Abstract
This article analyzes the symbolic aspects of the school desegration controversy using disputes in Boston as a case in point. The symbolic communication between actors in the public forum contains implicit views of the rights and obligations of different participants in the controversy, and the role of various individuals and collectives in the “history” of the controversy. These views also provide a framework for understanding the “position” of specific actors, which may constrain their ability to participate effectively in the controversy. This article analyzes these constraints with respect to those actors who attempted to establish a mediator role between “pro-integration” and “anti-busing” forces.
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Prepared under grants from the National Institute of Education (NIE-6-00-3-0187, NIE-6-76-0038), National Institute of Mental Health, (R01-MH-27618) and the Carnegie Corporation.
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Berg, W.M., Ross, J.M. The partisanship of silence: Symbolic politics of school desegration in Boston. Qual Sociol 5, 3–32 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01006416
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01006416