Occupying identities : hierarchal divisions and collective identity in the occupy movement

Abstract

This thesis looks at collective identity formation within the Occupy movement through an ethnographic study conducted over the autumn and winter of 2011-2012 at three sites, including New York, New York; Victoria, British Columbia; and Edmonton, Alberta, with an examination of problems of frame resonance with the major movement boundary frame of a collective 99%. The conclusion offers a way forward for new social movements through a shifting network of solidarities rather than an attempt to create a stable, unified collective identity across a broad range of movement actors.