Leslie Bunnage | Seton Hall University (original) (raw)

Papers by Leslie Bunnage

Social Media + Society, 2017

Information, Communication & Society, 2015

Although there is a growing consensus that Internet communication technology (ICT) affects collec... more Although there is a growing consensus that Internet communication technology (ICT) affects collective action in the twenty-first century, we know very little about what keeps individuals involved in ICT-based organizations over time. Our paper addresses this lacuna by examining whether individuals stay involved in two organizations that use ICT to structure interaction differently over a two-year period. We draw on interview and participant observation data with 38 supporters of MoveOn.org, which structures interaction hierarchically, and the Florida Tea Party Movement, which structures interaction horizontally, to assess how individuals think about each organization's use of ICT and how this shapes individual efficacy and voice – two factors that we find critical to keeping individuals engaged in organizations over time. We show that how a group uses ICT to structure interaction affects the kinds of efficacy and voice individuals are likely to experience. Organizations that use ICT to hierarchically structure interactions are effective at mobilizing people or money quickly and at achieving short-term goals, but very ineffective at creating a community of activists on the ground. The opposite is true of groups that use ICT horizontally. They are effective at creating a political community, but the conflicts that arise among supporters narrow group membership, hinder mobilization, and undercut organizational political clout over time. We conclude with a discussion of our results for understanding ICT and activism in the digital age.

Women's Studies International Forum, 2014

a r t i c l e i n f o s y n o p s i s Available online xxxx This article engages the subject of l... more a r t i c l e i n f o s y n o p s i s Available online xxxx This article engages the subject of labor movement 'revitalization' in the United States (U.S.), and considers the integrated challenge of building the representation and leadership base of females of color in labor organizations. The project methodology draws on participant data gathered from the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) Union Summer programa national campaign that brought mostly college student interns to work on campaigns throughout the U.S. beginning in 1996. The author finds that the AFL-CIO was unable to maintain longer-term commitment or 'buy-in' from most activists of color as subsequent labor movement actors. Furthermore, working class females generally, and working class females of color particularly, were very under-represented among those retained as emergent activists. The study highlights the need for strenuous consideration of the racial and gender dynamics entrenched in labor movement culture.

Sociology Compass, 2014

This article offers a broad review of the scholarship of the 'retention' of social movement activ... more This article offers a broad review of the scholarship of the 'retention' of social movement activists, examining it from the individual, social relational, and organizational levels of analysis. The following contribute to the likelihood that a participant sustains their engagement: accommodation of individual needs and motivations, a social network to reinforce attachment to activism, and a successful organization that promotes its members' empowerment. The conclusion considers the insights gained from the scholarship so that organizations might increase activist persistence and notes gaps that merit further study, particularly regarding the emerging effects of 'internet communication technology' (ICT).

Studies in Public Choice, 2014

Contemporary Sociology-a Journal of Reviews, 2010

Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews, 2010

The University against Itself: The NYU Strike and the Future of the Academic Workplace. Edited by... more The University against Itself: The NYU Strike and the Future of the Academic Workplace. Edited by Monika Krause, Mary Nolan, Michael Palm, and Andrew Ross. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008. 280 pp. ISBN 1-59- ... The authors of this collection all supported the seven-...

Mobilization: An International Quarterly

We argue that social scientists need to adopt a more nuanced understanding of the relationship be... more We argue that social scientists need to adopt a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between Internet Communication Technologies (ICTs) and collective identity. Here, we identify four factors that interact and make collective identity “thick” or “thin”— an organization's structure of communication, the breadth of its mobilization efforts, its goals (which may or may not include collective identity), and supporters' interest in cultivating a political community. Drawing on interviews with and participant observation data on supporters in MoveOn.org and the Florida Tea Party Movement (FTPM), we find that MoveOn, which focuses on curating donors, cultivates a thin collective identity and the FTPM, which initially focused on mobilizing citizens across political lines, nurtures a thick collective identity. In our analysis, we illustrate how the four factors interact and outline the consequences of collective identity over time. We conclude the paper with a call for addi...

Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, Dec 1, 2012

This paper describes the difficulties and rewards found by a cohort of undergraduate researchers ... more This paper describes the difficulties and rewards found by a cohort of undergraduate researchers as they engaged local Tea Party chapters. While gathering data as part of a research methods course, students found themselves in complicated territory, confronted by research subjects who were wary of higher education, and thus the students' motives and demographics. Our engagement with the Tea Party highlighted a number of challenging issues related to researcher perspectives and roles, and the relationship between higher education and community. Ultimately students benefitted by being placed in a situation in which they had to justify their presence and engage members.

Arguably, the Tea Party movement played a role in Trump’s rise to power. Indeed, it is difficult ... more Arguably, the Tea Party movement played a role in Trump’s rise to power. Indeed, it is difficult to ignore the similarities in the populist claims made by Tea Partiers and those made by Trump throughout his campaign. Yet, we know very little about the potential connections between the Tea Party Movement and the “Trump-train” that crashed through the White House doors in 2017. We take a first step at tracing the connection between the two by examining who stayed involved in the Tea Party Movement at the local level and why. Drawing on interview and participant observation data with supporters of the Florida Tea Party Movement (FTPM) over a 2-year time period, we use qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to assess the factors that determine whether individuals stay with or leave the movement and how the structure of the movement, which relied heavily on social media, contributed to this decision. We find that individuals who identified as libertarian left the FTPM, while those who identified as “fiscal conservatives” stayed. The FTPM’s reliance on social media further explains these results. Individuals who left the movement blamed the “openness” of social media, which, in their view, enabled the Republican Party to “hijack” the FTPM for its own purposes. Individuals who stayed in the movement attributed social media’s “openness” with the movement’s successes. We find that social media helped politically like-minded people locate one another and cultivate political communities that likely sustained activist commitment to changing the Republican Party over time.