Dana M. Williams

Assessing Change in Student Critical Thinking for Introduction to Sociology Classes

Although there is widespread agreement among academics that critical thinking is an important component to the college classroom, there is little empirical evidence to verify that it is being taught in courses. Using four sections of introductory sociology, we developed an experimental design using pretests and posttests to assess students’ critical thinking skills. Controlling for grade point average, cumulative credit hours completed, gender, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, instructor, and initial levels of critical thinking, being in the experimental group had a statistically significant impact on critical thinking at the end of the semester. Thus, inclusion of writing assignments and classroom discussion designed to enhance creative thought processes for the experimental group helped students improve from one-dimensional thinking toward more multistructural analysis.

Patriarchy and the ‘Fighting Sioux’: a gendered look at racial college sports nicknames

The use of Native American nicknames and symbols by US college athletics is a long‐standing practice that embodies various forms of authoritarian oppression. One type of authoritarianism is that of patriarchy and it has been present in the struggle over the nickname at the University of North Dakota, the ‘Fighting Sioux’. This article explores philosophical connections of the dynamics of patriarchy to the resistance that this movement has faced at the University of North Dakota. A short history is provided, and these connections are illustrated in terms of sports and violence, the ‘old boys’ club’, the ‘father knows best’ syndrome, objectification and the disparagement of ‘liberal women’. Suggestions are offered for countering the engrained dynamics of patriarchy in regards to this issue, and thus working towards a more respectful and anti‐racist future at American universities.

Red vs. green: regional variation of anarchist ideology in the United States

Anarchism is a philosophy opposed to hierarchy and authority, and is used as a critical lens to analyze the whole of human society. As with members of all social groupings, anarchists differ from each other in many ways, one of which is their political ideology. At least two visibly distinct ideological variants of anarchism are distinguishable in the US—a red anarchism that emphasizes economic concerns and a green anarchism that focuses upon the environment. American anarchists have long assumed, based upon anecdotal evidence, that there are differences in ideological variant identification between those on the two US coasts. Using survey data, two distinct measures of ideology were formed and respondents were classified into four separate US regions. Although the majority of anarchists do not specify a particular orientation, Northeasterners were associated with red anarchism, while Westerners were associated with green anarchism. These differences may be created and/or reinforced by structural or organizational factors.

‘We Are Everywhere’: An Ecological Analysis of Organizations in the Anarchist Yellow Pages

The Anarchist Yellow Pages (AYP), an international directory of anarchist groupings throughout the world, listed over two thousand organizations in 2005. This paper explores the types of these anarchist organizations and their geographic clustering throughout the world, with special emphasis on the 21 countries with at least 20 such organizations. The concentrations of anarchist organizations found in the AYP suggest that the movement tends to be strongly European-centered. North Americans are greatly involved in various media organizations; Spain, France, and Sweden have strong syndicalist tendencies; Italy and Germany tend to have a high percentage of physical spaces like social centers and info shops. The theory of political opportunity is used to interpret the global anarchist movement, leading to the general conclusion that rights and democracy are related to the concentration of anarchist organizations.

Americans and Iraq, twelve years apart: Comparing support for the US wars in Iraq

Abstract Significant differences exist in Americans’ support for force between the 1991 Persian Gulf War and 2003 Iraq War, even when holding all demographic variables constant. Nearly every group decreased their support from 1991 to 2003, including men and women, Whites and racial minorities, people with high school degrees or higher, nearly all age categories, and Democrat and Independent affiliated individuals. When examining potential causes for decreased support in the 2003 Iraq War, the “nature of the conflict” presents the strongest argument and evidence. The Persian Gulf War aimed to force the Iraqi army from Kuwait, while the Iraq War was aimed at changing the governmental regime of Iraq. The latter conflict was less socially acceptable than the former to Americans. These differences between the conflicts are the best explanation for the change in support, while other explanations, including the changing composition of the population and a less pro-military populace, are insufficient.

A Society in Revolt or Under Analysis? Investigating the Dialogue Between 19th-Century Anarchists and Sociologists

Anarchism has not had a noticeable impact upon sociology. The two traditions diverged in their interest in society and their relationship to it. This paper contrasts the practitioners or thinkers of one tradition against the other. The analysis shows some strong antagonisms, many instances of close analysis and critique of each other’s perspectives, and a number of friendly and supportive relationships between anarchists and sociologists. Anarchists tended to admire the intellectual rigor of sociologists, but thought sociologists were insiders – mere reformers at best, reactionaries at worst – content to study society, but rarely to act for its improvement. Sociologists viewed anarchists with an even wider range of opinion, including considering them principled and admirable revolutionaries, slightly naïve utopians, or criminals and chaos-lovers bent on the destruction of social order. These factors contributed to the exclusion of anarchist ideas and anarchists themselves from the sociological canon.

Aiming to Overthrow the State (Without Using the State): Political Opportunities for Anarchist Movements

AbstractThe anarchist movement utilizes non-statist and anti-statist strategies for radical social transformation, thus indicating the limits of political opportunity theory and its emphasis upon the state. Using historical narratives from present-day anarchist movement literature, we note various events and phenomena in the last two centuries and their relevance to the mobilization and demobilization of anarchist movements throughout the world (Bolivia, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Greece, Japan, Venezuela). Labor movement allies, failing state socialism, and punk subculture have provided conditions conducive to anarchism, while state repression and Bolshevik success in the Soviet Union constrained success. This variation suggests that future work should attend more closely to the role of national context, and the interrelationship of political and non-political factors.

Black Panther Radical Factionalization and the Development of Black Anarchism

Racial justice social movements often fragment when their goals do not seem completely achievable. Former participants in the radical Black freedom struggles of the 1960s and 1970s, most of whom were Black Panther Party (BPP) members (and also participants in the Black Liberation Army) and identified with Marxist-Leninism, became disaffected with the hierarchical character of the Black Panthers and came to identify with anarchism. Through the lens of radical factionalization theories, Black anarchism is seen as a radical outgrowth of the Black freedom struggle. Black anarchists were the first to notably prioritize a race analysis in American anarchism. This tendency has a number of contemporary manifestations for anarchism, including Anarchist People of Color caucuses within the movement, and, more indirectly, the many anarchist strategies and organizations that share similarities with the BPP, prior to its centralization.

Why revolution ain’t easy: violating norms, re‐socializing society

Society is not only structured by major hierarchical institutions, but also by the unwritten rules, called norms, that govern the practice of daily life within those institutions. Peoples’ unreflective observance of these norms helps to perpetuate inequality and domination in society. Norms are transmitted through a process of socialization, by which every member of society is subtly trained to appreciate and follow these norms. While disobeying norms, or deviance, is possible, it is also fraught with problems and challenges. Ultimately, many things prevent the creation of new, anarchistic norms. Still, even with formidable obstacles in their path, anarchists have attempted to re‐socialize themselves and others in order to adhere to more egalitarian, horizontal, and cooperative norms.

Tactics: Conceptions of Social Change, Revolution, and Anarchist Organisation

Tactics are the techniques and actions used by social movements that implement strategies for the purpose of achieving goals. For anarchist movements, tactics can assume a reactive, diagnostic, or destructive force for opposing hierarchy, repression, and inequality. Tactics can also assume a proactive, prognostic, or creative force that promotes horizontalism, liberation, and egalitarianism. The purpose of these tactics is twofold: intervening in society to immediately accomplish goals (also called ‘direct action’) and illustrating a vision for a better world (also called ‘prefiguration’). Anarchist movements commonly have a protest repertoire that they regularly draw from, deploying one tactic or another from their ‘toolkit’, the choice of which depends on changing external conditions, participant interests, and coalition alliances. Tactics and other organisational forms are never imposed by anarchists upon others and thus must spread horizontally. Usually a combination of word-of-mouth, movement press, and stories of first-hand experiences help to diffuse these tactics from one location to another.