An Ethnography of Gun Violence Prevention Activists: We are Thinking People

(Hardback)

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This work builds on established literature that is centered on how the activists see themselves, their groups, and the national movement promoting gun violence prevention. This study focuses on two contemporary social organizations that are working on the state level, who view themselves as gun violence prevention advocates. Both of these groups are similar in their state focus of advocacy of gun violence prevention in a northeastern state in the United States. However, the two groups have two distinct memberships, missions, and hierarchies to carry out the activism. Although each organization shares similar visions of long term goals of a reduction of gun violence, each prioritizes the path to get there differently. Additionally, there are some explicit and implicit tensions between the movements that the activists both verbalize and act out at rallies and public events. The focus on the conflict between activists within the larger movement of gun violence prevention activists is important, but do not necessarily thwart all progress for the cause. Rather, tension between the groups creates a reassessment of individual group goals and strategies that may be the most essential to advance the cause.

Reviews

This book is rich in empirical content, derived from original in-depth research, and is framed by a clear understanding of its own research project and how this shapes the empirical content under review. The arguments of the book are clearly expressed and sensitively handled; neither overblown nor understated. There is a good balance between the in-depth research and the consequences that are drawn from the ethnographic work. It is a book replete with detailed insights into gun violence prevention activists, how identities are formed, navigated and contested within such movements and what this tells us about the culture of social movements in general, from the inside so to speak. -- Iain MacKenzie, University of Kent

Author Bio

Teal Rothschild is professor of sociology at Roger Williams University.