Emotional Resonance, Social Location, and Strategic Framing

Abstract

This paper examines a much-neglected and complex area of social movement research, the relationship between emotional resonance, social location, and strategic framing. Through an analysis of the 1960s civil rights movement organization, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, this paper examines two framing attempt outcomes, one that succeeded and one that failed. In doing so, it clarifies (1) the processes through which ideological practices (or practices that emerge from ideology) develop into frames; (2) the importance of emotional resonance to the development of a frame; and (3) the socially located nature of emotional resonance. The paper argues that ideological practices produce varied collective meanings, which are mediated by socially located emotions. Framing collective meanings requires emotional resonance. This lends insight into the emotional dimensions of Snow and Benford's (1988) conceptualization of salience because social location strongly influences emotional resonance and thus the interpretation, meaning, and salience of practices, ideologies, and events.