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Dissertation Topic
Constructing Collective Identity in Transnational Social Movements. The case of the Global Justice Movement
Abstract
Transnational activism has increased considerably over the last years. This development triggered intense debates about the future of citizenship and civil society, particularly against the background of decreasing institutionalised political participation. These debates draw attention to the question how actors cooperate across geographical space and socio-cultural differences. Based on the assumption that collective identity is critical for collective action, this doctoral project analyses how collective identity is constructed in transnational social movements.
Transnational social movements constitute particularly puzzling cases of collective identity construction since they lack what is usually understood as its fundament: a socially homogeneous and spatially concentrated base. The project will focus on the Global Justice Movement as it draws together very different groups and activists with regards to social constituency, mobilising structures, and geographical dispersion. Addressing central gaps in the existing literature on social movement identity processes of collective identity construction will be analysed with a focus on a) the transformative capacity of protest events, b) the interplay of cognitive, relational, and emotional dimensions, and c) the spatial setting of interaction.
Supervisor
Prof. Dr. Klaus Eder
Prof. Dr. Dieter Rucht
Prof. Donatella della Porta
Research Interests
Civil society, social movements, collective action, identity, political participation, transnationalisation, (new) media, public sphere, space
Academic Education
03/2011 – 06/2011
Visiting scholar, European University Institute (Florence, Italy)
10/2009 - present
PhD candidate, Berlin Graduate School of Social Sciences (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
10/2008 – 9/2009
Introductory year, Berlin Graduate School of Social Sciences (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
09/2006 – 09/2007
Master of Science in Political Sociology, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London, Great Britain)
02/2005 – 07/2005
Exchange student, Sociology Department, University of Salamanca (Spain)
09/2003 – 06/2006
Bachelor of Arts, University College Maastricht (University Maastricht, Netherlands)
Publications
Peer-reviewed
Forthcoming: Images of surveillance. The contested and embedded visual language of anti-surveillance protests. In N. Doerr, A. Mattoni, & S. Teune (Eds.), Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change: Vol. 35. Visual Analysis of Social Movements. Bingley: Emerald. (with Anja Lê & Peter Ullrich)
Journals
2011: Soziale Bewegungen und Kollektive Identität. Fortschritte und bleibende Lücken [The State of Research on Social Movements and Collective Identity]. Forschungsjournal Soziale Bewegungen, 24(4), 13-25.
Book chapters
Forthcoming: Collective Identity Across Borders: Bridging Local and Transnational Memories in the Italian and German Global Justice Movements. In: Laurence Cox & Cristina Flesher Fominaya (eds.), Understanding European Movements: New Social Movements, Global Justice Struggles, Anti-Austerity Protest. London/New York: Routledge
Editorships
Forthcoming: Edited volume, Protest | Culture: Conceptualizing Culture in Social Movement Research (with Britta Baumgarten & Peter Ullrich)
Scholarships
02/2010 - present
PhD program, German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes)
02/2005 – 07/2005
ERASMUS program
03/2004 – 09/2007
German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes)
Work Experience
10/2010 – 2/2011
Teaching BA-course “Sociological Theory“, Institut für Sozialwissenschaften (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
3/2010 – 5/2010
Guest researcher, Social Science Research Center Berlin (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, WZB), research group "Civil Society, Citizenship, and Political Mobilization in Europe”
