Mobilizing Voices: A Discussion of Leadership in an Environmentally Contaminated Community

Erin E. Robinson

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.5.1.04

Authors

Erin E. Robinson Canisius College, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.5.1.04

Keywords:

Social movement, Leadership, Environmental activists, Qualitative research design, Framing

Abstract

Leadership is a key factor in successful social movement mobilization. Without a grasp of leadership dynamics in a community, it is difficult to explain how individuals come to occupy leadership roles and what impact this has on the overall success of a movement effort. In this study, I use the qualitative approach to investigate how leadership is framed in a community facing the existence of environmental contamination. I follow the development of leadership among actors and particularly the relationships that they create and maintain with expert environmental activists. Using interview data from 35 community residents and activists, I establish how leadership frames were presented to the community and how these frames impacted mobilization efforts and outcomes.

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Author Biography

Erin E. Robinson, Canisius College, USA

Erin E. Robinson is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology at the University at Buffalo where she researched social movement mobilization patterns in communities facing environmental hazards. Her research has involved ethnographic field methods and the use of frame analysis as both a research tool and mode of analysis in social movement research. Her primary research interests are community mobilization, grassroots networking and collaboration, environmental sociology, and social construction of risk. Currently, she is studying semiotics and the transformation of meaning in urban space surrounding the development of community gardens.

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