Jeffrey Roger Goodwin (born January 28, 1958) is a
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...
of
sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...
at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
. He holds a BA, MA (Sociology) and PhD (Sociology) from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
.
His research interests include
social movements
A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or ...
,
revolutions,
political violence
Political violence is violence which is perpetrated in order to achieve political goals. It can include violence which is used by a state against other states ( war), violence which is used by a state against civilians and non-state actors ( forc ...
, and
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
. He is a past chair of the Comparative and Historical Sociology Section and the Collective Behavior and Social Movements Section of the
American Sociological Association
The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology. Founded in December 1905 as the American Sociological Society at Johns Hopkins University by a group of fif ...
(ASA).
The underlying argument of his best known book, ''
No Other Way Out: States and Revolutionary Movements, 1945-1991'', is that
revolutionary movements are not only a response to
economic inequality
There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of ...
or
exploitation, but are also a response to
political repression and violence.
Goodwin has written and edited a number of works with his friend and former NYU colleague
James M. Jasper. They wrote a famous critique of the political-opportunity theory developed by
Charles Tilly
Charles Tilly (May 27, 1929 – April 29, 2008) was an American sociologist, political scientist, and historian who wrote on the relationship between politics and society. He was a professor of history, sociology, and social science at the Uni ...
and
Doug McAdam, republished in ''Rethinking Social Movements,'' which Goodwin and Jasper edited. They also edited ''The Contexts Reader'' (New York: W. W. Norton), ''Social Movements'' (Routledge), ''The Social Movements Reader'' (Wiley-Blackwell), and (with Francesca Polletta) ''Passionate Politics'' (University of Chicago Press), a leading work in the
sociology of emotions
The sociology of emotion applies sociological theorems and techniques to the study of human emotions. As sociology emerged primarily as a reaction to the negative effects of modernity, many normative theories deal in some sense with emotion wit ...
.
In October 2011, Goodwin was one of 132 New York University (NYU) faculty and staff members who signed a statement calling for disinvestment in several American companies that do business in Israel. In response to sharp criticism from Congressman
Gary Ackerman, Goodwin accused Ackerman of
moral blindness
Moral blindness, also known as ethical blindness, is defined as a person's temporary inability to see the ethical aspect of a decision they are making. It is often caused by external factors due to which an individual is unable to see the immoral a ...
and stated that "Ackerman's apparent denial that Israel is occupying Palestinian territories and systematically violating basic Palestinian rights is simply shocking."
Rep. Ackerman attacks over 100 NYU professors for signing divestment letter
Posted on Wedivest.org, October 21, 2011.
Select publications
Books
*''No Other Way Out: States and Revolutionary Movements, 1945-1991''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001
*''Passionate Politics: Emotions and Social Movements''. Co-edited with James M. Jasper and Francesca Polletta. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001
*''Rethinking Social Movements: Structure, Culture, and Emotion''. Co-edited with James M. Jasper. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004.
*''The Social Movements Reader: Cases and Concepts''. Co-edited with James M. Jasper. New York: Blackwell, 2003.
Articles
* "'The Struggle Made Me a Non-Racialist': Why There Was So Little Terrorism in the Antiapartheid Struggle," Jeff Goodwin (2007), Mobilization, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 193–203.
* "How Not to Explain Terrorism," Jeff Goodwin (2006), (a review essay on Louise Richardson, What Terrorists Want 006
Alec Trevelyan (006) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye'', the first film to feature actor Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Trevelyan is portrayed by actor Sean Bean. The likeness of Bean as Alec T ...
, European Journal of Sociology, Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 477–82.
* "A Theory of Categorical Terrorism," Jeff Goodwin (2006), Social Forces, Vol. 84, No. 4, pp. 2027–46.
* "What Do We Really Know About (Suicide) Terrorism?," Jeff Goodwin (2006), Sociological Forum, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 315–30.
* "What Must We Explain to Explain Terrorism," Jeff Goodwin (2004), (a review essay on Jessica Stern, Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill 004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to:
* 004, fictional British 00 Agent
* 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California)
* O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation
* Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004
* Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine
* Lauda ...
Social Movement Studies, Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 259–65.
* "Black Reconstruction as Class War," Jeff Goodwin (2022), Catalyst, Vol. 6, No.1, Accessed at: https://catalyst-journal.com/2022/06/black-reconstruction-as-class-war
References
External links
Personal homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodwin, Jeff
American sociologists
Revolution theorists
Harvard College alumni
New York University faculty
Living people
1958 births
Contexts editors
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni