Narrative and Social Movements

This article discusses the relationship of narrative and social movements. It clarifies what is meant by the terms social movement and narrative and explores the emergence of narrative analysis in the historical development of ways scholars have approached the study of social movements. The article discusses the function of storytelling and narrative within social movements to create collective identity, to frame movement origins, and to deal with movement setbacks and defeats. The role of narrative as tool for social movements in policy making scenarios is also examined. The article points out some limitations of narrative analysis as a scholarly approach and concludes that it is one of many useful tools scholars can use to better understand social movements.

Keywords: Civil Rights Movement; Collective Action Frame; Collective Behavior; Collective Identity; Discourse; Narrative; Storytelling; Social Movements; Social Movement Abeyance; Trope

Overview

Everybody loves a good story, it seems, and social movement participants are no exception. Just like any social institution, stories are present within and about social movements and their participants. Although stories may often seem casual or inconsequential they are often imbued with deeper meaning and interpreted differently, depending on the situation in which they are told, or whom they are told by or about. Social movement activists are fond of storytelling, whether in front of other activists, to potential allies or for the public. In fact, movement activists and adherents are often told to "tell their story" in an effort to garner public support or sympathy (Leondar-Wright, 2008; Polletta 1998, 2006). Because of the popularity and widespread presence of storytelling and narrative devices in social movements, sociologists interested in social movements and other political processes have begun to look more closely at how, why and when stories are used and to what effect.

Why is it important to understand the relationship between narrative and social movements? As scholars have focused more attention on how societies change and what role social movements play in either helping or hindering that change, they have discovered many mechanisms at play that contribute to the success or demise of social movements. For many years sociologists focused on the seemingly negative psychological traits of social movements and other collective behavior (e.g. Le Bon, 1896; Hopper, 1950). Later, as the civil rights, anti-war and other movements of the 1960's and 70's gained more attention, scholars began to focus attention on the more instrumental aspects of social movements — that is, the way movements carried out campaigns in a rational and organized manner (e.g. McCarthy & Zald, 1977). This approach was a turn from the previous approach, which emphasized the more emotional and psychological aspects of social movement mobilization. With this came the focus on the rationality of social movements as actors within the socio-political realm. Although these approaches moved the field of collective behavior and later social movement studies forward in many ways, later critics argued that they focused too much on the rational aspects of social movements and their adherents at the expense of emotional and cultural elements. Narrative analysis of social movements is part of this new focus on the emotional and cultural. In order to understand the relationship between social movements and narrative it is important to understand the terms.

What is a Social Movement?

Social movements have a long history throughout the world. Social movement activity follows closely the rise of democratic representation in the United States and England in the late 1700s. Thus, they are highly associated with democratic societies. This does not mean that Social movements are limited to democratic societies. In fact, they have also been associated with the process of democratization in many societies and are also present in more authoritarian societies (Tilly, 2004). Social movements, then, occur in a wide variety of societies. They can be local in purpose, such as a movement against the construction of a toxic waste dump in a neighborhood, or they can be national or even international in focus. Social movements are also broad in their aim. Some may seek to reform an existing political system, while others may aim to halt change. On the other hand, some are not political at all and instead may seek cultural or individual change. Still others may seek revolutionary change on both a political and social/cultural level.

Despite the differences in types of social movements there are also many similarities. Some key similarities between all social movements that have been noted are:

• The campaign, all movements carry out sustained actions with an orientation towards specific goals
• Social movement repertoires, a standard set of actions that are used by social movements i.e. protests, rallies, etc. and
• Displays of worthiness, unity, numbers and commitment (WUNC). WUNC displays are carried out by social movements and social movement organizations (SMOs) in order to legitimize themselves in the eyes of potential adherents and target authorities (Tilly, 2004).

A social movement can be thought of as an informal set of individuals and/or groups that are "involved in confliction relations with clearly identified opponents; are linked by dense informal networks; [and] share a distinct collective identity" (della Porta & Diani, 2006, p. 20).

What is Narrative?

Storytelling is often used in place of the word narrative. Although sometimes distinction is made between the two, they are also regularly used interchangeably. Sometimes narrative may refer to a wider set of storytelling devices beyond simple oral storytelling. For example, a narrative can be told through a visual display such as through comics or art, whereas a story is usually spoken by a narrator to an audience. Specifically, a narrative entails three important elements:

• A plot, which "seeks time and place specific connections between events" (Polletta, 1998, p. 421),
• Point of view, which means they must be told from a certain perspective -either the stories tellers, or someone else's, but they cannot be events placed outside of a perspective.
• A degree of ambiguity or "fundamental indeterminacy, a key question that cannot be answered or even formulated, a 'complex word' or concept whose meaning remains ambiguous" (Polletta, 1998, p. 440).

These three elements are essential for a story. Narrative, on the other hand, often refers not just to stories but also the way a story is told including the devices used to tell a story. A story telling device refers to the way language, pictures etc. are used to tell a story. For example, a story may use a common cultural or linguistic stereotype — or trope — to stand in for a complex set of ideas. The use of tropes can simplify storytelling and also define the term of the thing being described. There are many types and uses of tropes, especially by social movements, which help to simplify the message of social movements as well as define the terms of debate; similar to the way that framing within social movements is used.

Further Insights

The Use of Narrative within Social Movements

Scholars have identified many ways in which narrative occurs and functions within social movements. Social movement actors tell stories and use story telling devices to their advantage. Sometimes stories are deployed strategically and other times they are used unconsciously, but they almost always carry meaning which can be interpreted and analyzed.

Narrative & Collective Identity

An important element of any social movement is the creation of a collective identity. Mellucci (1995) explains, "collective identity is an interactive and shared definition produced by several individuals…and concerned with the orientations of action and the field of opportunities and constraints in which the action takes place" (p. 44). In other words, collective action is the way a group of people understands their shared environment and how they should act collectively within that environment. An important part of the process of collective identity is the making of shared meanings. When individuals come together from many different places and backgrounds it is often difficult to know from where each individual understands the world around them. Thus, part of the work of social movements is to help create a sense of shared meaning; that is, to ensure that everybody involved in a given movement is understanding the situation, or conflict, in the same way.

Storytelling is one way movements can create this shared sense of meaning and thus, a collective identity. When activists tell stories of collective actions they define the antagonists and the protagonists or the "we" and the "them." Glover (2004) notes that activists "… who identify with a story about the [group], 'step into the story, recreate the world it presents, and retain the experience. They make the story their own'" (p. 48). Similarly, Linde (2001) notes that an organization uses "narrative to create and reproduce its identity by the creation and maintenance of an institutional memory" (p. 1). Social movement organizations and informal groups behave in much the same way. Stories are told of actions and opponents which then create a sense of the group's values and goals and guides how people should relate to one another within the group and towards opponents or targets of the group or movement. Christiansen (2009) found that members of a social movement organization told stories which helped build a sense of collective identity. These stories helped members understand themselves and their actions within the movement by reinforcing desired movement tactics and helping to orient members ideologically. Stories do not only forge shared identity, they also explain from where the movement comes.

Origin Stories

Social movements and social movement organizations often tell stories of their emergence. These stories are not simple stories of how the group or movement came to be. Stories of beginnings are often used strategically and may embellish or omit in order to create a more cohesive or meaningful narrative.

As is often the case things do not just appear out of nowhere. There is usually some precursor to any movement, but it is often difficult for activists and scholars alike to pinpoint a movement's origins (Polletta, 1998). The stories that activists tell are often a good starting point for analysis of movements. With regards to movement origin stories, Polletta (1998) points out that "social movement … often deny their pasts" meaning they often deny that they are part of a longer movement or a result of long-term organizational practices. Often times, for example, movements are able to take advantage an opportunity because there are long standing organizations and dedicated activists available to mobilize.

A good example of this is the story of the origins of the civil rights movement. Polletta (1998) points out that the American civil rights movement is often described as beginning with Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus, which then sparked the Montgomery Bus boycott. Parks was portrayed as a simple seamstress worn out from a hard day's work. When asked why Parks refused to give up her seat she is famously quoted as saying "I was just tired." This became a powerful collective action frame. A collective action frame defines a situation as problematic and gives people a sense that a problem is something that can be overcome through concerted efforts, therefore leading to collective action. Civil rights advocates took this to be representative of African American's sentiments at the time and it motivated civil rights activists to action. As Polletta (1998) points out however, Rosa Parks had been a long time civil rights advocate and was, in fact, a secretary at the local NAACP and had been to trainings at a prominent activist training center.

Polletta (1998, 2006) found a similar simplification of the origin story with regards to the outbreak of the mass sit-ins which swept across the south in the late 1960s. Many of the adherents, who were local university students, described the sit-ins as spontaneous both to fellow activists and local media. It was described by the student activists as "like a fever." This expression, or narrative trope ("It was like a fever"), captured the spontaneity and contagiousness of the sit-ins as they were described. Thus, stories are often told not as a way to necessarily describe the events but to explain the events in a sensible and meaningful way. They are also attempting to create a sense of a unique and definable starting point which is important not only for stories, but also the movements. Polletta (1998) explains, "Movement stories of origin are, on this view, strategic bids for public sympathy and identification. But activists may also deny their forerunners in order to establish their own collective identity, their own distinctiveness from what has come before" (p. 427). Movement stories of origin not only create a sense of collective identity, they also help to differentiate themselves as a new and unique movement — one that is not stale and old but young and vibrant and full of possibilities.

Narrative & Movement Continuity

Narrative not only defines a movement's origins, but also helps to sustain movements through hardships. Narratives can provide a story to explain setbacks as part of a larger trajectory of the movement. If movements are able to frame their setbacks as mere bumps in the road rather than as disasters, they are more likely to survive them. Polletta (1998) describes how the Solidarity movement in Poland successfully took advantage of "the Catholic trope of the successive stations of the 'via dolorosa'" — or stations of the cross (p. 432). The movement uses the trope on one of their posters. The poster shows a red line which juts up in several spots, like a heartbeat, with the year of previous uprisings above the heartbeats. This emphasized the continuity of the movement and the setbacks were seen as successes — each leading closer to the presumed final victorious uprising (Polletta, 1998, p. 432). The movement is seen as carrying on a long tradition because it is able to tap into this narrative trope of suffering and rebirth.

Similarly, Glover (2004), in a study of a grassroots association, notes that stories told about a personal hardship in relation to the goals of the group became a powerful symbol for the group. Thus the personal became the collective, and the story became a stand which represented what the group was up against.

While some movements may deny their beginnings through the use of narrative, others use narrative to connect themselves to the past. Narratives can serve as what Rupp and Taylor (1987) refer to as abeyance structures. Narratives can be thought of a as carrying abeyance cultures. Polletta (1998) notes that "during periods of political quiescence, institutions that are somewhat insulated from the direct surveillance of authorities preserve not only activists' tactical know-how and personnel networks but stories of past victories, defeats, and continuing struggle" (p. 433). Christiansen (2009) notes that group stories connected movement members not only to past victories but also placed members within an ideological and tactical trajectory. Members of a group with diminished capacity told stories that connected themselves with a more victorious past. They saw themselves as carrying on a long tradition of beliefs and innovative tactics. Stories, then, are one way in which movements and movement groups are able to sustain themselves through difficult periods as well as through long periods of demobilization. They also carry with them ideologies and practices over time which activists can use to build collective meaning.

Narrative & Policy Making

Social movements are, of course, usually interested in changing government policy. Social movement narratives are also seen in this realm. Leondar-Wright (2008) notes that stories are often used to build sympathy and support for movement causes. She notes that as an activist, she would encourage storytelling when activists met with government representatives. Stories are meant to put a human face on the policies that are being discussed. As she notes though, these stories often backfire and policy makers find personal fault within the stories. Similarly, during the United States' wars against Vietnam and Iraq, anti-war soldiers who had returned from combat organized testimonies in which they told stories about their experiences during combat. The stories were meant to turn the public and politicians against the war by humanizing the war.

Polletta (1998; 2006) also notes the relationship between social movement stories and policy makers. She analyses the stories that are told about the civil rights movements by members of congress. She finds that civil rights stories are told mostly by African American politicians and mostly on occasions of commemoration. She finds that instead of stories leading to practical policy decisions they are actually often left out of policy discourse. Stories of movements within the policy making realm define movements by how and when they are used. Instead of integrating social movement stories into policy making discourse, the stories are left to the realm of commemoration, which clearly defines the stories as outside of the formal policy making realm. Social movements, then, are not only physically left outside of formal politics, but are discursively excluded as well. Social movement storytelling can be a powerful way to humanize policy, but on the other hand, stories are often left out of specific policy making discourse.

Viewpoints

Limitations of Narrative Analysis

Narrative analysis of social movements is a good tool for understanding their internal functioning. It is also helpful in understanding how social movements interact with groups and people outside of the social movement. There are limitations, however, to the usefulness of narrative analysis. There are also limitations to the use of narrative and storytelling within social movements.

Narrative analysis — the analysis of social movement stories and storytelling — is limited in that it often gives little attention to the larger structures within which social movements operate. For example, a movement may tell stories of victories against a past enemy, but it does little to explain why a government has decided to focus its repression on a specific movement. While narrative analysis could conceivably lead to some understanding of this situation it would need to be understood within other theories of social movement mobilization and repression. Resource mobilization theory and other political process models are still useful tools for understanding these larger structures.

The use of narrative within social movements is also sometimes problematic. Narrative is seen as a certain type of discourse, and stories are interpreted as being false or only representing one view of an event (Polletta, 1998; 2006). As such, stories are often not taken seriously by policy makers or are left out of policy making discourse. Narrative may also limit peoples' understandings of events since, as they frame the events, they define the "us vs. them" boundaries and the ways they and/or their group fits into the collective story. Scholars using narrative analysis must be careful to notice the positionality of the storyteller, the audience, and even the scholar examining the narrative (Glover, 2004; Polletta, 2006). Narrative is best understood as one tool at the disposal of social movements and social movement scholars. It has benefits and drawbacks and must be used in combination with other tools.

Conclusion

Social movements use narrative in a number of ways. It is important for scholars to understand the ways narrative is used in order to more fully understand how social movements operate. Narratives are told either through oral storytelling or through other narrative devices such as tropes. These tropes can be used to condense and bundle multiple ideas and meanings into a single bundle such as a phrase, image or word. These tropes make storytelling easier, but also leave certain things out and can function to define the thing they are describing.

Narrative is used within social movements to create collective identity. Stories create for movement members a sense of belonging to a group and place of the member in relation to the group. Narrative also defines the origins of the movement, and also connects movements to other past movements and victories. The use of narrative can be an important way for movements to overcome setbacks or maintain identity, ideology and tactical know-how over time. Narrative also shows up with regard to social movements and policy making. Oftentimes movements tell stories to humanize policy decisions, but they are also of limited use within this realm. Policy discourse and narrative are seen as two separate forms of discourse. The discourse separates social movements from the policy realm. Despite the usefulness of narrative analysis there are still drawbacks. Narrative can be of limited use in understanding the structures within which movements operate. The field of social movement narrative analysis is still relatively new and will benefit from further exploration.

Terms & Concepts

Civil Rights Movement: A social movement that occurred in the United States from about the mid 1950s through the late 1960s aimed at dismantling discriminatory laws against African Americans.

Collective Action Frame: Collective action frames define a situation as a problematic and give people a sense that a problem is something that can be overcome through concerted efforts therefore leading to collective action.

Collective Action: Action that is undertaken by groups of individuals acting together for some, usually political, goal.

Collective Identity: A shared definition and understanding of things and events which motivates people into collective action.

Narrative: A story, but also refers to a wider set of storytelling devices beyond oral storytelling. Narratives contain plot, protagonists and antagonists and can give meaning to situations.

Origin Story: A story which is told about a group's beginning. Within social movements this is often a strategic point at which to begin the narrative of the movement.

Social Movement Abeyance: A period in some social movements characterized by little or no mobilization. During this period, movements often focus inward on identity or values.

Trope: A storytelling device which combines and simplifies ideas into a more generalized symbolic representation.

Bibliography

Christiansen, J. (2009). "We are all leaders": Anarchism and the narrative of the Industrial Workers of the World. Working USA: The Journal of Labor and Society, 12 , 387-401.

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Leondar-Wright, B. (2008). How effective is personal storytelling? Strategic insights from social movement theory. Peacework, 389. Retrieved Feb. 3, 2010 from http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/how-effective-personal-storytelling-str rategic-insights-social-movement-theory

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Suggested Reading

Armstrong, E. A. & Crage, S. M. (2006). Movements and memory: The making of the stonewall myth. American Sociological Review 71 : 724-751. Retrieved Feb. 3, 2010 EBSCO online database SocINDEX with Full Text http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=23164561&site=ehost-live

Davis, J. E. (2002). Narrative and social movements: The power of stories. In, J. E. Davis (ed.), Stories of change: Narratives and social movements. 3-30. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Linde, C. (2000). The acquisition of a speaker by a story: How history becomes memory and identity. Ethos 28, 608-32.

Reicher, S. (1996). The Battle of Westminster: Developing the social identity model of crowd behaviour in order to explain the initiation and development of collective conflict. European Journal of Social Psychology, 26 , 115-134. Retrieved February 15, 2010 EBSCO online database SocINDEX with Full Text http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=14160256&site=ehost-live

Couto, R. (1993). Narrative, free space and political leadership in social movements. The Journal of Politics, 55 , 57-79. Retrieved Feb. 3, 2010 from EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9306165380&site=ehost-live

Driver, S., Hensby, A., & Sibthorpe, J. (2012). The shock of the new? Democratic narratives and political agency. Policy Studies, 33 , 159–172. Retrieved October 30, 2013 from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=74574812

Russell, P. (2012). Using biographical narrative and life story methods to research women's movements: Sisterhood and after. Women's Studies International Forum, 35, 132–134. Retrieved October 30, 2013 from EBSCO Online Database SocINDEX with Full Text. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=77923749

Wertsch, J. (2008). The narrative organization of collective memory. Ethos (00912131), 36, 120-135. Retrieved Feb. 3, 2010 from EBSCO online database SocINDEX with Full Text http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=31520761&site=ehost-live