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Race Riots Past and Present: A Cultural‐Collective Behavior Approach
Author(s) -
Turner Ralph H.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
symbolic interaction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.874
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1533-8665
pISSN - 0195-6086
DOI - 10.1525/si.1994.17.3.309
Subject(s) - obedience , race (biology) , collective action , feeling , social psychology , action (physics) , sociology , psychology , conformity , criminology , gender studies , political science , law , physics , quantum mechanics , politics
Four essential themes in a cultural‐collective behavior approach to race riots are developed. First is the historical shift in patterns of race rioting. Second is the application of a general collective behavior model accounting for extrainstitutionality, conversion of feelings into overt action, and acting collectively rather than individually. Third is process, stressing contingent developments during a period of testing. Fourth is the nullification of customary meanings of action, with clues to understanding drawn from anthropological study of “rituals of rebellion” and psychological studies of “obedience to authority.”