Justin Van Ness
University of Notre Dame, Sociology, Graduate Student
- Sociology, Religion, Culture, Political Sociology, Social Movements, Social Theory, and 19 moreSociology of Religion, Sociological Theory, Ethnography, New Media, Social Change, Historical and Comparative Sociology, Cultural Evolution, Collective Behavior, Evolutionary sociology, Qualitative Methods, Protest, Social Neuroscience, Symbolic Interaction, Interaction, Psychology, Space and Place, Sociology of the Body, Cultural Sociology, and Sociology of Emotionsedit
In this chapter, we review the study of emotions in social movements. We begin by situating the absence of emotions in Social Movement studies in relation to Sociology as a field more broadly. Then we review how scholars have theorized... more
In this chapter, we review the study of emotions in social movements. We begin by situating the absence of emotions in Social Movement studies in relation to Sociology as a field more broadly. Then we review how scholars have theorized emotions in relation to social movement mobilization, commitment, and demobilization. Following this, we draw from studies within the field of Social Movements and the field of Sociology of Emotions to provide some useful ways to distinguish emotions analytically. Next, we draw from Cognitive Social Science, particularly literature on grounded cognition, to emphasize the need for situated analyses of emotion. Finally, we close with a few fruitful paths forward in the study of emotion in Social Movements.
Research Interests:
A perennial concern in frame analysis is explaining how frames structure perception and persuade audiences. In this paper, we suggest that the distinction between personal culture and public culture offers a productive way forward. We... more
A perennial concern in frame analysis is explaining how frames structure perception and persuade audiences. In this paper, we suggest that the distinction between personal culture and public culture offers a productive way forward. We propose an approach centered on an analytic contrast between schemas, which we define as a form of personal culture, and frames, which we define as a form of public culture. We develop an “evocation model” of the structure and function of frames. In the model, frames are conceived as material assemblages that activate a network of schemas, thereby evoking a response when people are exposed to them. We discuss how the proposed model extends, and clarifies, extant approaches, and consider new directions for future research.
Research Interests: Collective Behavior, Social Change, Social Movements, Social Theory, Cognitive Psychology, and 18 moreCognitive Science, Social Psychology, Emotion, Cultural Sociology, Cognition, Embodied Cognition, Social Interaction, Culture, Social Neuroscience, Sociological Theory, Culture and Cognition, Cognitive Social Science, Framing, Social interactions, Image Schemas, Schemas, Framing Theory, and Lakoff and Johnson
In this paper we introduce the idea of the dual process framework (DPF), an interdisciplinary approach to the study of learning, memory, thinking, and action. Departing from the successful reception of Vaisey (2009), we suggest that... more
In this paper we introduce the idea of the dual process framework (DPF), an interdisciplinary approach to the study of learning, memory, thinking, and action. Departing from the successful reception of Vaisey (2009), we suggest that intradisciplinary debates in sociology regarding the merits of " dual process " formulations can benefit from a better understanding of the theoretical foundations of these models in cognitive and social psychology. We argue that the key is to distinguish the general DPF from more specific applications to particular domains, which we refer to as dual process models (DPMs). We show how different DPMs can be applied to a variety of analytically distinct issues of interest to cultural sociologists beyond specific issues related to morality, such as culture in learning, culture in memory, culture in thinking, and culture in acting processes. We close by outlining the implications of our argument for relevant work in cultural sociology.
Research Interests:
Recent research from cognitive social science reveals that early collective behavior theorists had more right than we tend to credit. This may come as a surprise given the rejection of early theories by the emergence of the social... more
Recent research from cognitive social science reveals that early collective behavior theorists had more right than we tend to credit. This may come as a surprise given the rejection of early theories by the emergence of the social movements field and the coinciding rationalist turn. To break free of old ways of thinking, we use cognitive social science to revisit collective behavior theories with a renewed understanding of cognition and emotion. In so doing, we suggest the future of collective behavior is one which utilizes cognitive social science as the foundation from which theories can be rebuilt. We develop this chapter in four parts. First, we review the major approaches to categorizing collective behavior. Following, we trace the history of the major theoretical contributions and perspectives. We then revisit the prematurely dismissed theories in light of recent advances in cognitive social science with an emphasis on emotions, cognition, and action. Finally, we end the chapter with fruitful paths for the future of collective behavior by emphasizing a methodological approach and substantive areas which afford great potential for innovative theorizing.
Research Interests:
The discovery of mirror neurons opens new doors for ethnography. By attending to these advancements in cognitive science, ethnographers are provided firmer ground for investigating perceptual and emotional dynamics that are outside the... more
The discovery of mirror neurons opens new doors for ethnography. By attending to these advancements in cognitive science, ethnographers are provided firmer ground for investigating perceptual and emotional dynamics that are outside the realm of conscious deliberative processes. In this article, we explore these extra-deliberative processes in order to posit a new way to collect, analyze, and present findings. By examining how extra-deliberative dynamics shape action in systematic ways, we endeavor to bring together two aspects of sociological practice that have been assumed to be incompatible: (1) analytic efforts to build general theory and (2) a focus on emotions and other extra-deliberative dynamics. We conclude by suggesting that insights garnered through the analysis of extra-deliberative processes are optimally communicated using emotionally evocative writing.
Research Interests:
Eisenstadt's most well-known contributions come primarily from his research on " multiple modernities. " Less appreciated has been his evolutionary theory of cultural change. In this article, we revisit Eisenstadt's evolutionary theory in... more
Eisenstadt's most well-known contributions come primarily from his research on " multiple modernities. " Less appreciated has been his evolutionary theory of cultural change. In this article, we revisit Eisenstadt's evolutionary theory in order to make explicit his potential contributions to the neo-evolutionary tradition and demonstrate where his contribution can be further appreciated. In short, Eisenstadt's theory supplements macro-level materialist and micro-level bio-psychological theories by (1) offering a group-level theory that takes agency and historicity seriously by calling attention to the role of institutional entrepreneurs and their projects for cultural change; (2) formulating a multi-linear, multi-directional theory of evolution that avoids determinist traps; (3) highlighting non-materialist crises such as the widespread breakdown in trust, the discontents of centralized and consolidated power, and the collapse of a shared sense of meaning; and (4) accounting for the possible conditions of success or failure. Historical examples are used to illustrate Eisenstadt's model.
Research Interests:
Inspired by Weber's charismatic carrier groups, Eisenstadt coined the term institutional entrepreneur to capture the rare but epochal collective capable of reorienting a group's value-orientations and transferring charisma, while making... more
Inspired by Weber's charismatic carrier groups, Eisenstadt coined the term institutional entrepreneur to capture the rare but epochal collective capable of reorienting a group's value-orientations and transferring charisma, while making them an evolutionary force of structural and cultural change. As a corrective to Parsons' abstract, 'top-down' theory of change, Eisenstadt's theory provided historical context and agency to moments in which societies experienced qualitative transformation. The concept has become central to new institutionalism, neo-functionalism, and evolutionary-institutionalism. Drawing from the former two, a more robust theory of institutional entrepreneurship from an evolutionary-institutionalist's perspective is posited. In essence, entrepreneurs formulate institutional projects with dual logic: a collective side focused on innovation where efforts are directed towards organizational symbolic mechanisms of integration and a self-interested side directed towards resource independence, monopolization, mobility, and power-dependence. While outcomes vary based on numerous environmental factors, success leads to (1) greater structural/symbolic independence and (2) ability to reconfigure physical-temporal-social-symbolic space.
Research Interests:
Recent research from cognitive social science reveals that early collective behavior theorists had more right than we tend to credit. This may come as a surprise given the rejection of early theories by the emergence of the social... more
Recent research from cognitive social science reveals that early collective behavior theorists had more right than we tend to credit. This may come as a surprise given the rejection of early theories by the emergence of the social movements field and the coinciding rationalist turn. To break free of old ways of thinking, we use cognitive social science to revisit collective behavior theories with a renewed understanding of cognition and emotion. In so doing, we suggest the future of collective behavior is one which utilizes cognitive social science as the foundation from which theories can be rebuilt. We develop this chapter in four parts. First, we review the major approaches to categorizing collective behavior. Following, we trace the history of the major theoretical contributions and perspectives. We then revisit the prematurely dismissed theories in light of recent advances in cognitive social science with an emphasis on emotions, cognition, and action. Finally, we end the chapter with fruitful paths for the future of collective behavior by emphasizing a methodological approach and substantive areas which afford great potential for innovative theorizing.
Research Interests:
We draw from Collins’s IR theory, with particular attention to power, social rigidity, and temporal orientation, to develop ideal types of involvement. In so doing, we provide a heuristic to guide empirical and theoretical research. We... more
We draw from Collins’s IR theory, with particular attention to power, social rigidity, and temporal orientation, to develop ideal types of involvement. In so doing, we provide a heuristic to guide empirical and theoretical research. We provide three dimensions which can be combined to explain different types of action. (1) Loss of status or power generates negative emotions; gains in power and status generate positive emotions. (2) An increase in formality and decrease in personal control indicate an increase in social rigidity; alternately, a decrease in formality and increase in personal control indicate a decrease in social rigidity. (3) A focus on the past or future activates habitual perceptions and actions, and a focus on the present activates affective resonance through mirror neurons. We also detail how each of these dimensions can manifest either actively or passively; a distinction that is crucially important for moving from one combination of these dimensions to another. Through our description of the three dimensions of social involvement and a review of passive and active manifestations, we extend and specify IR theory by detailing ideal-typical forms of involvement, and how and when involvement flows between the ideal types.
Research Interests:
The discovery of mirror neurons opens new doors for ethnography. By attending to these advancements in cognitive science, ethnographers are provided firmer ground for investigating perceptual and emotional dynamics that are outside the... more
The discovery of mirror neurons opens new doors for ethnography. By
attending to these advancements in cognitive science, ethnographers are provided firmer ground for investigating perceptual and emotional dynamics that are outside the realm of conscious deliberative processes. In this article, we explore these extra-deliberative processes in order to posit a new way to collect, analyze, and present findings. By examining how extra-deliberative dynamics shape action in systematic ways, we endeavor to bring together two aspects of sociological practice that have been assumed to be incompatible: (1) analytic efforts to build general theory and (2) a focus on emotions and other extra-deliberative dynamics. We conclude by suggesting that insights garnered through the analysis of extra-deliberative processes are optimally communicated using emotionally evocative writing.
attending to these advancements in cognitive science, ethnographers are provided firmer ground for investigating perceptual and emotional dynamics that are outside the realm of conscious deliberative processes. In this article, we explore these extra-deliberative processes in order to posit a new way to collect, analyze, and present findings. By examining how extra-deliberative dynamics shape action in systematic ways, we endeavor to bring together two aspects of sociological practice that have been assumed to be incompatible: (1) analytic efforts to build general theory and (2) a focus on emotions and other extra-deliberative dynamics. We conclude by suggesting that insights garnered through the analysis of extra-deliberative processes are optimally communicated using emotionally evocative writing.