The Organization of Expert Activism: Shadow Mobilization in Two Social Movements

• In Event: 511 - Section on Science, Knowledge, and Technology Paper Session. Topics in Science, Knowledge and Technology Studies

Abstract

As scientific research is increasingly important to many social movements, the organization of expert activism has become an issue of strategic and tactical concern for movement organizers and of theoretical significance for social movement scholars. This paper develops the concept of “shadow mobilization” to describe informal network structures linking academic and government scientists to social movements. We present data on expert activism in two movements – environmental justice in Louisiana and alternative agriculture in Washington. Findings suggest that expert engagement in movements is highly varied in ways that challenge standard notions of activism, the nature of protest, and the boundaries between science and politics.

Authors

• Scott Frickel, Brown University

• Rebekah Torcasso, Washington State University

• Annika Yvette Anderson, Washington State University