Occupying Organization: Space, Networks, and Collective Action in Occupy Wall Street
Author: Savio, Gianmarco , gianmarco.savio@stonybrook.edu
Department: Sociology
University: State University of New York-Stony Brook, USA
Supervisor: Michael Schwartz
Year of completion: In progress
Language of dissertation: English
Keywords:
social movements
, organization
, networks
, Occupy movement
Areas of Research:
Social Classes and Social Movements
, Participation, Organizational Democracy and Self-Management
, Organization
Abstract
The dissertation draws upon findings based primarily on in-depth ethnographic fieldwork on the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement in New York City in order to investigate why mobilization steadily declined following the eviction of the movement’s occupation of Zuccotti Park. Finding that the movement’s shared tactic of occupation and decentralized structure together formed part of a new repertoire of contention, the dissertation shows how space can constitute a form of collective organization, and highlights the role of network ties in sustaining participants’ level of commitment.
