Soc 924 – Morris and McAdam Separate (older assignment)

January 30: Aldon Morris, The Origins of the Civil Rights Movement.

Suggested reading pattern: First read introduction (as it sketches key themes), Chapters 1 (social background), and Introduction, Chapter 1, and Conclusion 11 (a sketch of his theoretical arguments). Look at the chapter headings and my chapter summaries to get an idea of the plan of the book. You may find my chapter outlines helpful. In terms of comparisons to McAdam, you’ll want to focus on 2 (1950s, correlate with McAdam Ch 6), 3 & 4 (movement centers, SCLC – his key empirical arguments about structure of the movement), 8 & 9 (about the sit-in movements, correlate with McAdam’s Ch. 7). Chapters 5-7 and 10 are on organizational issues. Chapter 7 on the “halfway houses” has received a lot of play for taking about the organizations that sponsor movements without really being in the movements.

You may find my chapter summaries useful, below; they range from 2 sentences to a paragraph each. I have also sketched some of the issues I think worthy of discussion in the second memo listed. Overall, I think the main theme arising from this book is the significance of an “indigenous” perspective and the matter (for later discussion) of oppressed vs. non-oppressed people.

Morris Outline by PEO
Morris Issues and Themes to consider by PEO

February 6: Doug McAdam, Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency

Reading suggestions. Read Chapter 1 (critique of “collective behavior” very quickly, as it is not a correct or fair summary of this literature. Chapter 2 on resource mobilization is better. Key chapters are 3 (political process model) and 4 (very short on hypotheses, could have been in 3); and analysis chapters 6-8. Chapters 6 (1950s) and 7 (early 1960s) are the periods covered by Morris. Chapter 5 gives historical background on shifting political opportunities 1876-1950 and Chapter 8 discusses the decline of the movement after 1968. Pp. 112-116 integrate the historical arguments into a time series model.

McAdam Notes written by PEO

Major discussion themes in comparing McAdam & Morris will be: (1) Methodological, what do you get from each type of research, (2) Substantive/theoretical, how the case of the CRM shapes perception of theory. Major theme from McAdam is political process model as a way of integrating different processes.