- Department of Sociology
California State University, Chico
Chico, CA 95929-0445 - +1 (530) 898-6384
Dana Williams
California State University, Chico, Sociology, Faculty Member
Anarchism may be the most misunderstood political ideology of the modern era, and one of the least studied social movements by English-speaking scholars. Black Flags and Social Movements addresses this deficit with an in-depth analysis of... more
Anarchism may be the most misunderstood political ideology of the modern era, and one of the least studied social movements by English-speaking scholars. Black Flags and Social Movements addresses this deficit with an in-depth analysis of contemporary anarchist movements as interpreted by social movement theories and political sociology. Using unique data gathered by anarchists themselves, Williams presents longitudinal and international analyses that focus upon who anarchists are, and where they may be found.
Social movement ideas including political opportunity, new social movements, and social capital theory, are relevant and adaptable to understanding anarchist movements. Due to their sometimes limited numbers and identities as radical anti-authoritarians, anarchists often find themselves collaborating with numerous other social movements, bringing along their values, ideas and tactics.
Social movement ideas including political opportunity, new social movements, and social capital theory, are relevant and adaptable to understanding anarchist movements. Due to their sometimes limited numbers and identities as radical anti-authoritarians, anarchists often find themselves collaborating with numerous other social movements, bringing along their values, ideas and tactics.
Research Interests:
Anarchy and Society explores the many ways in which the discipline of Sociology and the philosophy of anarchism are compatible. The book constructs possible parameters for a future ‘anarchist sociology’, by a sociological exposition of... more
Anarchy and Society explores the many ways in which the discipline of Sociology and the philosophy of anarchism are compatible. The book constructs possible parameters for a future ‘anarchist sociology’, by a sociological exposition of major anarchist thinkers (including Kropotkin, Proudhon, Landauer, Goldman, and Ward), as well as an anarchist interrogation of key sociological concepts (including social norms, inequality, and social movements). Sociology and anarchism share many common interests—although often interpreting each in divergent ways—including community, solidarity, feminism, crime and restorative justice, and social domination. The synthesis proposed by Anarchy and Society is reflexive, critical, and strongly anchored in both traditions.
Research Interests:
Genealogy necessitates historical records, the majority of which derive from government sources, despite families' "private" lives. State records weren't intended to service future family historians, but were a means to state-formation... more
Genealogy necessitates historical records, the majority of which derive from government sources, despite families' "private" lives. State records weren't intended to service future family historians, but were a means to state-formation and power. Consequently, records used by family historians reflect statist concerns, not state subjects'. Genealogy databases and censuses were analyzed to determine how many derive from state sources. An individual, anecdotal example focused upon a US Census record illuminates genealogical insight and misunderstanding; despite relevance, interpretation problems confront family historians. Genealogical research is limited by modernity's governmentality and the state gaze, impacts generally under-acknowledged by the average family historian.
Research Interests:
This article tests the general explanatory power of political opportunity theory for cross-national variations in protest throughout the world, and considers how opportunities influence individual-level characteristics crucial for... more
This article tests the general explanatory power of political opportunity theory for cross-national variations in protest throughout the world, and considers how opportunities influence individual-level characteristics crucial for coalition-formation and campaigns. This study constructs a multilevel model of protest potential, using survey data from individuals across 43 countries, drawn from the fifth and sixth waves of the World Values Survey, combined with political, economic, and cultural factors measured for each country. While many individual factors predicted individuals' protest potential, a mixture of country-level factors-including select political opportunities-are of general importance. Country-level regime durability and empowerment rights moderated the effect of organization membership, social trust, and political ideology on protest, demonstrating how political opportunity interacts to enhance the impact of individual characteristics relevant to coalition-building and campaigns.
Research Interests:
Anarchism's formal influence upon the discipline of sociology has been negligible. To understand why, this paper begins by considering the impact of two other movements-Marxism and feminism-within sociology. Notably, the nature of... more
Anarchism's formal influence upon the discipline of sociology has been negligible. To understand why, this paper begins by considering the impact of two other movements-Marxism and feminism-within sociology. Notably, the nature of academia and scholarly disciplines, anarchism's shortcomings, and the deliberate exclusion of anarchist voices all appear to have likely influenced anarchism's limited presence in sociology. There have been numerous other ideological sub-variants and traditions-including applied, critical, humanist, liberation, and public sociologies-that have grown within the discipline. Each of these is analysed for their compatibility with anarchism. Finally, due to the lack of an already-existing anarchist-sociology tradition, the broad outlines of such an orientation and praxis are sketched-out, paying attention to issues of scope, purpose, and practice.
Research Interests:
While world-systems anti-systemic movement scholarship has briefly acknowledged the existence of anti-state "cultural" movements-namely, autonomous indigenous movements in the periphery and anarchist worker movements in the core and... more
While world-systems anti-systemic movement scholarship has briefly acknowledged the existence of anti-state "cultural" movements-namely, autonomous indigenous movements in the periphery and anarchist worker movements in the core and semi-periphery-it relegates them to secondary importance to statist "political" movements. In this paper, we provide an intervention in the world-systems anti-systemic movements literature by centering anti-state movements in our analysis. In order to investigate the mechanisms essential for anti-state, antisystemic movements over the longue durée of the world-system, we operationalize a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) using nine cases of non-state spaces from different geographies and historical time periods throughout the world-system. We use a Boolean crisp set, or binary approach, denoting the presence, or absence of factors to determine the pathways that lead to the variation between explicitly anarchist and implicitly anarchistic movements as well as short-term or long-term non-state spaces established by anti-state movements. We find that the core and semi-periphery classification of anarchist movements is false. We also find that non-state spaces succeed when they are not repressed by statist anti-systemic movements or core imperial nation-states. In effect, the anti-systemic political actor replicates the logic of the core nation-state it claims to be opposed to when it comes to its repression of non-state spaces and movements. Prior to the "liberal geoculture" (1848-1968), even core states had difficulty repressing non-state spaces, and after the liberal geoculture semi-periphery and periphery states have had difficulty repressing non-state spaces.
Research Interests: Social Movements, World Systems Analysis, Anarchist Studies, Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), Social movements and revolution, and 14 moreSpanish Civil War, Anarcho-autonomism and political transformation, Non-state actors, Mexican Revolution, World-Systems Analysis, Commune De Paris 1871, Zapatismo, World-Systems Theory, Sociology of the State, Kurdistana Rojava, Maroon Societies, Anti Capitalist Social Movements, Quilombo dos Palmares, and The Ukrainian revolution 1917-1921
When it comes to the American state, violence and control occur at a level beyond most of the US's state competitors. While perhaps uncomfortable for the average American to reflect upon, the following are simply uncontroversial... more
When it comes to the American state, violence and control occur at a level beyond most of the US's state competitors. While perhaps uncomfortable for the average American to reflect upon, the following are simply uncontroversial facts: for example, despite purporting to be the freest country, the US has the world's highest incarceration rate, with over 2.1 million people locked up. Presently, one-quarter of the world's prisoners are imprisoned in the US. Not all groups share equally in this incarceration, as Black males have the highest rate of any comparable group. The US has over 800 foreign military bases located in over 80 countries around the world, a greater number than any other nation, people, or empire in world history—including the Roman and British Empires. The Pentagon has stationed US troops in approximately 160 countries and territories, resulting in the US literally occupying most of the planet. Thus, it is no surprise that the US spends the same amount of...
Research Interests:
Os movimentos sociais de justiça racial geralmente se fragmentam quando seus objetivos não parecem completamente alcançáveis. Ex-participantes das lutas radicais pela libertação negra (Black freedom) das décadas de 1960 e 1970, em sua... more
Os movimentos sociais de justiça racial geralmente se fragmentam quando seus objetivos não parecem completamente alcançáveis. Ex-participantes das lutas radicais pela libertação negra (Black freedom) das décadas de 1960 e 1970, em sua maioria membros do Partido dos Panteras Negras (BPP) (também participantes do Black Liberation Army [Exército Negro de Libertação]) e associados com o Marxismo-Leninismo, ficaram descontentes com o caráter hierárquico dos Panteras Negras e passaram a se identificar com o anarquismo. Através das lentes de teorias de faccionalização radical, o Anarquismo Negro é visto como uma consequência radical da luta pela liberdade negra. Os anarquistas negros foram os primeiros a notavelmente priorizar uma análise racial no anarquismo estadunidense. Essa tendência apresenta várias manifestações contemporâneas do anarquismo, incluindo os grupos Pessoas de cor anarquistas (Anarchist People of Color) dentro do movimento e, mais indiretamente, as muitas estratégias e organizações anarquistas que compartilham semelhanças com o BPP, antes de sua centralização.
Research Interests:
Amazon.com exemplifies modern capitalism’s ethos of market dominance through digital technology. Amazon’s one primary objective: making as much profit as possible. To achieve this goal, Amazon uses multiple, common strategies:... more
Amazon.com exemplifies modern capitalism’s ethos of market dominance through digital technology. Amazon’s one primary objective: making as much profit as possible. To achieve this goal, Amazon uses multiple, common strategies: monopolistic practices and increasing market-share, vertical integration, political lobbying, and tax avoidance. This chapter explores the extent of Amazon’s market dominance—nearly half of all e-commerce purchases and more than 5 percent of all retail sales—and its consequences. Click consumerism and addictive purchasing through Amazon.com and third-party sellers, now so ubiquitous online, has been Amazon’s pioneering achievement. Amazon has also normalized a culture of surveillance as service, on behalf of governments and corporations; customer data is sold to third-parties and the Echo tool listens to all home conversations. The Rekognition platform provides facial recognition for clients, including law enforcement, despite threats to privacy and common misidentifications. In the process, Amazon has empowered state hierarchies, such as ICE, CIA, and, potentially, the DoD, providing efficient computing power via Amazon Web Services. Amazon is not conceptually unique within corporate America, just fundamentally unique in scale and capacity, exemplary of an unregulated economic system that facilitates monopolies, addicts and spies on consumers, and reinforces hierarchies generally.
Research Interests:
Visitors to the American south are often surprised by how commonplace Confederate culture is, while southern residents tend to view it as normal and rarely challenge it publicly. We wanted to understand why southerners keep supporting... more
Visitors to the American south are often surprised by how commonplace Confederate culture is, while southern residents tend to view it as normal and rarely challenge it publicly. We wanted to understand why southerners keep supporting Confederate culture, in particular why people attend Civil War reenactment events. We discovered that local symbols are very important to people and they will fight adamantly to preserve their versions of history. In order to share our exploration of this issue, we made a documentary—to both help others understand it as well as to provoke critical thinking. We conducted dozens of interviews, did our own historical research, and then edited a film we called Southern Discomfort. Anyone can do local research where they live; given the US’s highly racialized history, it is easy to find and explore historical race atrocities. Conducting this kind of “people’s history” is important, because such projects are personal to us and immediate in their contemporary impact, as they connect the past to the present.
Research Interests:
Objective. Propose a conceptualization of trust that acknowledges varying levels of power between trusting partners. The weak, positive statistical correlation between social and political trust conceals very different experiences of... more
Objective. Propose a conceptualization of trust that acknowledges varying levels of power between trusting partners. The weak, positive statistical correlation between social and political trust conceals very different experiences of trust. While many people possess either high or low levels of both forms of trust, others have divergent levels of the two forms of trust. Present a simple typology of sociopolitical trust that categorizes individuals as trusters, distrusters, hierarchicalists, and horizon-talists. Methods. Exploratory analysis of United States using the World Values Survey. Multivariate analysis of sociopolitical trust's effect upon protest and voting. Results. Americans have low levels of political trust and higher levels of social trust. Protesters possess social trust and political distrust, and voters are both social and political trusters. Conclusion. The combination of social trust and political trust impacts public participation preferences. Protesters embody a libertarian-socialist orientation toward sociopolitical trust, while voters possess a social-democrat orientation.
Research Interests:
As nation states equivocate over meaningful climate change agreements, hundreds of cities worldwide and in the US have joined together to promote climate change policies and actions. Many US cities have taken a leadership role in... more
As nation states equivocate over meaningful climate change agreements, hundreds of cities worldwide and in the US have joined together to promote climate change policies and actions. Many US cities have taken a leadership role in promoting ameliorative public policy and best practices, overcoming significant disincentives for doing so, particularly low levels of public salience and unreliable federal support and resources. Several of these evolving networks are now in existence, including the United States Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. The US Conference of Mayors plays a significant role in facilitating best practices as well as recognizing cities on the vanguard of climate leadership. Research to date has examined the factors explaining metropolitan climate activism, including such factors as potential climate risk, the influence of carbon intensive industries at the local level, and the role of community environmental capital. Less understood is the role that state-level energy policy context and socio-political factors play influencing metropolitan climate activism. This research underscores the significance of political partisanship, both in terms of state environmental politics and state-wide Democratic voting record, for understanding metropolitan climate activism.
Research Interests:
Tactics are the techniques and actions used by social movements that implement strategies for the purpose of achieving goals. For anarchist movements, tactics can assume a reactive, diagnostic, or destructive force for opposing hierarchy,... more
Tactics are the techniques and actions used by social movements that implement strategies for the purpose of achieving goals. For anarchist movements, tactics can assume a reactive, diagnostic, or destructive force for opposing hierarchy, repression, and inequality. Tactics can also assume a proactive, prognostic, or creative force that promotes horizontalism, liberation, and egalitarianism. The purpose of these tactics is twofold: intervening in society to immediately accomplish goals (also called ‘direct action’) and illustrating a vision for a better world (also called ‘prefiguration’). Anarchist movements commonly have a protest repertoire that they regularly draw from, deploying one tactic or another from their ‘toolkit’, the choice of which depends on changing external conditions, participant interests, and coalition alliances. Tactics and other organisational forms are never imposed by anarchists upon others and thus must spread horizontally. Usually a combination of word-of-mouth, movement press, and stories of first-hand experiences help to diffuse these tactics from one location to another.
Research Interests:
Most leisure research does not consider collective action and social change, while most social movement research overlooks carnivality and spontaneity. A counterexample is the alternative bicycling movement critical mass (CM), a... more
Most leisure research does not consider collective action and social change, while most social movement research overlooks carnivality and spontaneity. A counterexample is the alternative bicycling movement critical mass (CM), a rebellious, liberatory leisure and cultural event. CM is goal-oriented and a libidinal expression of participant desire. This paper investigates CM's production of happiness and freedom via three heterodox theories. Ecstatic rituals are repetitive, cathartic collective events that people engage in to express joy and flaunt convention. Political theories of play interpret individual's physically embodied , creative, and performative actions. Temporary autonomous zones are spatial locations of resistance to authority that evade state detection and suppression. CM – unlike standard bike races or conventional movement protest – transcends the limitations of physical exercise, lackadaisical leisure, and militant direct action. Instead it is a hybrid form of collective action, combining premeditated ritual, rebellious play, and mobile freedom-seeking.
Research Interests:
Although the period of highest activity for anarchist movements peaked in the early 1900s, such movement continues in the present. Contemporary antiauthoritarian movements are a product of the 1960s and New Left, as well as the USSR's... more
Although the period of highest activity for anarchist movements peaked in the early 1900s, such movement continues in the present. Contemporary antiauthoritarian movements are a product of the 1960s and New Left, as well as the USSR's demise. Antiauthoritarian movements are either explicitly anarchist or implicitly anarchist (thus, simply “anti-authoritarian,” “autonomist,” or “libertarian‐socialist”). Anarchist identity is diverse, although anchored around an opposition to dominant culture, institutions, and hierarchical norms. The values and goals pursued revolve around a principled adoption of horizontalism, direct action, antiauthoritarianism, decentralization, anticapitalism, and mutual aid. These anarchist movements are unique movements, yet they also run parallel to certain movements—in both the adoption of anarchist strategies and membership overlap—such as antifascist, global justice, and squatter movements. Confrontational and playful street tactics combine with strategies of reclamation of radically egalitarian space, in opposition to hierarchical society. Despite their association with violence, contemporary anarchist movements are fairly nonviolent; however, many anarchists do not disavow the selective use of violence. Thus, massive efforts of social control through police and mass media attempt to moderate, disrupt, and suppress anarchist movements.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This paper explores how incorporating localized historical acts of racial injustice into Sociology courses can have a variety of pedagogical and social impacts. The use of one such event, the 1918 lynching of 13 people in South Georgia,... more
This paper explores how incorporating localized historical acts of racial injustice into Sociology courses can have a variety of pedagogical and social impacts. The use of one such event, the 1918 lynching of 13 people in South Georgia, led to the formation of the Mary Turner Project (MTP). We document the organization's work as well as its impact on students and the region, as seen through the lens of public sociology. The MTP installed an official road marker to memorialize the lynching, intervened in a campus controversy involving the Confederate flag, hosted numerous commemoration events, and did classroom-based research and hosted community discussions on lynching and slavery in the local area. Drawing from organizational documents, the paper explores how 'digging up the past' and the experience of the MTP may serve as a model for critical sociologists who teach courses on social inequalities and want to make those courses more applicable to people's every day lived experience.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Howard J. Ehrlich (1932–2015) was, unabashedly, an anarchist and a sociologist. His life, work, and legacy not only exemplify anarchist sociology but may also qualify him as the very first self-conscious anarchist sociologist in the... more
Howard J. Ehrlich (1932–2015) was, unabashedly, an anarchist and a sociologist. His life, work, and legacy not only exemplify anarchist sociology but may also qualify him as the very first self-conscious anarchist sociologist in the United States. Ehrlich’s life and work was important due to the considerable impact he had upon anarchism and sociology. He stood astride both academic and activist worlds, operating in each during various points of his life, usually with incredible overlap and blurring of roles and skills. He was an anarchist who conducted social science research and wrote sociology. He was also a sociologist who participated in and contributed greatly to contemporary anarchist movements.
Research Interests:
Racial justice social movements often fragment when their goals do not seem completely achievable. Former participants in the radical Black freedom struggles of the 1960s and 1970s, most of whom were Black Panther Party (BPP) members (and... more
Racial justice social movements often fragment when their goals do not seem completely achievable. Former participants in the radical Black freedom struggles of the 1960s and 1970s, most of whom were Black Panther Party (BPP) members (and also participants in the Black Liberation Army) and identified with Marxist-Leninism, became disaffected with the hierarchical character of the Black Panthers and came to identify with anarchism. Through the lens of radical factionalization theories, Black anarchism is seen as a radical outgrowth of the Black freedom struggle. Black anarchists were the first to notably prioritize a race analysis in American anarchism. This tendency has a number of contemporary manifestations for anarchism, including Anarchist People of Color caucuses within the movement, and, more indirectly, the many anarchist strategies and organizations that share similarities with the BPP, prior to its centralization.
Research Interests:
Implicit in the study of social movements is the fact that movements require many people collectively participating together in some fashion to succeed. Social capital—the valuable social connections individuals have with others—is one... more
Implicit in the study of social movements is the fact that movements require many people collectively participating together in some fashion to succeed. Social capital—the valuable social connections individuals have with others—is one way of approximating people's relationships to each other. Movements both require social capital in order to form and succeed, but movements also create social capital while organizing. This chapter explores the ideas from major social capital theorists, including James Coleman, Pierre Bourdieu, and Robert Putnam, and considers the value of social capital (which is infrequently utilized in movement analysis) for anarchist movements. Important attributes of social capital, such as trust, information channels, norms, and others receive particular focus. A closer inspection suggests that the dense networks of anarchist association serve as a bulwark against state repression, but also alienates the movement from wider audiences, unless efforts are not made to popularize discursive frames and organizing methods.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Significant differences exist in Americans’ support for force between the 1991 Persian Gulf War and 2003 Iraq War, even when holding all demographic variables constant. Nearly every group decreased their support from 1991 to 2003,... more
Significant differences exist in Americans’ support for force between the 1991 Persian Gulf War and 2003 Iraq War, even when holding all demographic variables constant. Nearly every group decreased their support from 1991 to 2003, including men and women, Whites and racial minorities, people with high school degrees or higher, nearly all age categories, and Democrat and Independent affiliated individuals. When examining potential causes for decreased support in the 2003 Iraq War, the “nature of the conflict” presents the strongest argument and evidence. The Persian Gulf War aimed to force the Iraqi army from Kuwait, while the Iraq War was aimed at changing the governmental regime of Iraq. The latter conflict was less socially acceptable than the former to Americans. These differences between the conflicts are the best explanation for the change in support, while other explanations, including the changing composition of the population and a less pro-military populace, are insufficient.
Research Interests:
Anarchism has not had a noticeable impact upon sociology. The two traditions diverged in their interest in society and their relationship to it. This paper contrasts the practitioners or thinkers of one tradition against the other. The... more
Anarchism has not had a noticeable impact upon sociology. The two traditions diverged in their interest in society and their relationship to it. This paper contrasts the practitioners or thinkers of one tradition against the other. The analysis shows some strong antagonisms, many instances of close analysis and critique of each other’s perspectives, and a number of friendly and supportive relationships between anarchists and sociologists. Anarchists tended to admire the intellectual rigor of sociologists, but thought sociologists were insiders – mere reformers at best, reactionaries at worst – content to study society, but rarely to act for its improvement. Sociologists viewed anarchists with an even wider range of opinion, including considering them principled and admirable revolutionaries, slightly naïve utopians, or criminals and chaos-lovers bent on the destruction of social order. These factors contributed to the exclusion of anarchist ideas and anarchists themselves from the sociological canon.
Research Interests:
Although there is widespread agreement among academics that critical thinking is an important component to the college classroom, there is little empirical evidence to verify that it is being taught in courses. Using four sections of... more
Although there is widespread agreement among academics that critical thinking is an important component
to the college classroom, there is little empirical evidence to verify that it is being taught in courses. Using
four sections of introductory sociology, we developed an experimental design using pretests and posttests
to assess students’ critical thinking skills. Controlling for grade point average, cumulative credit hours
completed, gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, instructor, and initial levels of critical thinking,
being in the experimental group had a statistically significant impact on critical thinking at the end of the
semester. Thus, inclusion of writing assignments and classroom discussion designed to enhance creative
thought processes for the experimental group helped students improve from one-dimensional thinking
toward more multistructural analysis.
to the college classroom, there is little empirical evidence to verify that it is being taught in courses. Using
four sections of introductory sociology, we developed an experimental design using pretests and posttests
to assess students’ critical thinking skills. Controlling for grade point average, cumulative credit hours
completed, gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, instructor, and initial levels of critical thinking,
being in the experimental group had a statistically significant impact on critical thinking at the end of the
semester. Thus, inclusion of writing assignments and classroom discussion designed to enhance creative
thought processes for the experimental group helped students improve from one-dimensional thinking
toward more multistructural analysis.
Research Interests:
Since its origins in the Industrial Revolution, anarchism has observed and criticized a wide swath of inequalities. Likewise, some sociologists have independently developed theoretical understandings of inequality that reflect anarchist... more
Since its origins in the Industrial Revolution, anarchism has observed and criticized a wide swath of inequalities. Likewise, some sociologists have independently developed theoretical understandings of inequality that reflect anarchist interests and sentiments. This paper develops an anarchist-sociological grand theory of domination, offering the ability to systematically analyze real world phenomena, including forms of inequality yet to be identified. This theory is then applied to three major forms of domination: class, gender, and race. Domination is considered a subject worthy of study by both anarchists and sociologists, instead of simply social inequality. But, there are ethical problems with the mere study of domination. Consequently, anarchists have initiated numerous responses aimed at the elimination of domination.
Research Interests:
The anarchist movement utilizes non-statist and anti-statist strategies for radical social transformation, thus indicating the limits of political opportunity theory and its emphasis upon the state. Using historical narratives from... more
The anarchist movement utilizes non-statist and anti-statist strategies for radical social transformation, thus indicating the limits of political opportunity theory and its emphasis upon the state. Using historical narratives from present-day anarchist movement literature, we note various events and phenomena in the last two centuries and their relevance to the mobilization and demobilization of anarchist movements throughout the world (Bolivia, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Greece, Japan, Venezuela). Labor movement allies, failing state socialism, and punk subculture have provided conditions conducive to anarchism, while state repression and Bolshevik success in the Soviet Union constrained success. This variation suggests that future work should attend more closely to the role of national context, and the interrelationship of political and non-political factors.
Research Interests:
There is no established intellectual tradition of an “anarchist-sociology”—yet. A vibrant synthesis of anarchism and sociology has yet to be generated, whether that synthesis would be mere subject matter or a subfield within Sociology, or... more
There is no established intellectual tradition of an “anarchist-sociology”—yet. A vibrant synthesis of anarchism and sociology has yet to be generated, whether that synthesis would be mere subject matter or a subfield within Sociology, or if it were an established ideology or theoretical tradition. Here, we compare these two distinct traditions, with an eye towards potential overlap. A definition for anarchist-sociology rooted in praxis—a critique of society and a transformative vision of societies—is created. As anarchism has a strong—yet unfocused—sociological theme already, we focus on anarchizing the discipline of Sociology in-line with core anarchist values, namely freedom, anti-authoritarianism, direct action, mutual aid, and decentralization.
Research Interests:
Society is not only structured by major hierarchical institutions, but also by the unwritten rules, called norms, that govern the practice of daily life within those institutions. Peoples' unreflective observance of these norms helps to... more
Society is not only structured by major hierarchical institutions, but also by the unwritten rules, called norms, that govern the practice of daily life within those institutions. Peoples' unreflective observance of these norms helps to perpetuate inequality and domination in society. Norms are transmitted through a process of socialization, by which every member of society is subtly trained to appreciate and follow these norms. While disobeying norms, or deviance, is possible, it is also fraught with problems and challenges. Ultimately, many things prevent the creation of new, anarchistic norms. Still, even with formidable obstacles in their path, anarchists have attempted to re-socialize themselves and others in order to adhere to more egalitarian, horizontal, and cooperative norms.
Research Interests:
In this chapter I propose a general research program for sociologically-inclined anarchist individuals and collectivities. This research program may also be of interest to others, particularly radical sociologists, social movement... more
In this chapter I propose a general research program for sociologically-inclined anarchist individuals and collectivities. This research program may also be of interest to others, particularly radical sociologists, social movement participants, and other interested parties. My goal is to present a broad framework for what could be a potentially productive and textured exploration of the linkages between anarchism and sociology. Although there are some sociologists with an anarchist-bent and many sociologically-minded anarchists, a thorough merging of the two has only been briefly (although tantalizingly) explored.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Anarchism is a philosophy opposed to hierarchy and authority, and is used as a critical lens to analyze the whole of human society. As with members of all social groupings, anarchists differ from each other in many ways, one of which is... more
Anarchism is a philosophy opposed to hierarchy and authority, and is used as a critical lens to analyze the whole of human society. As with members of all social groupings, anarchists differ from each other in many ways, one of which is their political ideology. At least two visibly distinct ideological variants of anarchism are distinguishable in the US—a red anarchism that emphasizes economic concerns and a green anarchism that focuses upon the environment. American anarchists have long assumed, based upon anecdotal evidence, that there are differences in ideological variant identification between those on the two US coasts. Using survey data, two distinct measures of ideology were formed and respondents were classified into four separate US regions. Although the majority of anarchists do not specify a particular orientation, Northeasterners were associated with red anarchism, while Westerners were associated with green anarchism. These differences may be created and/or reinforced by structural or organizational factors.
Research Interests:
The goal of this article is to explore the characteristics of North American anarchists who are union members. New social movement (NSM) theories suggest that movements have changed in recent decades to focus less on economic issues and... more
The goal of this article is to explore the characteristics of North American anarchists who are union members. New social movement (NSM) theories suggest that movements have changed in recent decades to focus less on economic issues and have divorced themselves from the working class. The union membership of anarchists is related to subjective working-class status, age, being from North America, economic anarchist ideology, anarchist movement participation, and activist identity. Given these findings, it is questionable how well the arguments offered by NSM theories—specifically a postmaterialist focus and emphasis upon collective cultural identity—are able to describe anarchists.
Research Interests:
The Anarchist Yellow Pages (AYP), an international directory of anarchist groupings throughout the world, listed over two thousand organizations in 2005. This paper explores the types of these anarchist organizations and their geographic... more
The Anarchist Yellow Pages (AYP), an international directory of anarchist groupings throughout the world, listed over two thousand organizations in 2005. This paper explores the types of these anarchist organizations and their geographic clustering throughout the world, with special emphasis on the 21 countries with at least 20 such organizations. The concentrations of anarchist organizations found in the AYP suggest that the movement tends to be strongly European-centered. North Americans are greatly involved in various media organizations; Spain, France, and Sweden have strong syndicalist tendencies; Italy and Germany tend to have a high percentage of physical spaces like social centers and info shops. The theory of political opportunity is used to interpret the global anarchist movement, leading to the general conclusion that rights and democracy are related to the concentration of anarchist organizations.
Research Interests:
The purpose of this research was to explore support for Native American sports nicknames. A survey of students at the University of North Dakota, a school with substantial Native student enrollment, was conducted to determine support or... more
The purpose of this research was to explore support for Native American sports nicknames. A survey of students at the University of North Dakota, a school with substantial Native student enrollment, was conducted to determine support or opposition to the school’s “Fighting Sioux” nickname and logo. A majority of Native American and a minority of White students thought that the nickname conveyed disrespect and argued for change. Although the study was situated within Bonilla-Silva’s theory of “new racism,” the results indicated that a frame of color-blind racism provided an inadequate explanation of attitudes toward these nicknames.
Research Interests:
Native American imagery is commonly used in American society, particularly as sport team nicknames, logos, and mascots. An anarchist critique sheds light on the multifaceted dimensions of oppression that this practice draws upon. Racism... more
Native American imagery is commonly used in American society, particularly as sport team nicknames, logos, and mascots. An anarchist critique sheds light on the multifaceted dimensions of oppression that this practice draws upon. Racism and sexism, capitalism, and violent state power do not only constitute the targets of many anarchisms, but also the matrix propping up these Native American sports nicknames. These various oppressions are explored in detail, with an attempt to diagram the major dimensions in which these nicknames are maintained by the dominant US culture. Understanding the ways in which the practice draws power from various oppressive and hierarchical institutions can be useful for overcoming not only Native American repression, but also aiding anarchist struggles against American Empire.
Research Interests:
The use of Native American nicknames and symbols by US college athletics is a long-standing practice that embodies various forms of authoritarian oppression. One type of authoritarianism is that of patriarchy and it has been present in... more
The use of Native American nicknames and symbols by US college athletics is a long-standing practice that embodies various forms of authoritarian oppression. One type of authoritarianism is that of patriarchy and it has been present in the struggle over the nickname at the University of North Dakota, the ‘Fighting Sioux’. This article explores philosophical connections of the dynamics of patriarchy to the resistance that this movement has faced at the University of North Dakota. A short history is provided, and these connections are illustrated in terms of sports and violence, the ‘old boys’ club’, the ‘father knows best’ syndrome, objectification and the disparagement of ‘liberal women’. Suggestions are offered for countering the engrained dynamics of patriarchy in regards to this issue, and thus working towards a more respectful and anti-racist future at American universities.
Research Interests:
Hundreds of authors have constructed anarchist hobgoblins, perpetuated misunderstandings, and narrowed the range of anarchist thought. Yet recent decades have seen a revival of a sympathetic, yet more accurate, accounting of anarchist... more
Hundreds of authors have constructed anarchist hobgoblins, perpetuated misunderstandings, and narrowed the range of anarchist thought. Yet recent decades have seen a revival of a sympathetic, yet more accurate, accounting of anarchist history and philosophy, taking place loosely under the moniker of 'anarchist studies'. Mike Finn's Debating Anarchism is an accessible, thoughtful, and compelling example of this new historiography. Instead of dodging the blemishes emphasized by past historians (e.g., anarchist assassins, utopianism), Finn strives to contextualize anarchist practice-e.g., not to justify or condemn violence, but to explain it-and thus seeks to look beyond the hype surrounding anarchism. Crucially, this multifaceted analysis contributes toward decolonizing the movement's history and explains how each anarchist generation adapted to new circumstances, thus refining anarchist thought. Finn avoids standard tropes (e.g., anarchism is a negligible force, the product of a few elite intellectuals, or merely a European affair); instead, he locates anarchism's modern genesis within Industrial Age radical movements, alongside its socialist siblings. While Debating Anarchism's narrative is driven by recognizable giants like Peter Kropotkin, Errico Malatesta, and Emma Goldman, Finn's history also emphasizes the ideas of lesser known but crucial figures.
Research Interests:
The contributors to Breaching the Civil Order: Radicalism and the Civil Sphere argue that analysis of social movements and political radicalism aids in the elaboration of the civil sphere concept: institutions—not necessarily or only the... more
The contributors to Breaching the Civil Order: Radicalism and the Civil Sphere argue that analysis of social movements and political radicalism aids in the elaboration of the civil sphere concept: institutions—not necessarily or only the state—that provide societal stability. The volume’s case examples include the Zapatistas, leftist Colombian college students, Black Lives Matter, the Arab Spring and European jihadists, French media after the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack, Germany’s far-right Pegida, Irish Republicanism, and the 2011 English riots. Some critics have interpreted civil sphere theory (CST) as pro-status quo, as if what presently exists should remain so in perpetuity. The contributors to Breaching the Civil Order instead point to the actively constructed nature of the civil sphere and suggest it may fall far short of its aspirational, ideological claims. Thus, movements often attempt to wedge open the civil sphere, fighting for greater inclusion of historically excluded groups (e.g., poor indigenous Mayans, Black Americans, Muslim refugees, Northern Ireland Catholics, or the British working class).
Research Interests:
The two books under review describe the contemporary Syrian civil war and the related social revolution in the region of Western Kurdistan known as Rojava. The complex history of the modern Middle East, the Syrian state, and inter-Kurdish... more
The two books under review describe the contemporary Syrian civil war and the related social revolution in the region of Western Kurdistan known as Rojava. The complex history of the modern Middle East, the Syrian state, and inter-Kurdish relations have influenced not only the civil war resulting from 2011’s Arab Spring, but also the founding of a popular revolution and commune in Rojava, led by radical principles of democratic autonomy. The feminist-influenced, federated structure of the commune was initiated by the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which has ties to the Marxist-Leninist Kurdish Workers Party of Turkey. Both books adopt a sympathetic approach to the struggles of the Kurdish people in Rojava, but differ in their assessment of the PYD’s actual democratic nature and the substantive gains the commune has purportedly made. The commune has presented a challenge to both Kurdish and Arab communities, regarding how to transform Syrian society. As an ethnically-rich region, Rojavans have struggled to not only build the socio-organizational institutions relevant for Kurdish autonomy, but also to incorporate and empower other ethnic populations, too, so as to not also subjugate non-Kurds. Residents – whether aligned with the commune or not – have found themselves subject to attack on all sides, from the Syrian regime’s repression and Islamists like the Islamic State who slaughter any perceived heretics, to the invasion-prone Turkish army and unstable global partnerships (as with the US). The pressure-cooker of civil war has led to creative experiments such as the commune.
Research Interests:
Choke Points, edited by two radical scholar-activists, focuses on two topics. First, it’s an impressive analysis of the logistics systems found in various ports, industries, and countries. Second, its an assessment of recent (and a few... more
Choke Points, edited by two radical scholar-activists, focuses on two topics. First, it’s an impressive analysis of the logistics systems found in various ports, industries, and countries. Second, its an assessment of recent (and a few more historical) movements of workers within logistics industries who have fought for better working conditions, advocated for others beyond their own workplaces, and have sometimes offered a wider critique of capitalist exploitation. Thus, the book focuses on where capitalism’s “choke points” may be found and how workers have sought to take advantage of those choke points.
Research Interests:
The three titles, Unruly Equality by Andrew Cornell, Living at the Edges of Capitalism by Andrej Grubačić and Denis O’Hearn, and Immigrants Against the State by Kenyon Zimmer are exemplars from the interdisciplinary field of anarchist... more
The three titles, Unruly Equality by Andrew Cornell, Living at the Edges of Capitalism by Andrej Grubačić and Denis O’Hearn, and Immigrants Against the State by Kenyon Zimmer are exemplars from the interdisciplinary field of anarchist studies. This academic and lay-scholar tradition focuses on the study of (1) anarchists and anarchist movements and (2) non-anarchist subjects from an anarchist perspective. These three books emphasize the ways in which revolutionary social movements exist within and against the societal status quo. Radical, anti-authoritarian movements, such as anarchism, have throughout the 20th century (and before) challenged the centripetal forces of state and capitalism. In Cornell’s study, anarchists found a way to bridge the post-WWI abeyance in the US, as aging syndicalists, counter-culturalists, and white ethnic immigrants kept anarchism alive until its rejuvenation within the movements of the 1960s. Grubačić and O’Hearn note how entire social groups have attempted to reclaim their autonomy from the state, despite efforts to re-conquer and incorporate such exiles back into the state system. Finally, Zimmer’s research focuses primarily on the movements created by Yiddish and Italian immigrants in the US, who asserted their cosmopolitan and internationalist values, retained cultural aspects from their mother countries, and still critiqued their new, adopted home country. Together, these works help to push against the ever-expanding boundaries of anarchist studies, revealing a rich, radical counter-history below the surface of many societies and even beneath the scholarly study of social movements.