Doctoral Dissertation Research: A Multi-Level Study of Symbolic Boundaries towards Muslims, 2001-2007

是什么让群体用来区分“我们”和“他们”的象征性界限变得僵硬或具有渗透性？这篇论文解释了2000年至2007年间对穆斯林的象征性边界的演变，作为政治精英、社会运动和普通人之间关系转变的产物，这使得“象征性边界创业”成为可能。本文构建了一个多层次的“过程”模型，在不同的分析层次上映射行为者之间的变化关系，包括：1)基于档案分析和对政策制定者的深度访谈，对美国和英国的政策过程进行比较分析；2)美国社会运动对穆斯林新闻稿的网络分析；3)对普通美国人的纵向访谈。本论文的智力贡献在于综合了按分析层次划分的符号边界研究。例如，当丰富的比较文献询问公民政策如何在宏观层面上塑造象征性边界时，它几乎没有与揭示官方区别如何适应日常生活要求的微观层面研究联系起来。符号边界的宏观和微观研究都没有与社会运动的中观研究同步，社会运动经常挑战国家和日常互动中使用的符号边界。因此，在不同层次的分析中，为象征性边界变化创造机会的行动者之间的关系变化仍然隐藏在学术观点之外。更广泛的影响近年来，穆斯林从一个？看不见的少数民族?成为重大政策辩论的中心。因此，这项研究的更广泛影响包括更好地理解集体认同在政策过程中的作用，以及对偏见和歧视机制的新见解。通过揭示这两个问题之间的关系，本论文在文化社会学和政治学之间架起了一座桥梁，希望能为学术界和政策制定者所用。

SES-0927031Michele LamontChristopher BailHarvard UniversityWhat makes the symbolic boundaries groups use to distinguish "us" from "them" rigid or permeable? This dissertation explains the evolution of symbolic boundaries towards Muslims between 2000 and 2007 as the product of shifting relationships between political elites, social movements, and ordinary people that enable "symbolic boundary entrepreneurship." A multi-level "process" model is constructed to map changing relationships between actors at different levels of analysis including, 1) comparative analysis of the policy process in the United States and United Kingdom based on archival analysis and in-depth interviews with policy makers; 2) network analysis of press-releases about Muslims made by American social movements; and 3) longitudinal interviews with ordinary Americans. The intellectual contribution of this dissertation is to synthesize research on symbolic boundaries that has been compartmentalized by level of analysis. While a rich comparative literature asks how citizenship policy shape symbolic boundaries at the macro level, for example, it is scarcely connected with micro-level studies that reveal how official distinctions are adapted to the requirements of everyday life. Neither macro nor micro level studies of symbolic boundaries have been synchronized with meso-level research on social movements, who routinely challenge the symbolic boundaries promoted by states as well as those used in everyday interaction. As a result, shifting relationships between actors at different levels of analysis that create opportunities for symbolic boundary change remain hidden from scholarly view. Broader ImpactIn recent years, Muslims shifted from an ?invisible minority? to the center of major policy debates. The broader impacts of the study therefore include a better understanding of the role of collective identity in the policy process and new insight about the mechanisms of prejudice and discrimination. By uncovering the relationship between these two issues, this dissertation builds bridges between cultural sociology and political science that will hopeful be used by academics and policy makers alike.