The Language of Contention (Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics)
Cambridge University Press, 8/31/2013
EAN 9781107036246, ISBN10: 1107036240
Hardcover, 202 pages, 23.1 x 15.2 x 2 cm
Language: English
This book examines the relations between the material and political bases of contentious politics and the construction, diffusion and endurance of contentious language. Beginning with the language of revolution developed from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, it examines contentious language at work, in gender and race relations and in nationalist and ethnic movements. It closes with an examination of emotions in contentious politics, reflecting on the changes in political language since 9/11 and assessing the impact of religion and recent innovations in electronic communication on the language of politics.
Introduction
1. Repertoires of contentious language
2. Revolutions in words
3. Words at work
4. Race and rights talk
5. Gender words
6. Citizens and nations
7. Love and hatred
8. Conclusions.
Advance praise: 'Classism, racism, sexism. Words, words, words? Revolutions, protests, riots - more words? That master of contentious politics, Sid Tarrow, examines how language constructs (empowers and unites) and deconstructs (disempowers and divides) actors. Using word counts and ethnography, his positivist constructivism connects words to actions as well as to historical structural contexts. Exploring cognitions, emotions, and meanings, Tarrow's rich analyses demonstrate how language endures through time and diffuses through populations via mechanisms of symbolic resonance and processes of strategic modularity.' Mark I. Lichbach, University of Maryland
Advance praise: 'Sid Tarrow's great genius is the capacity to see connections that others miss. He has done it for decades and does it again here, brilliantly showing us that the language of contentious politics is a tireless traveler across space and time. But as those who wander know well, the journey can change the voyager as much as the land where she alights. And thanks to Professor Tarrow, we now understand how it all happens.' Joseph Margulies, Northwestern University School of Law
Advance praise: 'An immensely wide-ranging, provocative examination of contentious words in motion by one of our foremost experts on comparative politics, The Language of Contention is a fitting capstone to Sidney Tarrow's distinguished career.' Daniel T. Rodgers, Henry Charles Lea Professor, Emeritus, Princeton University
Advance praise: 'In this engaging work, Sidney Tarrow, long a pre-eminent analyst of contentious politics, turns to contentious language - exploring shifting terminologies of race, class, gender, citizenship, and more, in many times and places. He makes a compelling case that politics cannot be understood without grasping how, symbolically and strategically, words stigmatize, valorize, divide, unite, and inspire political actors and action.' Rogers M. Smith, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania, and author of Stories of Peoplehood: The Politics and Morals of Political Membership
Advance praise: 'A dazzling contribution by a master of the study of contentious politics, The Language of Contention takes us on a journey from the seventeenth century to the present to demonstrate the power of contentious language in social and political change. Drawing on an extraordinary range of revolutionary, nationalist, and ethnic movements as well as movements mobilized around gender, race, and sexuality, Tarrow adds an important cultural dimension to his concept of 'cycles of contention' by showing us that, indeed, words matter.' Verta Taylor, University of California, Santa Barbara