| Social movements are changing. Rather than focusing on building a base of support in large, centrally organized movement structures, many contemporary movements are comprised of loosely affiliated groups and individuals representing a diverse array of issues and perspectives. In fact, movement members may deliberately avoid establishing a unified theoretical position, and attempt to initiate social change by changing consciousness more than by means of the state. In a number of respects, these movements have Postmodern characteristics that distinguish them from prominent social movements of the past. The methods for studying them are changing, as well, from a structural emphasis on movement organizations and leaders to a discursive analysis of movement frames and identities.; This dissertation is an analysis of ecofeminism---a postmodern social movement that has emerged from various sectors of the environmental, feminist, and peace movements. Drawing upon personal interviews and the movement's literature, it examines the framework of ideas that defines ecofeminist identity, as well as the varieties of activism in which ecofeminists engage. The discursive method for the study is derived from the frame analytic approach of Snow, the work on consensus mobilization of and Melucci's work on collective identity. |
