MASTER FRAMES AND COUNTER-HEGEMONY - POLITICAL SENSIBILITIES IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL-MOVEMENTS

Based on an analysis of in-depth interview data from 212 activists in a variety of social movements, this paper considers the ways in which diverse movements' discourses frame political issues. After identifyin g primary injustice frames and social visions articulated by sample re spondents, the authors assess the plausibility of a cross-movement uni ty based on shared ''master frames,'' i.e., common understandings of i njustice and a common social vision. The paper concludes with a discus sion of the implications of their analysis for the viability of counte r-hegemonic politics and for theorizations of contemporary social move ments.