Progressive Community Organizing : A Critical Approach for a Globalizing World

by Pyles; Loretta

• ISBN13: 9780415957809
• ISBN10: 041595780X
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2009-01-13
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Progressive Community Organizing offers an innovative perspective on the central issues facing progressive community organizers who seek to mobilize with those negatively impacted by local, national, and global economic and social policies and practices. The book suggests a broad interpretation of "community" that includes geographic, transnational and identity perspectives. This interdisciplinary text explores the underpinnings of community organizing and social movement work, grappling with enduring and emergent issues, including self-awareness, issue framing, identity politics, and global justice. Written in an engaging and challenging style, this textbook is ideally suited for use in both undergraduate and graduate courses that explore the theory and practice of community organizing and advocacy in today's global society.

Author Biography

Loretta Pyles, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Social Welfare at the University at Albany, State University of New York and Director of the Community and Public Service Program. She has a background in advocacy, organizing, and community-based research, including extensive work on economic justice, violence against women, and post-disaster community development. Pyles was previously a faculty member at Tulane University in New Orleans where she was involved in post-Katrina community revitalization efforts.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
Foundations of Community Organizing
Introduction	p. 3
Privatization, Globalization, and Resistance	p. 5
Defining Community Organizing	p. 6
What Is Community?	p. 6
What Is Organizing?	p. 7
Organizing Versus Other Interventions	p. 7
A Critical Approach to Organizing	p. 9
The Journey of Progressive Organizing	p. 10
Empowerment and Social Change	p. 11
Questions for Reflection	p. 14
Suggestions for Further Inquiry	p. 15
Books	p. 15
Web	p. 15
Key Terms	p. 15
The Self-Aware Organizer	p. 17
The Call of Organizing	p. 17
Connecting the Personal and Political	p. 19
The Perils of Organizing	p. 19
Anger	p. 20
Fear	p. 20
Despair	p. 21
Burnout	p. 22
Co-optation	p. 22
An Organizer's Path to Meaning and Success	p. 22
Persistence	p. 23
Clarity	p. 23
Joy	p. 23
Questions for Reflection	p. 24
Suggestions for Further Inquiry	p. 24
Books	p. 24
Web	p. 24
Key Terms	p. 25
Theories and Ideas for the Progressive Organizer	p. 27
The Marxist Tradition	p. 28
Critical Theory	p. 29
Analysis of the Marxist Tradition	p. 30
Feminist Perspectives	p. 30
Analysis of Feminist Perspectives	p. 32
Civil Society Perspectives	p. 33
Participatory Democracy	p. 34
Analysis of Civil Society Perspectives	p. 35
Anarchist Thought	p. 35
Analysis of Anarchist Thought	p. 37
Postmodern Perspectives	p. 37
Social Constructionism	p. 38
Analysis of Postmodern Perspectives	p. 40
Developing a Critical Approach	p. 40
Questions for Reflection	p. 41
Suggestions for Further Inquiry	p. 41
Books	p. 41
Web	p. 41
Key Terms	p. 42
Learning from Social Movements	p. 43
Understanding Social Movements	p. 44
Dimensions of Social Movements	p. 45
Emergence and Effectiveness of Social Movements	p. 46
A Brief History of Social Movements	p. 48
Women's Movements	p. 49
Labor Movements	p. 51
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Movements	p. 53
Disability Rights Movements	p. 54
Reflections on Social Movements	p. 57
Questions for Reflection	p. 58
Suggestions for Further Inquiry	p. 58
Books	p. 58
Web	p. 58
Key Terms	p. 58
Critical Organizing Frameworks	p. 59
Approaches to Community Organizing	p. 59
Rothman's Modes	p. 59
Mondros and Wilson's Models	p. 60
Fisher's Neighborhood Organizing Approaches	p. 60
Progressive Organizing Frameworks: A Spectrum	p. 61
The Alinsky Tradition	p. 63
The Alinsky Legacy	p. 65
Transformative Approaches	p. 66
Myles Horton and the Highlander Center	p. 66
The Educational Methods of Paulo Freire	p. 67
Feminist Contributions	p. 70
Reckoning with the Past	p. 71
Reflections on Progressive Organizing Frameworks	p. 73
The Right to Return Campaign, Part I: History and Background	p. 74
Public Housing in New Orleans	p. 74
Post-Katrina New Orleans	p. 76
Questions for Reflection	p. 76
Suggestions for Further Inquiry	p. 77
Books	p. 77
Web	p. 77
Key Terms	p. 77
Tools for Community Organizing
Organizing People: Constituencies and Coalitions	p. 81
Key Elements of Organizing Constituencies and Coalitions	p. 81
Empowerment	p. 81
Accountability	p. 82
Relationship	p. 83
Social Change	p. 84
Organizing Individual Constituents	p. 85
The Relational Meeting	p. 86
Organizing in Social Service Organizations	p. 87
Coalition Building	p. 89
Overcoming Barriers to Coalition Work	p. 91
Substantive and Philosophical Differences	p. 91
Organizational and Tactical Differences	p. 92
Cultural Differences	p. 93
The Right to Return Campaign, Part II: Coalition Building	p. 94
Strength in Numbers	p. 94
Martin Luther King Day, 2006	p. 95
Questions for Reflection	p. 96
Suggestions for Further Inquiry	p. 96
Books	p. 96
Web	p. 96
Key Terms	p. 96
Toward Empowering Organizations	p. 97
Organizing in the Nonprofit World	p. 98
Organizational Capacity Building	p. 99
Multilingual Capacity Building	p. 99
Fund-Raising	p. 100
Leadership and Decision Making	p. 102
Consensus Decision Making	p. 104
Evaluating Community Organizing	p. 106
Participatory Action Research	p. 108
The Right to Return Campaign, Part III: A Two-Year Timeline of Events	p. 109
Questions for Reflection	p. 111
Suggestions for Further Inquiry	p. 112
Books	p. 112
Web	p. 112
Key Terms	p. 112
Language Matters: Issue Framing and Communication	p. 113
Social Constructionism, Language, and Framing	p. 114
Issue Identification and Assessment	p. 116
Community Development Assessment Techniques	p. 118
Communicating Messages	p. 119
Spotlight on the Art of the March	p. 122
Questions for Reflection	p. 123
Suggestions for Further Inquiry	p. 123
Books	p. 123
Web	p. 124
Key Terms	p. 124
Tactics for Change	p. 125
Thinking about Tactical Diversity	p. 126
Policy Advocacy	p. 127
Legal and Regulatory Suits	p. 128
Asset-Based Community Development	p. 129
Direct Action	p. 130
Negotiation	p. 131
Alternative Community and Cultural Development	p. 132
Reflecting on Organizing Tactics	p. 133
The Right to Return Campaign, Part IV: Tactical Diversity	p. 134
C3/Hands Off Iberville	p. 134
The Inner Workings of Direct Action	p. 135
Survivors' Village	p. 135
Legal System Tactics	p. 136
Policy Advocacy	p. 136
Questions for Reflection	p. 137
Suggestions for Further Inquiry	p. 137
Books	p. 137
Web	p. 137
Key Terms	p. 137
Enduring and Emergent Issues in Organizing
Toward Solidarity: Understanding Oppression and Working with Identity Politics	p. 141
Thinking about Oppression and Liberation	p. 142
Understanding the Divisions	p. 143
A Path to Solidarity	p. 144
Campus Organizing	p. 145
Reproductive Justice	p. 147
Lessons Learned	p. 148
Spotlight on Youth Organizing	p. 149
Questions for Reflection	p. 151
Suggestions for Further Inquiry	p. 151
Books	p. 151
Web	p. 151
Key Terms	p. 151
Religious and Spritual Aspects of Organizing	p. 153
Faith-Based Organizing	p. 154
Gandhian Nonviolent Approaches to Social Change	p. 156
Deep Ecology and Environmental Activism	p. 157
Jewish Theological Approaches	p. 158
The Engaged Buddhist Movement (EBM)	p. 158
Catholic Social Justice Perspectives	p. 160
Toward Interspiritual Solidarity	p. 160
Spotlight on Organizing with Older Adults	p. 161
Questions for Reflection	p. 162
Suggestions for Further Inquiry	p. 162
Books	p. 162
Web	p. 163
Key Terms	p. 163
Global Justice: Organization and Resistance	p. 165
The Effects of Economic Globalization on Communities	p. 165
Contemporary Global Justice Organizing	p. 167
Land-Based and Localization Movements	p. 168
Transnational Labor Organizing	p. 169
Reflecting on Global Justice Organizing	p. 171
Progressive Organizing in a Post-Katrina World	p. 171
Questions for Reflection	p. 172
Suggestions for Further Inquiry	p. 172
Books	p. 172
Web	p. 172
Key Terms	p. 172
References	p. 175
Index	p. 185
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