James M. Jasper
Encyclopedia
James Macdonald Jasper is a writer and sociologist who has taught Ph.D. students at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York
since 2007. He is best known for his research and theories about culture and politics, especially the cultural and emotional dimensions of protest movements.
Graduating in 1975 from Saint James School
, where he was elected Senior Prefect, Jasper attended Harvard College
. He received a B.A. magna cum laude in economics in 1979. He was awarded an M.A. and then a Ph.D. in sociology in 1988 at the University of California at Berkeley.
Jasper taught at New York University
from January 1987 to the summer of 1996, leaving after a protracted tenure battle that attracted angry letters from sociologists around the United States.[1] In the following ten years he taught as a visiting professor Columbia
, Princeton
, and the New School for Social Research. Since the fall of 2007 he has been affiliated with the Sociology Ph.D. program of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where he founded the Politics and Protest Workshop.
; The Art of Moral Protest, which developed cultural understandings of social movements and reintroduced emotions as an analytic dimension; Restless Nation, which looks at the negative and positive effects of Americans’ propensity to move so often; and Getting Your Way, which offers a sociological language for talking about strategic action that avoids the determinism of game theory.
In recent years Jasper has turned from empirical studies of politics and protest to theoretical work on culture and politics. His most influential contribution has been to show that emotions are a part of culture, allowing humans to adapt to the world around them, to process information, and to engage with others. He differs from many culturally oriented scholars in embracing a kind of methodological individualism, insisting that beliefs, frames, collective identities, and emotions have an effect only through individuals.
Jasper has collaborated on a number of projects with Jeff Goodwin
, a sociologist at New York University, including the edited books Rethinking Social Movements, The Contexts Reader, and the four-volume Social Movements. Goodwin, Jasper, and Francesca Polletta together edited Passionate Politics.
From 2005 to 2007 Jasper and Jeff Goodwin
edited Contexts
magazine, bringing trademark humor to the American Sociological Association
’s magazine intended to reach popular audiences. Jasper also used the pen name Harry Green to write a controversial column called “the Fool” at the back of each issue.[2]
In addition to Jeff Goodwin
, Dorothy Nelkin
, and Francesca Polletta, Jasper’s coauthors have included former students Scott Sanders, Jane Poulsen, Cynthia Gordon, and Mary Bernstein.
With political scientist Clifford Bob, Jasper began editing a book series, the Oxford Studies in Culture and Politics, in 2010.
The Animal Rights Crusade: The Growth of a Moral Protest. The Free Press. 1992. With Dorothy Nelkin.
The Art of Moral Protest: Culture, Biography, and Creativity in Social Movements. University of Chicago Press. 1997.
Restless Nation: Starting Over in America. University of Chicago Press. 2000.
Passionate Politics: Emotions and Social Movements. University of Chicago Press. 2001. With Jeff Goodwin and Francesca Polletta.
Getting Your Way: Strategic Dilemmas in Real Life. University of Chicago Press. 2006.
CUNY Graduate Center
The Graduate Center of the City University of New York brings together graduate education, advanced research, and public programming to midtown Manhattan hosting 4,600 students, 33 doctoral programs, 7 master's programs, and 30 research centers and institutes...
since 2007. He is best known for his research and theories about culture and politics, especially the cultural and emotional dimensions of protest movements.
Biography
Jasper was born on September 30, 1957, in Takoma Park, Maryland, adjacent to Washington, D.C. According to his website he cost $319. His parents, Jane Howard-Jasper (born Betty Jane Howard) and James Dudley Jasper, separated just before he was born, and he was raised exclusively by his mother. He has no siblings.Graduating in 1975 from Saint James School
St. James School, Maryland
Saint James School is an independent, secondary, boarding and day school. Founded in 1842 as the College of Saint James, The school is a coeducational college preparatory school.-Mission statement:...
, where he was elected Senior Prefect, Jasper attended Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
. He received a B.A. magna cum laude in economics in 1979. He was awarded an M.A. and then a Ph.D. in sociology in 1988 at the University of California at Berkeley.
Jasper taught at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
from January 1987 to the summer of 1996, leaving after a protracted tenure battle that attracted angry letters from sociologists around the United States.[1] In the following ten years he taught as a visiting professor Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, and the New School for Social Research. Since the fall of 2007 he has been affiliated with the Sociology Ph.D. program of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where he founded the Politics and Protest Workshop.
Scholarship
Jasper has been writing about politics and culture since the mid-1980s. His books include Nuclear Politics, about energy policy in France, Sweden, and the United States; The Animal Rights Crusade, an examination of the moral dimensions of protest coauthored with Dorothy NelkinDorothy Nelkin
Dorothy Wolfers Nelkin was an American sociologist of science most noted for her work researching and chronicling the unsettled relationship between science and society at large. Her work often drew attention to the ramifications of unchecked scientific advances and the unwariness of the public...
; The Art of Moral Protest, which developed cultural understandings of social movements and reintroduced emotions as an analytic dimension; Restless Nation, which looks at the negative and positive effects of Americans’ propensity to move so often; and Getting Your Way, which offers a sociological language for talking about strategic action that avoids the determinism of game theory.
In recent years Jasper has turned from empirical studies of politics and protest to theoretical work on culture and politics. His most influential contribution has been to show that emotions are a part of culture, allowing humans to adapt to the world around them, to process information, and to engage with others. He differs from many culturally oriented scholars in embracing a kind of methodological individualism, insisting that beliefs, frames, collective identities, and emotions have an effect only through individuals.
Jasper has collaborated on a number of projects with Jeff Goodwin
Jeff Goodwin
Jeff Goodwin is a professor of sociology at New York University. He holds a BA, MA and PhD from Harvard University.His research interests include visual sociology, social movements, revolutions, political violence, and terrorism...
, a sociologist at New York University, including the edited books Rethinking Social Movements, The Contexts Reader, and the four-volume Social Movements. Goodwin, Jasper, and Francesca Polletta together edited Passionate Politics.
From 2005 to 2007 Jasper and Jeff Goodwin
Jeff Goodwin
Jeff Goodwin is a professor of sociology at New York University. He holds a BA, MA and PhD from Harvard University.His research interests include visual sociology, social movements, revolutions, political violence, and terrorism...
edited Contexts
Contexts
Contexts, subtitled Understanding People in their Social Worlds, is an official publication of the American Sociological Association. The magazine is designed to be a more accessible source of sociological ideas and research, and it has been deeply inspired by the movement within the discipline of...
magazine, bringing trademark humor to the American Sociological Association
American Sociological Association
The American Sociological Association , founded in 1905 as the American Sociological Society , is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology by serving sociologists in their work and promoting their contributions to serve society.The ASA holds its...
’s magazine intended to reach popular audiences. Jasper also used the pen name Harry Green to write a controversial column called “the Fool” at the back of each issue.[2]
In addition to Jeff Goodwin
Jeff Goodwin
Jeff Goodwin is a professor of sociology at New York University. He holds a BA, MA and PhD from Harvard University.His research interests include visual sociology, social movements, revolutions, political violence, and terrorism...
, Dorothy Nelkin
Dorothy Nelkin
Dorothy Wolfers Nelkin was an American sociologist of science most noted for her work researching and chronicling the unsettled relationship between science and society at large. Her work often drew attention to the ramifications of unchecked scientific advances and the unwariness of the public...
, and Francesca Polletta, Jasper’s coauthors have included former students Scott Sanders, Jane Poulsen, Cynthia Gordon, and Mary Bernstein.
With political scientist Clifford Bob, Jasper began editing a book series, the Oxford Studies in Culture and Politics, in 2010.
Selected Books
Nuclear Politics: Energy and the State in the United States, Sweden, and France. Princeton University Press. 1990.The Animal Rights Crusade: The Growth of a Moral Protest. The Free Press. 1992. With Dorothy Nelkin.
The Art of Moral Protest: Culture, Biography, and Creativity in Social Movements. University of Chicago Press. 1997.
Restless Nation: Starting Over in America. University of Chicago Press. 2000.
Passionate Politics: Emotions and Social Movements. University of Chicago Press. 2001. With Jeff Goodwin and Francesca Polletta.
Getting Your Way: Strategic Dilemmas in Real Life. University of Chicago Press. 2006.
Selected Articles
- “Social Movement Theory Today: Toward a Theory of Action?” Sociology Compass, 2010.
- “The Rhetoric of Sociological Facts.” Sociological Forum 22(3). 2007. Pages 270-299. With Michael P. Young.
- “A Strategic Approach to Collective Action: Looking for Agency in Social Movement Choices.” Mobilization 9(1). 2004. Pages 1–16.
- “L’Art de la Protestation Collective.” Raisons Pratiques 12. Special issue under the direction of Daniel Cefäi and Danny Trom, Les Formes de l’Action Collective: Mobilisations dans des Arènes Publiques (Paris: Editions de l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales). 2001. Pages 135-159.
- “Collective Identity and Social Movements.” Annual Review of Sociology 27. 2001. Pages 283-305. With Francesca Polletta.
- “The Return of the Repressed: The Fall and Rise of Emotions in Social Movement Theory.” Mobilization 5(1). 2000. Pages 65–84. With Jeff GoodwinJeff GoodwinJeff Goodwin is a professor of sociology at New York University. He holds a BA, MA and PhD from Harvard University.His research interests include visual sociology, social movements, revolutions, political violence, and terrorism...
and Francesca Polletta. - “Nostalgie: Verdammung der Gegenwart, Kontrolle der Zukunft.” Lettre International 47. 1999. Pages 74–81.
- “Caught in a Winding, Snarling Vine: the Structural Bias of Political Process Theory.” Sociological Forum 14(1). 1999. Pages 27–54. With Jeff GoodwinJeff GoodwinJeff Goodwin is a professor of sociology at New York University. He holds a BA, MA and PhD from Harvard University.His research interests include visual sociology, social movements, revolutions, political violence, and terrorism...
. - “The Emotions of Protest: Affective and Reactive Emotions in and around Social Movements.” Sociological Forum 13(3). 1998. Pages 397-424.
- “Interests and Credibility: Whistleblowers in Technological Conflicts.” Social Science Information 35(3). 1996. Pages 565-589. With Mary Bernstein. French translation: “Les Tireurs d’Alarme dans les Conflits sur les Risques Technologiques.” Politix 44 (1998). Pages 109-134.
- “Overcoming the ‘NIMBY’ Label: Rhetorical and Organizational Links for Local Protestors.” Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change 19. 1996. Pages 153-175. With Cynthia Gordon.
- “Recruiting Strangers and Friends: Moral Shocks and Social Networks in Animal Rights and Antinuclear Protest.” Social Problems 42(4). 1995. Pages 401-420. With Jane D. Poulsen.
- “Big Institutions in Local Politics: American Universities, the Public, and Animal Protection Efforts.” Social Science Information 34(3). 1995. Pages 491-509. With Scott Sanders.
- “Civil Politics in the Animal Rights Conflict: God Terms versus Casuistry in Cambridge, Massachusetts.” Science, Technology, and Human Values 19(2). 1994. Pages 169-188. With Scott Sanders.
- “Fighting Back: Vulnerabilities, Blunders, and Countermobilization by the Targets of Three Animal Rights Campaigns.” Sociological Forum 8(4). 1993. Pages 639-657.
- “The Politics of Abstractions: Instrumental and Moralist Rhetorics in Public Debate.” Social Research 59(2). 1992. Pages 315-344.
- “Gods, Titans, and Mortals: Patterns of State Involvement in Nuclear Development.” Energy Policy 20(7). 1992. Pages 653-659.
- “The Political Life Cycle of Technological Controversies.” Social Forces 67(2). 1988. Pages 357-377.