Symposium on political communication and social movements – the campfire and the tent: what social movement studies and political communication can learn from one another

ABSTRACT

In this symposium contribution, Dave Karpf offers three observations about the differences between the fields of social movement studies and political communication. He posits that the central difference between the two is the relative lack of a canonical literature in political communication. He discusses how this lack of a canon can be particularly freeing and generative during a time of rapid media change. He also examines the trend toward methodological pluralism and the rise of a robust experimental tradition in political communication. Finally, he discusses how cross-disciplinary research on movements and media as interacting systems can be further expanded and developed for the digital age.

KEYWORDS:

• Political communication
• social movement studies
• state-of-the-field

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

David Karpf is an Associate Professor in the School of Media & Public Affairs at George Washington University.