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  • © 2016

Angry Abolitionists and the Rhetoric of Slavery

Moral Emotions in Social Movements

Palgrave Macmillan
  • First book of its kind to provide an extensive empirical analysis of the US antislavery movement by a sociologist since Michael P. Young’s Bearing Witness Against Sin
  • Proposes a new theory of protest rhetoric
  • Provides a compelling reappraisal of anger as a moral emotion used in collective action

Part of the book series: Cultural Sociology (CULTSOC)

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
  2. Introduction: Making It Stick

    • Benjamin Lamb-Books
    Pages 1-20
  3. Moral Emotions in Social Movements

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 21-21
    2. Indignant Hearts of Protest

      • Benjamin Lamb-Books
      Pages 23-61
    3. Moving Contexts of Abolition

      • Benjamin Lamb-Books
      Pages 63-92
    4. The Rhetoric of Slavery

      • Benjamin Lamb-Books
      Pages 93-119
  4. Emotional Inequalities of Protest

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 121-121
    2. Gender Trouble in Abolitionism: On Ethos Work

      • Benjamin Lamb-Books
      Pages 123-155
    3. Systemic Racism and the Rhetoric of Recognition

      • Benjamin Lamb-Books
      Pages 157-200
  5. Affect Matters

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 201-201
    2. How Charisma and Pathos Move Audiences

      • Benjamin Lamb-Books
      Pages 203-222
    3. Looking Back Ahead: When Status Conflicts Explode

      • Benjamin Lamb-Books
      Pages 223-241
    4. Conclusion

      • Benjamin Lamb-Books
      Pages 243-250
  6. Back Matter

    Pages 251-275

About this book

This book is an original application of rhetoric and moral-emotions theory to the sociology of social movements. It promotes a new interdisciplinary vision of what social movements are, why they exist, and how they succeed in attaining momentum over time. Deepening the affective dimension of cultural sociology, this work draws upon the social psychology of human emotion and interpersonal communication. Specifically, the book revolves around the topic of anger as a unique moral emotion that can be made to play crucial motivational and generative functions in protest. The chapters develop a new theory of the emotional power of protest rhetoric, including how abolitionist performances of heterodoxic racial and gender status imaginaries contributed to the escalation of the ‘sectional conflict’ over American slavery. 

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Sociology, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA

    Benjamin Lamb-Books

About the author

Benjamin Lamb-Books received his PhD in Sociology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, USA. He is an invited contributor to the second edition of the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, and his previous writings have appeared in Social Movement Studies and Thesis Eleven.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Angry Abolitionists and the Rhetoric of Slavery

  • Book Subtitle: Moral Emotions in Social Movements

  • Authors: Benjamin Lamb-Books

  • Series Title: Cultural Sociology

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31346-7

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing AG 2016

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-31345-0Published: 02 August 2016

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-81017-1Published: 30 May 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-31346-7Published: 03 August 2016

  • Series ISSN: 2946-3572

  • Series E-ISSN: 2946-3580

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIII, 275

  • Topics: Political Sociology, Cultural Studies, Sociology of Culture

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access