Culture Moves: Ideas, Activism, and Changing Values

by Thomas R. Rochon

Overview

Some periods in history are marked by stability in cultural values; at other times, values undergo rapid change. How and why do cultural transformations, such as those affecting race and gender relations, take place? How does one value win acceptance in society when there are conflicting values competing for attention? In Culture Moves, Thomas Rochon addresses this complex process and develops a theory to explain both how values originate and how they spread. In particular, he analyzes the crucial role that small communities of critical thinkers play in developing new ideas and inspiring their dissemination through larger social movements.


Rochon develops this theory by drawing from such sources as survey research, content analysis of the mass media, and historical accounts. He focuses mainly on contemporary issues in the United States—such as feminism, civil rights, and environmentalism—but also discusses cases ranging from the French Revolution to the abolition of slavery. He explores the cultural niches—typically universities and research institutes—where new ideas and values evolve and then traces how these ideas play out in society through movements that may have little formal structure. Attention in the media, he argues, is often a deciding move in the contest over public opinion. This book will fundamentally revise how we understand the process of social change and what the prospects are for particular culture moves in the future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691070339
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	07/16/2000
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Thomas R. Rochon is Executive Director of the Graduate Record Examination at the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, NJ. Formerly a professor at Claremont Graduate University and Princeton University, he is the author of Mobilizing for Peace: The Antinuclear Movements in Western Europe (Princeton) and The Netherlands: Negotiating Sovereignty in an Interdependent World.

Table of Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Preface

Data Sources

PART ONE: Theoretical Perspective

CHAPTER ONE Adaptation in Human Communities

CHAPTER TWO Critical Communities and

Movements

CHAPTER THREE The Acceptance of New Cultural

Values

PART TWO: Microfoundations

CHAPTER FOUR The Creation of Solidarity

CHAPTER FIVE Political Engagement

PART THREE: Social and Political Structures

CHAPTER SIX Diffusion of Change in Society

CHAPTER SEVEN Political and Social Alliances

CHAPTER EIGHT Advancing Our Understanding of

Cultural Change

References

Index

Editorial Reviews

"Rochon has written an important book that is a very welcome contribution to the scholarly discourse on movements and culture, particularly because it focuses on the cultural effects of movement activities. . . . This book is a 'must' for scholars in the field of cultural studies."

American Journal of Sociology

One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 1998

From the Publisher

This well-documented and well-illustrated book presents a new theoretical framework that increases understanding of the processes of cultural change and makes a significant contribution to the literature. Highly recommended.

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