralph H. Turner and Lewis Killian, and Neil Smelser to refer to social processes and events w ...
and
social movements
A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a Social issue, social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of Group ...
as a fused topic. Since the ASA section on
social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the r ...
had, at the time, just been reorganized, one proposal was to establish a collective behavior-social movement group as a subsection of the newly reconstituted social psychology section. In response to this idea, sociologists
Enrico Quarantelli
Enrico L. (Henry) Quarantelli (November 10, 1924 – April 3, 2017) was an American sociologist, pioneering the sociology of disaster.
Education
Quarantelli received his Ph.D. at the University of Chicago in 1959. From 1963 to 1984 he worked as ...
and Jack Weller conducted a survey, whose results indicated that some social movement academics felt that a collective behavior-social movement group would be misplaced as a subsection within social psychology. In order to communicate about this controversy, a
newsletter
A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of int ...
was created: ''Critical Mass''.
The first issue of ''Critical Mass'', published in October 1973, was written by sociologist Thelma McCormack. McCormack suggested that the name “Social Organization” would be appropriate for a new section interested in collective behavior and social movements. However,
John Lofland, who was central in the effort to establish an entirely separate section within the ASA for this cause, responded adamantly that the title should pay homage to the traditional link between collective behavior and social movements. The bond between collective behavior and social movements had formed earlier in the twentieth century through the work of
Robert Ezra Park and
Herbert Blumer
Herbert George Blumer (March 7, 1900 – April 13, 1987) was an American sociologist whose main scholarly interests were symbolic interactionism and methods of social research. Believing that individuals create social reality through collective ...
. Since then, American sociological tradition had maintained that link. Thus, in 1978, a formal
petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication.
In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...
was circulated to create a new section, which would be called Collective Behavior and Social Movements (CBSM). CBSM was officially made a section of the ASA in 1980, and is now one of the largest and most active sections of the ASA.
In recent years, the relevance of "CB" (
Collective Behavior
The expression collective behavior was first used by Franklin Henry Giddings and employed later by Robert Park and Ernest Burgess, Herbert Blumer, Ralph H. Turner and Lewis Killian, and Neil Smelser to refer to social processes and events w ...
) in "CBSM" has been questioned. For some, the CB in CBSM has been replaced by CA (
Collective Action
Collective action refers to action taken together by a group of people whose goal is to enhance their condition and achieve a common objective. It is a term that has formulations and theories in many areas of the social sciences including psych ...
). This has created the potential for a chasm between the two orientations. Additionally, as the section gains more international attendance, the link between collective behavior and social movements has become more obscure, given that the traditional American sociological link between the two areas is tenuous for non-US academics.
''Critical Mass''
The newsletter of the CBSM section is ''Critical Mass.'' In the areas of
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
and
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
,
critical mass
In nuclear engineering, a critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specifically, its nuclear fissi ...
refers to the amount of
fissile material
In nuclear engineering, fissile material is material capable of sustaining a nuclear fission chain reaction. By definition, fissile material can sustain a chain reaction with neutrons of thermal energy. The predominant neutron energy may be ty ...
needed for
nuclear fission
Nuclear fission is a reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei. The fission process often produces gamma photons, and releases a very large amount of energy even by the energetic standards of radio ...
. Drawing upon this meaning, social movement
scholar
A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
s and
activist
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
s use the term critical mass in reference to the idea that some threshold of participants or action must be crossed in order for a social movement to burst into existence. Fittingly, the newsletter and its title pre-dated the formation of the CBSM section, which was itself borne out of action and movement.
Awards
The CBSM section of the ASA gives the following awards:
*
Charles Tilly Award for Best Book: Established in 1986, this award recognizes a significant published contribution in the field of collective behavior and social movements.
* Mayer Zald Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award: Established in 1992, this award is given to recognize work done in the field by those who specifically do not have a
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
.
* Best Published Article Award: Established in 2002, this award recognizes articles and chapters from edited books published in the year prior to the award year.
* Exceptional Service Award: As of 2014, this award has been given once, in 2003. The recipient was Hank Johnston, who established and edited
''Mobilization'', an academic journal that is closely tied to the CBSM section.
''Critical Mass'' Bulletin. Spring 2002. 27(1).
See also
* Civil resistance
Civil resistance is political action that relies on the use of nonviolent resistance by ordinary people to challenge a particular power, force, policy or regime. Civil resistance operates through appeals to the adversary, pressure and coercion: i ...
* Counterculture of the 1960s
The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon that developed throughout much of the Western world in the 1960s and has been ongoing to the present day. The aggregate movement gained momentum as the civil rights mo ...
* Countermovement
A countermovement in sociology means a social movement opposed to another social movement. Whenever one social movement starts up, another group establishes themselves to undermine the previous group. Many social movements start out as an effect ...
* Global citizens movement
* List of social movements
Social movements are groupings of individuals or organizations which focus on political or social issues.
This list excludes the following:
* Artistic movements: see list of art movements.
* Independence movements: see lists of active separatis ...
* Nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, cons ...
* Political movement
A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...
* Reform movement
A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary mo ...
* Revolutionary movement
A revolutionary movement (or revolutionary social movement) is a specific type of social movement dedicated to carrying out a revolution. Charles Tilly defines it as "a social movement advancing exclusive competing claims to control of the state ...
* Social equality
Social equality is a state of affairs in which all individuals within a specific society have equal rights, liberties, and status, possibly including civil rights, freedom of expression, autonomy, and equal access to certain public goods and ...
References
{{reflist
Sociological organizations
Sociological theories
Social movements
American Sociological Association