This landmark volume brings together some of the titans of social movement theory in a grand reassessment of its status. For some time, the field has been divided between a dominant structural approach and a cultural or constructivist tradition.. The gaps and misunderstandings between the two sides--as well as the efforts to bridge them--closely parallel those in the social sciences at large. This book aims to further the dialogue between these two distinct approaches to social movements and to show the broader implications for social science as a whole as it struggles with issues including culture, emotion, and agency.

Although music is known to be part of the great social movements that have rocked the world, its specific contribution to political struggle has rarely been closely analyzed. Is it truly the lifeblood of movements, as some have declared, or merely the entertainment between the speeches? Drawing on interviews, case studies, and musical and lyrical analysis, Rosenthal and Flacks offer a brilliant analysis and a wide-ranging look at the use of music in movements, in the U.S. and elsewhere, over the past hundred years. From their interviews, the voices of Pete Seeger, Ani DiFranco, Tom Morello, Holly Near, and many others enliven this highly readable book."a complex, theoretical analysis of music and social movements...Recommended." -CHOICE"

Although music is known to be part of the great social movements that have rocked the world, its specific contribution to political struggle has rarely been closely analyzed. Is it truly the lifeblood of movements, as some have declared, or merely the entertainment between the speeches? Drawing on interviews, case studies, and musical and lyrical analysis, Rosenthal and Flacks offer a brilliant analysis and a wide-ranging look at the use of music in movements, in the U.S. and elsewhere, over the past hundred years. From their interviews, the voices of Pete Seeger, Ani DiFranco, Tom Morello, Holly Near, and many others enliven this highly readable book."a complex, theoretical analysis of music and social movements...Recommended." -CHOICE"

Looks at the history of American participation in politic, explains the reasons for public apathy, and assesses the ability of Left to reestablish political influence in the U.S.

Making History/Making Blintzes is a chronicle of the political and personal lives of progressive activists Richard (Dick) and Miriam (Mickey) Flacks, two of the founders of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). As active members of the Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s, and leaders in today's social movements, their stories are a first-hand account of progressive American activism from the 1960s to the present. Throughout this memoir, the couple demonstrates that their lifelong commitment to making history through social activism cannot be understood without returning to the deeply personal context of their family history-of growing up "Red Diaper babies" in 1950s New York City, using folk music as self-expression as adolescents in the 1960s, and of making blintzes for their own family through the 1970s and 1980s. As the children of immigrants and first generation Jews, Dick and Mickey crafted their own religious identity as secular Jews, created a critical space for American progressive activism through SDS, and ultimately, found themselves raising an "American" family.