Understanding Occupy from Wall Street to Portland: Applied Studies in Communication Theory - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0739183214 ISBN 13: 9780739183212

Publisher: Lexington Books, 2013

Synopsis

Given the centrality of economics and communication in the Occupy movement, Understanding Occupy from Wall Street to Portland uses economic insights and contemporary theories of communication to better understand the movement at this current juncture in history. This collection is organized by complementary theoretical and methodological perspectives: the global―critical cultural and economic understandings of Occupy; the local―interpretive ethnographic examinations of a local site―Occupy Portland, Oregon; and mediated perspectives―analyses of the words of officials and media. The contributors also examine social movement phenomena by stepping outside of social movement theory to analyze the macro- and microprocesses of the Occupy movement, demonstrating the saliency of communication theory. Throughout the volume are in-depth case studies that examine universal narratives about Occupy. One of the challenges of studying Occupy is that members of this movement are committed to not allowing any one person (or entity) to define it. One way the editors acknowledge this and attempt to honor the individualism and postmodern fragmentation of this movement is to consider their findings in light of the three interpretive lenses of the romantic, functional, and critical. This informative and comprehensive text provides a critical lens on the constantly evolving Occupy movement.

About this title

About the Author

Renee Guarriello Heath is an associate professor of communication studies at the University of Portland and a scholar of community collaboration and democratic communication practices.

C. Vail Fletcher is an assistant professor of communication studies at the University of Portland. She is a scholar that focuses on conflict and identity, international development and culture, and social media.

Ricardo Munoz is a PhD student in communication at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is a scholar of organizational communication with an emphasis on informal and non-hierarchical organizing.

Edition details

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0739183214
• ISBN 13: 9780739183212
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 264
• Editor: Heath Renee Guarriello, Fletcher Courtney Vail, Munoz Ricardo