Fair Share

Senior Activism, Tiny Publics, and the Culture of Resistance

Gary Alan Fine

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English

University of Chicago Press
11 May 2023

Age groups: the elderly; Political activism

A deeply researched ethnographic portrait of progressive senior activists in Chicago who demonstrate how a tiny public wields collective power to advocate for broad social change.

If you've ever been to a protest or been involved in a social movement, you have likely experienced a local culture, one with slogans, jargon, and social commitments. Though one might think of a cohort of youthful organizers when imagining protest culture, this powerful ethnography from esteemed sociologist Gary Alan Fine explores the world of senior citizens on the front lines of progressive protests, specifically those involved in a locally prominent activist group founded in the 1970s. While seniors are a notoriously important—and historically conservative—political cohort, “Chicago Seniors Together” is a decidedly leftist organization, inspired by the model of Saul Alinsky. The group advocates for social issues, such as affordable housing and healthcare, that affect all sectors of society but take on a particular urgency in the lives of seniors. Seniors connect and mobilize around their distinct experiences but do so in service of concerns that extend beyond themselves. Not only do these seniors experience social issues as seniors—but they use their age as a dramatic visual in advocating for political change. In Fair Share, Fine brings readers into the vital world of an overlooked political group, describing how a “tiny public” mobilizes their group's demands for broad social change. In this process, he shows that senior citizen activists are particularly savvy about using age to their advantage in social movements. After all, what could be more attention-grabbing than a group of passionate older people determinedly shuffling through snowy streets with canes, in wheelchairs, and holding walkers to demand healthcare equity, risking their own health in the process?

By: Gary Alan Fine
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 340g
ISBN: 9780226823836
ISBN 10: 0226823830
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 11 May 2023
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Gary Alan Fine is the James E. Johnson Professor of Sociology at Northwestern University. He has written many books, including, most recently The Hinge: Civil Society, Group Cultures, and the Power of Local Commitments, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

Reviews for Fair Share: Senior Activism, Tiny Publics, and the Culture of Resistance

“The Baby Boom generation is not going quietly into the night. In entertaining detail, Gary Alan Fine, perhaps the finest ethnographer of that generation, shows us how and why they continue to cause beautiful trouble in politics. Fair Share is a pleasure to read.” -- James M. Jasper, CUNY Graduate Center “Fair Share is a rich and original account of senior citizen activism. The activists that Gary Alan Fine so carefully renders complicate prevailing narratives that frame seniors as narrowly focused on senior-specific demands or as conservatives resistant to the social changes that have made them feel like ‘strangers in their own land.’ In fact, though Fine is careful to note what makes senior activism distinctive, he argues convincingly that Chicago Seniors Together is virtually indistinguishable from the broader network of progressive community organizations of which it is a part, and that senior activism can also tell us much about all ‘tiny publics’ engaged in activism.” -- Ruth Braunstein, University of Connecticut