Bodies in Protest: Hunger Strikes and Angry Music

Research on social movements has historically focused on the traditional weapons of the working class, especially labour strikes and street demonstrations-but everyday actions, such as eating or singing, which can also be turned into a means of protest, have yet to be fully explored. An interdisciplinary and comparative history of these modes of action, Bodies in Protest reveals how hunger strikes and music ranging from gospel songs to rock anthems can efficiently convey political messages and mobilize the masses. Common to both approaches, the contributions show, is a direct appeal to the emotions and a reliance on the physical, concrete language of the human body.

This book was originally published as La musique en colère by Christophe Traini (2008), and La grève de la faim by Johanna Siméant (2009)

Johanna Siméant is professor of political science at the University Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne (CESSP), and has published La cause des sans-papiers (1998), Le travail humanitaire (2002), La grève de la faim (2009), Contester au Mali (2014) and edited books.
Christophe Traïni is professor of political science at the Institute of Political Science in Aix-en-Provence. His publications include La musique en colère (Paris: Presses de Sciences Po, 2008), La cause animale (Paris: PUF, 2011), and the edition of the reader Emotions ... mobilisation!(Paris: Presses de Sciences Po, 2009).
James M. Jasper is a sociologist at the CUNY Graduate Center. He has each written a number of books on recent social movements, and is the co-editor of book series, ’Protest and Social Movements.’