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The Emotions of Protest: Affective and Reactive Emotions In and Around Social Movements

Sociological Forum volume 13, pages 397–424 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

The recent explosion of cultural work on social movements has been highly cognitive in its orientation, as though researchers were still reluctant to admit that strong emotions accompany protest. But such emotions do not render protestors irrational; emotions accompany all social action, providing both motivation and goals. Social movements are affected by transitory, context-specific emotions, usually reactions to information and events, as well as by more stable affective bonds and loyalties. Some emotions exist or arise in individuals before they join protest groups; others are formed or reinforced in collective action itself. The latter type can be further divided into shared and reciprocal emotions, the latter being feelings that protestors have toward each other.

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    James M. Jasper

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Jasper, J.M. The Emotions of Protest: Affective and Reactive Emotions In and Around Social Movements. Sociological Forum 13, 397–424 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022175308081

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022175308081

  • social movements
  • protest
  • emotions
  • affect
  • political participation
  • frame alignment
  • moral shocks