Networks as ‘laboratories of experience’: exploring the life cycle of the suffrage movement and its aftermath in Ireland 1870–1937

Journal article


Beaumont, C., Clancy, Mary and Ryan, L. (2020). Networks as ‘laboratories of experience’: exploring the life cycle of the suffrage movement and its aftermath in Ireland 1870–1937. Women's History Review. 29 (6), pp. 1054-1074. https://doi.org/10.1080/09612025.2020.1745414
AuthorsBeaumont, C., Clancy, Mary and Ryan, L.
Abstract

Applying an innovative conceptual framework this article presents an interdisciplinary re-appraisal of the suffrage movement and its aftermath in Ireland throughout the years 1870 to 1937. New social movement theory is utilised to consider how, in the words of the Italian sociologist Alberto Melucci ‘the submerged networks of social movements are laboratories of experience’. Going beyond the previously published work of each author, this article uses the sociological lens of 'laboratories of experience' to re-analyse aspects of the suffrage movement, female activism and the wider women’s movement in Ireland. This application of social movement theory to female networks, their origins, aims and strategies, along with their interconnectedness, provides a more nuanced and detailed understanding of the ‘life-cycle’ of this movement. The article aims to demonstrate how an analysis of network dynamics and application of the concept of ‘latency’ is useful in further understanding the significance, impact and longevity of the women’s movement in Ireland.

KeywordsHistory; Gender Studies
Year2020
JournalWomen's History Review
Journal citation29 (6), pp. 1054-1074
PublisherInforma UK Limited
ISSN0961-2025
1747-583X
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/09612025.2020.1745414
Publication dates
Online07 Apr 2020
Print18 Sep 2020
Publication process dates
Accepted31 Oct 2019
Deposited31 Oct 2019
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Open
Accepted author manuscript
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File Access Level
Controlled
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