Professor Asef Bayat Describes "Non-Social Movements"

Professor Asef Bayat delivered the Sociology Department's annual Florian Znaniecki Lecture to a large audience drawn from all across campus. Professor Bayat joined us from Leiden University where he is a chaired Professor of Sociology and Middle Eastern Studies, as well as the Academic Director of the Institute for the Study of Islam in the Modern World.

Entitled "Social Non-Movements: The Politics of Everyday Life in the Middle East," Professor Bayat's lecture described the activities of 3 different "non-movements" -- poor people, Muslim women, and young people who create social change simply by developing new, transformative social and cultural practices in their everyday lives. These groups mostly lack the self-consciousness and purposive motives normally associated with activists in social movements. But by "quietly encroaching" on public spaces, people in these groups make demands on society that reflect changing social values.

Although Professor Bayat's research has focused on the Middle East, I was struck by the relevance of his talk for understanding similar phenomenon here in the US, where many movements have made the claim that "the personal is political." We sometimes think of these movements as "identity-based," where activists encourage people to make changes in their personal lives that challenge existing power relations. So, for example, LGBT movements encourage people to "come out" to their families and friends, and years ago, activists helped same-sex couples develop the legal instruments that mimicked marriage. Indeed, "private" arrangements have developed into claims on the state -- for state-recognition of the right to marry. But these claims originated in the changes that people made in their daily lives as they tried to reach their goals.

We were lucky to have Professor Bayat offer us all such a thought-provoking talk and a spirited discussion! Thanks to all who made his visit such a rousing success!