| Professor William A. Gamson | |
| Curriculum Vitae | |
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william.gamson.1@bc.edu Phone (617) 552-4149 Room McGuinn 520 Office Hours Wednesday by appointment |
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| William A. Gamson is a Professor of Sociology and co-directs the Media Research and Action Project (MRAP) at Boston College. He is the author of Shaping Abortion Discourse, for which he won the Distinguished Book Award, 2004, ASA Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements; Talking Politics, for which he won the Doris Graber Outstanding Book Award, American Political Science Association, 2000; and The Strategy of Social Protest, along with many other books and articles on political discourse, the mass-media and social movements. He is winner of the Merit Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Discipline, Eastern Sociological Society, 2005 and Distinguished Career Award, ASA Section on Peace and War, 1997, among other awards. He developed SIMSOC (Simulated Society), now in its 5th edition. He is past president of both the American Sociological Association and the Eastern Sociological Society. | |
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| Quest for Social Justice (SC751) This seminar draws on the literature in political sociology and social movements to address sustained efforts to bring about social and political change. It is geared toward the problems and issues faced by groups involved in such efforts: (a) diagnosing the opportunities and constraints provided by the system in which they are operating; (b) analyzing the problems of mobilizing potential supporters and maintaining their continued loyalty and commitment; (c) devising effective strategies for influencing targets of change; and (d) dealing with counter-efforts at social control. The course is intended as a core course for those interested in social economy and social justice and for those students who are considering political sociology or social movements as one of their special areas. We begin by looking at the theoretical roots of the study of contentious politics and then examine overviews of the state of the field today. In Part 2, we will consider the internal problems of the field of actors attempting to bring about social change. In Part 3, we will consider the opportunities and constraints under which these agents act in their attempts to bring about change and the efficacy of the strategies they pursue. In Part 4, we consider the cultural turn in social movements and the role of the mass media in symbolic politics and framing contests. To make the material more concrete, we will utilize both a common case and individual cases to be chosen by the class participants. The civil rights movement will provide the common case. | |
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