Children of Activists: What Happens When Parents Protest

• In Event: 277 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 09. Movement Participation and Mobilization

Abstract

Most studies that look at activist families focus their attention on the activist life cycles or participation in social movements as a parent. This study instead focuses on the transmission of activist consciousness from parents to children. I focus on whether or not activism is passed down through generations. I postulate that there is a strong correlation between the experience of growing up with activist parents and the development of an activist consciousness. This consciousness increases the likelihood of joining a social movement or becoming more engaged in civic activities later in life. To do this I have interviewed older activists with grown children and the grown children of activists. This method allows us to focus not only at the parenting practices that have the potential pass down activism, but allows us a look at the outcomes, or rather the grown children. Additionally, looking back through the eyes of parents of activist families allows for comprehensive narratives to assist in the process of isolating the mechanism of transmission. The questions I focus on are: what role to parents play in the decision to participate in social movements? When parents are activists what is transmitted to children? In other words, what happens when parents participate in social movements?

Author

• Jamie Puglin, State University of New York-Stony Brook