Class-cultural social movement theory exhibited in "Harlan County, USA"

During our last class session, we started watching “Harlan County, USA” a documentary from the 1970s that provided an extensive account of the coal miners’ strike against the Duke Power Company in Harlan County, Kentucky. Seeking higher wages and safer working conditions, the miners went on strike after the company refused to negotiate a contract with the United Mine Workers of America. After watching this documentary and completing the assigned readings for class this week, it is worth noting that Rose's interpretation of class-cultural social movement theory can be easily applied to the Harlan County strike.

Rose states "members of the working class participate in work that is routine and repetitive over which they have very little control." This is especially true in the example of the Harlan County miners. Day in and day out, the men descended into the mines, inhaled the coal dust, mined the coal, and resurfaced from the mines at the end of the day. However, explosions and cave-ins, over which they had no control, occasionally disrupted this routine, usually wounding or killing many men. For those that escaped these tragic occurrences, many suffered from the symptoms of black lung disease for the rest of their lives. However, in one particular scene, Duke Power's spokesperson is heard denying that mine dust "necessarily" causes pulmonary disease.

According to Rose, "working-class people live in a system of enforced authority, and they tend to approach social change through organizing around immediate, perceived interests." Rose's analysis is exhibited in the miners strike; the workers are tired of being controlled by mining company bosses who show no concern for them whatsoever. Therefore, they decide to initiate a social change by organizing a strike based on their common interest (better working conditions and fair pay). The economic hardship facing the miners is exhibited through footage of families living in low-class housing that lacks indoor plumbing. In one interview, an older man recounted a conversation that he had with one of his superiors at the mine, wherein he was told to take all needed precautions in order to protect the work mules from falling debris inside the mine. The worker responded by inquiring, “but what about me?” His boss replied “I can always hire another man to take your place, but I would have to buy another mule.” Comments such as this help to illustrate the lack of regard for worker safety and well-being, and further motivate the workers to fight for a better working environment.

Rose goes on to say that "The form of working-class organizing is a direct outgrowth of the external regulation of the working class. Workers experience opposition to their wants and needs from the power of outside groups that control the system of rewards and punishments." This logic is easily applied to the Harlan County strike. The miners felt that Duke Power was denying them of basic human needs such as fair pay, a retirement plan, medical coverage, etc. When the company failed to address these issues, the workers united, forming a cohesive group to protest against the unfair opposition they were facing.

Environmental Institute Formed at JMU

Since the particular social movement that I tend to focus on the most is environmentalism, I thought I would share this recent bit of news from JMU’s public affairs department. Formation of the “Institute for Stewardship of the Natural World” provides yet another piece of evidence as to JMU’s role in the environmental movement. Environmentally concerned students and faculty persuade the university to enact more environmentally friendly measures, and in turn, once those measures have been implemented, the overall student-faculty body begins to adhere to these practices. Although there may be opposition at first, as with the removal of trays at D-hall, the eco-friendly measures will eventually become the norm for students. For example, after the class of 2012 graduates, the subsequent classes of students from then on out will not recall a time when trays were actually used in D-hall, therefore, the trayless system will be the norm for them. We current students complain about the new policy, because we remember the added convenience of trays, however, the incoming students will (hopefully) accept it as a standard campus practice, because they have no other option to compare it to. Based on this assumption, I contend that JMU, though an institution instead of an individual, is an active participant in the environmental movement. By creating situations and instituting policies that condition students to reduce their ecological footprint, JMU advances the pro-environment cause. While it would be absurd to expect every member of the student body to become an activist in the movement, I think it is safe to assume that several activists will emerge from the eco-friendly setting that the school provides. By contributing even a few activists to the cause, the institution can thus take credit for increasing participation in and furthering the reach of the movement.

Revenge IS Sweet!!!!

Words cannot adequately describe the level of excitement at yesterday's huge game against App. State. Going into the half, things were looking a little grim for us, but whatever Coach Matthews said in the locker room must have worked as we were on fire for the 2nd half of the game. Okay, so this has nothing to do with social movements (sorry Mike!), except maybe the uprising of the DUKES against the Mountaineers, but nonetheless, I had to post something about our amazing win over the number one ranked team in our conference!



Singing the "Hey, Hey, Hey.....Goodbye!" song to ASU

Final score: JMU-35 App. State-32

Rushing the field after the game ended.

Way to go DUKES!!!! Guess App State isn't as HOT HOT HOT as they like to think they are!

Absentee Ballot Rumor Addressed

It was interesting to see this article in today's DNR that "debunks" the idea that absentee ballots aren't counted unless there is a tie. I have heard several students in my classes pass this rumor along by saying things like "Well, they don't count the absentee ballots anyway, so sending in my ballot is just a waste." I am hoping that these particular students, and others who have heard the myth, will read this article for clarification and realize that every vote is counted.

In JMU sports news, the DUKES will take on App. State tonight at 7:00 pm in Bridgeforth Stadium. This is a HUGE game for us as we seek to avenge our heartbreaking loss in the last 22 seconds of the playoff game last season. On that note, I am including App. State's promotional video, which we DUKES all find incredibly hilarious.....



After tonight, hopefully they won't be thinking they're so "HOT HOT HOT" anymore!

Have a happy GAMEDAY! :)

Authors and their influence on social movements

Happy Monday, everyone! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I personally could not have asked for a better weekend football wise....JMU, VT, and the Redskins all came out on top of their respective games, while UVA suffered a painful loss to U.Conn. Ah, gotta love football season!!!

Anyway, on the subject of social movements, (since that is technically what I'm supposed to be blogging about, LOL), I was browsing through some environmental articles and I found this interesting piece from U.S. News & World Report. The writer interviewed Bill McKibben, who is an environmental author/activist, and he points out that environmental literature is at the center of the environmentalist movement. Essentially, he believes that the movement stemmed from the writings of authors such as Rachel Carson, who caused the public to become aware of/concerned about issues that they had never taken the time or initiative to contemplate previously.

Regardless of your stance on environmental issues, I just wanted to share the idea presented in this article, because it applies to all types of movements. Even though we may tend to think of social movements in the context of groups of people who stage protests and circulate petitions to get what they want, it is important to also pay attention to the writers who share their own opinions and ideas with the public through words on paper. While these authors may not be activists themselves, they can potentially start a movement simply by bringing an issue to the forefront and sparking a need for change in the minds of their readers who will then take the initiative to make those changes occur.

Reusable vs. disposable cup usage

To anyone who has read my blog over the past several months, it is obviously no secret that I consider myself to be a part of the Environmental Movement, so to speak. Last week, I posted my reaction to the removal of trays at D-hall, but since school has started back, I’ve been reminded of something that really bothered me last year, and continues to irk me this semester, as well. At the beginning of the fall semester each year, dining services issues large, reusable plastic mugs to every student who has purchased an on-campus meal plan. These mugs can be filled up at the soda fountains in any dining facility on campus. The idea is for students to actually use these mugs in place of the paper cups, plastic lids, and straws that are provided at the dining locations, however, I continually see students roaming around campus, sipping from these paper Coke cups. Now, don’t get me wrong, using these cups on an occasional basis is understandable, however, I know some people who use the paper cups every day of the week! Now, I’m sure some of you are thinking that I’m a crazy environmentalist at this point, but seriously, stop and think about that….some people go through at least 5 paper cups a week, then multiply that by the number of weeks in a semester, and that’s approximately 75 cups thrown away by one person in one semester! I’m sure I would be appalled if I knew how many cups are actually thrown away at JMU on a daily basis. I wonder if anyone else has contemplated starting some type of campus-wide initiative to promote using the mugs instead of wasting paper cups….I realize that some of the city’s trash is incinerated and converted to steam that heats/cools campus, but I’m quite certain that by cutting back on the number of cups that are thrown away, there will be a noticeable drop in the amount of trash produced on our campus daily, thus extending the lifespan of the H-burg/Rockingham landfill.

Thus my rant is finished....temporarily at least. LOL. Comments are encouraged and appreciated. :)

"Local Republicans 'Energized'"

Okay, so I know my blog is supposed to be focused on social movements this semester, but I can't resist from posting some political things now and then. Maybe I can link this to SM's by saying that the local Republicans are united in our "movement" with fellow GOPers across the country in order to elect McCain/Palin '08! Haha, yes that's a bit of a stretch, but at least I made an effort. Anyway, here's a link to today's front page DNR article by Jeff Mellott....and when noticing my Redskins jersey, please don't hold against me the fact that they lost to the Giants last night; true fans stay faithful no matter what! :) Football aside, I had a blast last night watching the RNC coverage as the elegant Cindy McCain and of course Senator John McCain gave their respective speeches. I'm sooo energized for our ticket now and can't wait to start campaigning around the Valley!

Another post will hopefully be coming later, but I've got to go take a quiche out of the oven and then head to campus to work on an editing project for my Video Production class. Have a wonderful Friday! :)