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Conceptualizing Resistance

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Sociological Forum

Abstract

Recently, there has been a rapid proliferation of scholarship on resistance but little consensus on its definition. In this paper, we review and synthesize the diverse literatures that invoke the concept of resistance. This review illuminates both core elements common to most uses of the concept and two central dimensions on which these uses vary: the questions of whether resistance must be recognized by others and whether it must be intentional. We use these two dimensions to develop a typology of resistance, thereby clarifying both the meaning and sociological utility of this concept.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, 1291 University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, 97403-1291

    Jocelyn A. Hollander

  2. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

    Rachel L. Einwohner

Authors
  1. Jocelyn A. Hollander
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  2. Rachel L. Einwohner
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Correspondence to Jocelyn A. Hollander.

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Hollander, J.A., Einwohner, R.L. Conceptualizing Resistance. Sociol Forum 19, 533–554 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11206-004-0694-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11206-004-0694-5

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