Jeff Goodwin
Encyclopedia
Jeff Goodwin is a professor
of sociology
at New York University
. He holds a BA, MA (Sociology) and PhD (Sociology) from Harvard University
.
His research interests include visual sociology
, social movements, revolutions, political violence
, and terrorism
. He is a past chair of the Comparative and Historical Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association
(ASA).
The underlying argument of his most known book, No Other Way Out: States and Revolutionary Movements, 1945-1991, is that revolutionary movements are not only a response to economic inequality
or exploitation
, but are also a response to political repression
and violence.
Goodwin has written and edited a number of works with his friend and former NYU colleague James M. Jasper
. They wrote a famous critique of the political-opportunity theory developed by Charles Tilly
and Doug McAdam
, republished in Rethinking Social Movements, which Goodwin and Jasper edited. They also edited The Contexts Reader (New York: W. W. Norton), Social Movements (Routledge), The Social Movements Reader (Wiley-Blackwell), and (with Francesca Polletta) Passionate Politics (University of Chicago Press), a leading work in the sociology of emotions
.
In October 2011, Goodwin was one of 132 New York University (NYU) faculty and staff members who signed a statement calling for disinvestment in several American companies that do business in Israel. In response to sharp criticism from Congressman Gary Ackerman
, Goodwin accused Ackerman of "moral blindness" and stated that "Ackerman's apparent denial that Israel is occupying Palestinian territories and systematically violating basic Palestinian rights is simply shocking."
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
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...
. He holds a BA, MA (Sociology) and PhD (Sociology) from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
His research interests include visual sociology
Visual sociology
Visual sociology is an area of sociology concerned with the visual dimensions of social life. This subdiscipline is nurtured by the , which holds annual conferences and publishes the journal, ....
, social movements, revolutions, political violence
Political violence
Political violence is a common means used by people and governments around the world to achieve political goals. Many groups and individuals believe that their political systems will never respond to their political demands. As a result they believe that violence is not only justified but also...
, and terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
. He is a past chair of the Comparative and Historical Sociology Section of 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...
(ASA).
The underlying argument of his most known book, No Other Way Out: States and Revolutionary Movements, 1945-1991, is that revolutionary movements are not only a response to economic inequality
Economic inequality
Economic inequality comprises all disparities in the distribution of economic assets and income. The term typically refers to inequality among individuals and groups within a society, but can also refer to inequality among countries. The issue of economic inequality is related to the ideas of...
or exploitation
Exploitation
This article discusses the term exploitation in the meaning of using something in an unjust or cruel manner.- As unjust benefit :In political economy, economics, and sociology, exploitation involves a persistent social relationship in which certain persons are being mistreated or unfairly used for...
, but are also a response to political repression
Political repression
Political repression is the persecution of an individual or group for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing their ability to take political life of society....
and violence.
Goodwin has written and edited a number of works with his friend and former NYU colleague James M. Jasper
James M. Jasper
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...
. They wrote a famous critique of the political-opportunity theory developed by Charles Tilly
Charles Tilly
Charles Tilly was an American sociologist, political scientist, and historian who wrote on the relationship between politics and society. He was the Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science at Columbia University....
and Doug McAdam
Doug McAdam
Doug McAdam is Professor of Sociology at Stanford University. He is the author or co-author of over a dozen books and over fifty articles, and is widely credited as one of the pioneers of the political process model in social movement analysis. He wrote one of the first books on the theory in 1982...
, republished in Rethinking Social Movements, which Goodwin and Jasper edited. They also edited The Contexts Reader (New York: W. W. Norton), Social Movements (Routledge), The Social Movements Reader (Wiley-Blackwell), and (with Francesca Polletta) Passionate Politics (University of Chicago Press), a leading work in the sociology of emotions
Sociology of emotions
The sociology of emotion applies sociological theorems and techniques to the study of human emotions. As sociology emerged primarily as a reaction to the negative affects of modernity, many normative theories deal in some sense with 'emotion' without forming a part of any specific subdiscipline:...
.
In October 2011, Goodwin was one of 132 New York University (NYU) faculty and staff members who signed a statement calling for disinvestment in several American companies that do business in Israel. In response to sharp criticism from Congressman Gary Ackerman
Gary Ackerman
Gary Leonard Ackerman is the U.S. Representative for , serving since a special election in 1983. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, Goodwin accused Ackerman of "moral blindness" and stated that "Ackerman's apparent denial that Israel is occupying Palestinian territories and systematically violating basic Palestinian rights is simply shocking."
Books
- No Other Way Out: States and Revolutionary Movements, 1945-1991. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001 ISBN 978-0521620697
- Passionate Politics: Emotions and Social Movements. Co-edited with James M. Jasper and Francesca Polletta. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001 ISBN 978-0226303994
- Rethinking Social Movements: Structure, Culture, and Emotion. Co-edited with James M. Jasper. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004. ISBN 978-0742525962
- The Social Movements Reader: Cases and Concepts. Co-edited with James M. Jasper. New York: Blackwell, 2003. ISBN 978-0631221968
Articles
- "'The Struggle Made Me a Non-Racialist': Why There Was So Little Terrorism in the Antiapartheid Struggle," Jeff Goodwin (2007), Mobilization, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 193–203.
- "How Not to Explain Terrorism," Jeff Goodwin (2006), (a review essay on Louise Richardson, What Terrorists Want [2006]), European Journal of Sociology, Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 477–82.
- "A Theory of Categorical Terrorism," Jeff Goodwin (2006), Social Forces, Vol. 84, No. 4, pp. 2027–46.
- "What Do We Really Know About (Suicide) Terrorism?," Jeff Goodwin (2006), Sociological Forum, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 315–30.
- "What Must We Explain to Explain Terrorism," Jeff Goodwin (2004), (a review essay on Jessica Stern, Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill [2004], Social Movement Studies, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 259–65.