The U.S. Women's Jury Movements and Strategic Adaptation

A More Just Verdict
Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-1-107-00992-9
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 320 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 701 g

Reihe: Cambridge Studies in Contentious Politics

When women won the vote in the United States in 1920 they were still routinely barred from serving as jurors, but some began vigorous campaigns for a place in the jury box. This book tells the story of how women mobilized in fifteen states to change jury laws so that women could gain this additional right of citizenship. Some campaigns quickly succeeded; others took substantially longer. The book reveals that when women strategically adapted their tactics to the broader political environment, they were able to speed up the pace of jury reform, while less strategic movements took longer. A comparison of the more strategic women's jury movements with those that were less strategic shows that the former built coalitions with other women's groups, took advantage of political opportunities, had past experience in seeking legal reforms and confronted tensions and even conflict within their ranks in ways that bolstered their action.

Autoren/Hrsg.

McCammon, Holly J.

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Menschenrechte, Bürgerrechte
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gender Studies, Geschlechtersoziologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction: the women's jury movements and strategic adaptation; 2. Theorizing social movement strategic adaptation; 3. Broadening women's citizenship: a history of US women's rights; 4. Responding to political defeats; 5. Countering public opposition and indifference; 6. Taking advantage of discursive and cultural opportunities; 7. Turning the movement around; 8. Comparing the movements: qualitative comparative analysis; 9. Final thoughts on strategic adaptation and social movement strategy.

Über Autor(innen)

McCammon, Holly J.
Holly McCammon is Professor of Sociology and Affiliated Professor of American Studies and Women's and Gender Studies at Vanderbilt University. She has published extensively on women's activism and social movement tactics with articles appearing in the American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Gender & Society, Mobilization, Social Forces, Social Problems and The Sociological Quarterly. She is also co-editor of Strategic Alliances: New Studies of Social Movement Coalitions. Professor McCammon is editor of the American Sociological Review and her research has been recognized by the Collective Behavior and Social Movements Section of the American Sociological Association (ASA). She has received research funding from the National Science Foundation and the American Association of University Women and is past chair of the Collective Behavior and Social Movements Section of the ASA.