University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2007 Real challenges, virtual challengers: The Democracy for America movement Noah Porter University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons Scholar Commons Citation Porter, Noah, "Real challenges, virtual challengers: The eD mocracy for America movement" (2007). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/2325 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Real Challenges, Virtual Challengers: The Democracy for America Movement by Noah Porter A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Anthropology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: S. Elizabeth Bird, Ph.D. Susan Greenbaum, Ph.D. Michael Angrosino, Ph.D. James Cavendish, Ph.D. Navita Cummings James, Ph.D. Date of Approval: April 30, 2007 Keywords: Internet, social movements, politics, elections, Howard Dean © Copyright 2007, Noah Porter Note to Reader: The original of this document contains color that is necessary for understanding the data. The original dissertation is on file with the USF library in Tampa, Florida. Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to my friends, family, and my girlfriend, Jessica Torres, whose love, support, and encouragement kept me going. Thank you. Acknowledgements I owe a debt of gratitude to many people who have directly or indirectly made this dissertation possible. First, I would like to thank Gregory Reck, Diane Mines, Susan Keefe, and Kevin Yelvington, who each served on committees for previous major research projects, which were invaluable experiences in conducting my doctoral research. Second, I would like to thank Susan Greenbaum, Michael Angrosino, James Cavendish, and Navita Cummings James for serving on my doctoral committee, and whose teachings prepared me for this undertaking. Third, I would like to thank Elizabeth Bird for serving as my Major Professor for both my thesis and dissertation research at USF. Fourth, I would like to thank the DFA organizers who allowed me to be a part of their groups, and the members who took time away from their busy schedules to talk to me. Fifth, I would like to thank Alvin Wolfe for his proofreading assistance. Finally, I would like to thank everyone who gave me permission to reprint their images in this dissertation, including: Matthew Kerbel, Ellen Salvador, Stephanie Robinett, Rob Suls, Joanna Raczkiewicz, Eric Compas, Tara Liloia, Matthew Daly, Keri Carpenter, Pamela Corn, Byron LaMasters, Jim Brayton, David Iozzi, Gail Bondi, Lada Adamic, Deborah Cotton, Tracy Van Slyke, and David Sifry. Table of Contents List of Figures.................................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables .................................................................................................................................... vii Abstract............................................................................................................................................ viii Introduction......................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Scholarship on Social Movements: Three Historical Strands ........................................ 10 Social Movements across Time and Disciplines.................................................................. 10 Definition of a Social Movement......................................................................................... 11 A History of Social Movement Theory in Sociology .......................................................... 14 Anthropology and Social Movements ................................................................................. 22 Applied Anthropology and Social Movements.................................................................... 32 Discussion/Conclusions....................................................................................................... 40 Chapter 2: Ethnographic Study of a Social Movement: A Few Words on Methodology................. 45 Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 45 Defining Culture .................................................................................................................. 46 Studying Culture: Problems of Heterogeneity and Scale..................................................... 49 A Methodology for the Study of DFA................................................................................. 55 Traditional Ethnography and Social Movements................................................................. 57 Virtual Ethnography and Social Movements....................................................................... 59 Archival Research: Social Movements and Media.............................................................. 64 Archival Research: Social Movements and Finances.......................................................... 67 Text Analysis ....................................................................................................................... 70 Discussion/Conclusions....................................................................................................... 71 Chapter 3: A History of American Democracy, and Democracy for America................................ 75 Voting In America ............................................................................................................... 78 A Knowledge Society? ........................................................................................................ 92 Putting DFA in Context ..................................................................................................... 102 DFA: The First Internet Political Campaign?.................................................................... 103 DFA History: The Rise of Dean for America.................................................................... 108 DFA History: The Collapse of Dean For America ............................................................ 120 DFA History: Democracy for America............................................................................. 127 Discussion/Conclusions..................................................................................................... 133 Chapter 4: What are DFA’s Beliefs? .............................................................................................. 136 Prognosis, Diagnosis and Rationale for Change................................................................ 137 Locus and Amount of Change ........................................................................................... 144 Adversary versus Exemplary ............................................................................................. 147 i Degree Totalistic................................................................................................................ 148 Substantive and Institutional Content ................................................................................ 153 Aggregate Versus Adversary Frames ................................................................................ 157 Foundations for DFA Beliefs............................................................................................ 160 Collective Identity in Cultural Context.............................................................................. 163 Discussion/Conclusion....................................................................................................... 168 Chapter 5: The Role of the Internet in SMO Organization............................................................ 173 Individual-Organizational Members.................................................................................. 173 Formalization and Centralization....................................................................................... 174 Member Absorption........................................................................................................... 184 Scale, Form Diversity and Complexity.............................................................................. 190 Frequencies and Magnitudes.............................................................................................. 193 Financing ........................................................................................................................... 197 Internet Advantages ........................................................................................................... 198 Internet Problems............................................................................................................... 208 Discussion/Conclusion....................................................................................................... 215 Chapter 6: What are causes of DFA?............................................................................................. 218 Sociopolitical Conditions and Opportunities ....................................................................