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

SES-0927031米歇尔拉蒙特克里斯托弗贝尔哈佛大学是什么使象征性的边界群体用来区分“我们”从“他们”刚性或渗透？本文解释了2000年至2007年之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的关系转变的产物，使“象征性边界企业家精神”。本文构建了一个多层次的“过程”模型，以反映不同分析层次上行动者之间不断变化的关系，包括：（1）基于档案分析和对决策者的深入访谈，对美国和英国的政策过程进行比较分析;（2）对美国社会运动关于穆斯林的新闻稿进行网络分析;（3）对普通美国人进行纵向访谈。本文的智力贡献是综合研究的象征性的边界，已划分的分析水平。例如，虽然有大量的比较文献探讨了公民身份政策如何在宏观层面上塑造象征性的边界，但很少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。无论是宏观层面还是微观层面的符号边界研究都没有与中观层面的社会运动研究同步，后者经常挑战国家提倡的符号边界以及日常互动中使用的符号边界。因此，在不同层次的分析，创造机会，象征性的边界变化的演员之间的关系转移仍然隐藏在学术观点。更广泛的影响近年来，穆斯林从？无形的少数民族？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认识。通过揭示这两个问题之间的关系，本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.