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1. The case of Brown v. Board of Education (1954) encouraged the civil rights movement in two essential ways. On the one hand, it reflected the growing cohesion and social ties in the African American populations that could serve as the basis for the rapid evolution of the civil rights movement. On the other hand, it is Brown v. Board of Education that inspired greater mobilization of the existing resources and provided new emotions, expectations, and cultural outlook needed to make the civil rights movement real.
2. The two branches of the women's liberation movement were also referred to as "reform" and "radical". The "radical" branch was represented mainly by older men and women, who were preoccupied with the problems of working women. The "reform" branch comprised numerous small social groups and younger participants, who had experience being social and political observers.
3. The New Left and the Women's liberation movement greatly contributed to the creation of the gay liberation movement. First, the rhetoric of the New Left was very similar to the anti-oppressive language of gay liberationists. Second, the women's liberation movement enabled more effective self-definition of lesbian women and their subsequent inclusion in the gay liberation movement.
4. The Iranian Revolution took place, when there was no disagreement between the structure of opportunities and the opportunity perceptions of the public. In 1978, Iran was not vulnerable to protests and collapse, but most Iranians felt that the strength of the opposition was sufficient to challenge the existing status quo.
5. The subjective opportunities for social movements and the real structure of opportunities are closely knit. The structure of opportunities is a door that opens a new way to social movement ideas. Subjective perceptions of opportunities is the degree, to which individuals feel it is possible to either move through the open door or use additional effort and open it.
6. The two sets of competing factors which precipitated the Iranian revolution can be categorized as (a) the state's vulnerability to collapse and (b) the public's fear of the state's coercive powers. Once the perceptions of power and the vulnerability to collapse clashed, the state had to give up its positions.
7. The following were the demographic and cultural factors leading to the emergence of the civil rights movement: (1) the growing number of African American migrants from the South; (2) white violence against black newcomers; (3) the rise of leadership, community institutions and networks; and (4) a shift towards condemning racism at the international level.
8. The media shaped the early civil rights movement. More African Americans had ready access to mass communication media, which hastened their cultural development and refined their intellectual thought. Through mass media, leaders captured their followers' civil rights imagination and motivated them to verbalize their resentment.
9. The homophile phase of the gay liberation movement emphasized the importance of coming out and fighting (at times, aggressively) against gay discrimination. By contrast, the liberationist phase greatly contributed to the development of gays' self-identity and favored subtler methods of the civil rights protection. At both stages of development, the gay liberation movement sought to formulate and sustain a gay subculture, which would release lesbians and homosexuals from their discrimination chains (Goodwin & Jasper, 2009).
1. Daily lives play a crucial role in who and how joins social movements. The most essential factor is familiarity (acquaintance): those, who know others to join a social movement, are much more likely to become participants of the same movement.
2. Social movement organizers should be careful while framing their arguments, to ensure that their ideas and the ways in which they are presented resonate with recruits' daily concerns.
3. The "postmaterial" values emerged in the 1960s as a result of greater material affluence and improved economic and social stability. The generation of the 1960s no longer worried about meeting their basic survival needs. Instead, the society could focus on the pursuit of the "higher" social and cultural goals.
4. The likeliest candidates to join the environmentalist movement are those, who have a solid position in the middle class and, at the same time, favor the movement's leftist orientation. Social-cultural specialists have the background knowledge and postmaterial striving required to become a part of the environmental protection movement.
5. Osama Bin Laden's followers are modern in the sense that they successfully combine the benefits of the newest technology with their Islamic thinking. Undoubtedly, these features make it easier for the Islamic movement to achieve its goals, through the rapid popularization of the Islamic message and by winning the loyalty of Western and Eastern supporters.
6. Structural positions and cultural perceptions are equally important in social movements. Social networks are used to channel the message that resonates with individuals' cultural perceptions and, consequentially, increases the probability that they will join a social movement.
7. The free-rider problem entails the use of the commonly and publicly available goods by the individuals who have applied no effort to produce these goods. For example, U.S. citizens can enjoy the benefits of improved national security, even if they do not pay taxes. This problem is mainly resolved through coercion or the provision of additional incentives to motivate increased participation and involvement of latent groups.
10. Attitudinal affinity and biographical availability increase the chances that individuals will join a social movement. However, it is idealism and the social constraints of withdrawal from the social movement that compel young individuals to subject themselves to the risks of injury and danger (Goodwin & Jasper, 2009).
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