Historicising theories of voluntary action: methodological approaches to understanding times of crisis

• In Event: Community Prevention and Response to Crises

Abstract

This paper will explore the role of multidisciplinary theory and methodology, specifically neo-institutional field theory and historical methods of study, in understanding voluntary action across times of crisis, continuity and change.

While there is an established literature on the importance of bringing together history, social theory and sociology (eg Burke, 2005), the approach has rarely been applied to voluntary action fields, and even more rarely to a local field-level practice, rather than national policy, level. As such, this paper will offer a novel example of practical historical methodology coupled with sociological theory in action, that goes well beyond simply outlining a historical context, or flattening historical processes to fit with sociological theory. Through this approach, it will critically interrogate taken-for-granted concepts associated with the voluntary sector, and propose a revived focus on history to help us better understand the place of voluntary action in society. The paper will be situated in literatures of neo-institutional organisational theory and its application to understanding the voluntary sector (Fligstein and McAdam, 2012; Macmillan, 2012; Coule and Bennett, 2018; Anasti, 2020; Lang and Mullins, 2020), as well as historical literature of 20th century English social movements and voluntary action (6 and Leat, 1997; Black, 2009; Ramamurthy, 2013; Thomlinson, 2016; Moores, 2017; Connell, 2019).

This approach allows us to critically examine the detail of organisational and individual experience of voluntary action in temporal and geographical contexts, see how ideas to do with voluntary action develop and are contested within overlapping strategic action fields (Fligstein and McAdam, 2012). To illustrate the methodological and theoretical process, the chapter will use the example of a local voluntary action field of strategic activity in Birmingham, UK between 1965 and 2010, exploring some core and often taken-for-granted assumptions around ideas, meaning and legitimacy for the voluntary and community sector.

The paper will conclude that greater theoretical and methodological integration between sociological and historical disciplines is useful for understanding voluntary action at times of crisis and continuity. It helps us understand voluntary action in its historical context, and to interrogate that using sociological concepts to help explain activity and change. While the case study used is local, the principles and methodology can be applied across localities, and can even help make the case for expanding archival records of voluntary action.

References

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Author

• Ellie Munro, Sheffield Hallam University