Rethinking Social Change in Comparative Perspective

近年来，在世界各地的多个民主国家，各种各样的公民聚集在城市，共同表达当代的焦虑。他们关注的焦点各不相同，但在不同的地方和时间，包括移民和难民的涌入;公共福利计划的可持续性;被认为是生活机会下降的问题;以及各种形式的社会经济差异。对于社会科学家来说，围绕这些发展出现了许多问题。是否有一个共同的线索，如果有，他们是否代表了新的形式的社会分类？或者它们只是对暂时社会压力的短暂反应，没有长期后果？该奖项支持的研究解决了这些问题。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。首先，社会科学家很少有机会研究正在发生的重大社会转变。但同样重要的是，政策制定者和其他关心公众福利的人需要更好地理解他们周围发生的事情的重要性。为了探讨这些问题及其可能对民主构成的挑战，纽约城市大学的人类学家艾达·苏瑟博士将探讨塑造“广场”运动的社会和时间动态，在美国被称为“占领”运动，“在欧盟的两个城市，巴黎和巴塞罗那。这项研究将提供这些当代社会转型的努力，分析如何时间观念可能塑造政治行动，活动家群体的社会构成，以及职业的物质经验。数据将通过参与者观察、开放式访谈、数字民族志以及对主要和次要材料的分析来收集。与西班牙和法国的同事一起，研究人员将跟踪选定的社区组织和广场行动后成立的新政党。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

In recent years, across multiple democratic nations around the world, a diverse array of citizens have come together in cities to give common expression to contemporary anxieties. The focus of their attention varies, but has, at different places and times, included immigration and the influx of refugees; the sustainability of public welfare programs; what are perceived as declining life chances; and a variety of forms of socio-economic differentiations. For social scientists, multiple questions have arisen around these developments. Is there a common thread and if so, do they represent new forms of social assortment? Or are they instead, ephemeral responses to temporary social stresses, with no long-term consequences? The research supported by this award addresses these questions. The research is important for several reasons. The first is that social scientists rarely have the opportunity to study major social shifts as they are taking place. But equally important, policy makers and others concerned for the general welfare need to better understand the significance of what has happened around them.To pursue these issues and the challenges they might represent to democracy, anthropologist Dr. Ida Susser, of the City University of New York, will explore the social and temporal dynamics that shape the "Squares" movement, known in the United States as "Occupy," in two cities of the European Union, Paris and Barcelona. The research will provide an account of these contemporary efforts at social transformation, analyzing how conceptions of time might shape political action, the social composition of activist groups, and the material experiences of occupation. Data will be collected through participant observation, open-ended interviews, digital ethnography, and the analysis of primary and secondary materials. Together with colleagues in Spain and France, the esearcher will follow selected community organizations and new political parties formed in the aftermath of Squares actions. They will assess long-term impacts including effects on national discourse and democratic poiltics.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.