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Cited by 528American Political and Social DynamicsCommunism, Protests, Social MovementsSocial Movements and Cultural Identity

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 64 of the 68 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

"It Was like a Fever ..." Narrative and Identity in Social Protest

Polletta, Francesca·1998·Social Problems
DOI 10.2307/3097241
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Abstract

Although the 1960 student sit-ins were not nearly as uncoordinated as contemporaneous and subsequent accounts suggested, their repeated characterization in participants' accounts as “spontaneous” merits explanation. Analysis of campus newspaper articles and letters to the editor, speeches, and organizational and personal correspondence shows the emergence of a coherent and compelling narrative of the sit-ins, in which spontaneity denoted not a lack of prior coordination but independence from adult leadership, urgency, local initiative, and action by moral imperative rather than bureaucratic planning. Narratives of the sit-ins, told by many tellers, in more and less public settings, and in which spontaneity was a central theme, helped to constitute “student activist” as a new collective identity and to make high risk activism attractive. It was the storied character of representations of the sit-ins that compelled participation. This case suggests the more general importance of narrative—as distinct from collective action “frames”—in accounting for mobilization that takes place before the consolidation of movement organizations.

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Citations

Cites

Show all 68 references

Research works printed but not linked: 87

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Metadata

Authors
Polletta, F.
Affiliations
Columbia University (US)
Corresponding author
Polletta, Francesca
ORCID
Polletta, Francesca
Venue
Social Problems
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
1998-05
Volume
45
Issue
2
Pages
137-159
ISSN
  • 0037-7791 (ISSN-L)
  • 1533-8533
DOI
10.2307/3097241
OpenAlex
W2147224373
Cited by
528
References
68
Citations by year
2026: 27 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 56 · 2019: 32 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 25 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 18
FWCI
153.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Social Problems (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History › American Political and Social Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Communism, Protests, Social Movements
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Movements and Cultural Identity
Keywords
narrative, collective identity, student activism, spontaneity, social protest, protest mobilization, moral imperative, student newspaper, civil rights movement

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