Social Movements in Previous and Contemporary Societies

Ingrid Muenstermann

• Publisher: IntechOpen
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN:
  9781836355724
• eBook ISBN:
  9781836355717
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This book looks at social movements and actions that influenced outcomes. Expert researchers make their voices heard: they examine changes in education for kindergarten teachers in the Czech lands and Slovakia between the 1890s and 1990. One chapter is looking at Portugal and how stereotyping and discrimination of Muslims and Romani people have changed after more than half a Millenium. The theory of intersectionality is inverted by early-career researchers, who warn that existing structures within European universities impede their innovation and creativity. Another chapter examines anti-Apartheid struggles and post-1994 service-delivery processes, and the authors highlight the importance of social movements in driving societal change. There are two chapters from Australia; one addresses the failed 2023 referendum on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples seeking to establish a permanent advisory body, a 'Voice' to Parliament and the Executive Government, to reduce Indigenous disadvantage. The other one deals with South Australia, German immigrants, and club membership: ten clubs were created but disappeared; they were the buffer zones in the 1950s and 1960s, when people needed support to come to terms with life in a country whose language they did not speak and whose expectations were not easy to understand. This book welcomes the reader into an ever-changing world.

Table of contents

• Social Movements in Previous and Contemporary Societies
• Contents
• Preface
• Chapter 1 - The Changes of Education for Kindergarten Teachers in Czech Lands and Czechoslovakia from 1890’s to 1990 in the Context of Social Movements
• Chapter 2 - Social Movements in Portugal: How Muslims and Romani People Are (Slowly but Surely) Changing More than Half a Millennium of Stereotyping, Ostracism, and Discrimination
• Chapter 3 - Turning Intersectionality on Its Head: The Hidden Voices of Early Career Researchers in Europe
• Chapter 4 - Continuity and Change in South African Social Movements: From Anti-Apartheid Struggles to Post-1994 Service Delivery Protests
• Chapter 5 - Hope Rising, a Failed Referendum and the Emerging Soul-Force of Reconciliation in Australia
• Chapter 6 - The End of a Social Movement? Some Critical Thoughts on German Ethnic Organisations in South Australia