Organizing for Social Change: A Dialectic Journey of Theory and Praxis

`The body of work this book represents is clearly important both theoretically and in terms of encouraging scholars and practitioners in continuing efforts of large-scale change and social justice. The cases considered are fascinating, and the authors′ analyses of them are enlightening′ - Katherine Miller

Professor, Department of Communication, Texas A&M University

`In Organizing for Social Change, one rediscovers the value of dialectics within a theoretically complex story of empowerment and transformation that is told in a very personal tone with careful attention to detail′ - Patrice M Buzzanell, Professor, Department of Communication, Purdue University

`Scholars and practitioners will find this book theoretically sound, methodologically rigorous, and rich with poignant narratives. The book models engaged scholarship; it is truly refreshing to encounter scholarship that matters to various stakeholders, academic and otherwise′ - Lynn M. Harter

Assistant Professor, School of Communication Studies, Ohio University

Conventionally, analysts of social change perceive organizational initiatives in binary terms: for instance, projects are seen as being either top-down or bottom-up; local culture is seen as being either modern or traditional. Challenging this restrictive dualistic sentiment, this important book argues that social change emerges in a nonlinear, circuitous and dialectic process of struggle between competing poles of action. In support of their approach, the authors:

- identify four dialectic tensions as being central to the process of organizing for social change: control and emancipation, oppression and empowerment, dissemination and dialogue, and fragmentation and unity;

- argue for a dialectic approach which acknowledges that contradictory tensions can and do co-exist (for example, a project can control beneficiaries with tough conditionalities even as it emancipates them through economic empowerment); and

- draw upon cases set in various contexts-social justice, academic, corporate, artistic, and others-from both developing and developed countries.

The authors elaborate their thesis by examining four cases in depth: the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh; the dairy cooperatives of India′s National Dairy Development Board; entertainment-education broadcasts and on-the-ground community organizing in Indian villages; and community suppers in Appalachia (USA).

Combining quality scholarship with a very interesting writing style, drawning from everyday life and its new insights into the processes of social change, this absorbing book is an essential text for scholars and practitioners of communication, social work, gender studies and social change.

Michael J. Papa (Ph.D., Temple University; M.A., Central Michigan University; B.A., St. John’s University) teaches courses in organizational communication, research methods, and innovation diffusion. Papa has been involved in the design, evaluation, and documentation of various organizations for social change initiatives in Bangladesh, India, Thailand, and the U.S. In addition to this work, he has also conducted research in conflict management, group decision-making processes, management selection and development, and technology diffusion in organizations. Most recently, he has served as a consultant to The Carter Center in Atlanta, GA, documenting President Carter′s approach to negotiating peace with a focus on the settlement reached between Uganda and Sudan. Papa has received ten research awards for top papers from The National Communication Association and The International Communication Association.