Historians have recently turned their attention to the numerous urban struggles that erupted in the aftermath of the rebellious 1960s. In so doing, they offered important insights into the emergence of urban social movements. In particular, they showed that urban experiences, urban aesthetics, and urban space became central concerns for a young generation of social movements that began to forge new collective identities. Yet by focusing on the second half of the twentieth century, historical research has given the impression that urban social movements somehow appeared out of the blue. The history of urban mobilization, in other words, lacks dramatically in historical depth. Against this backdrop, our two-part session asks how earlier instances of urban struggle differed from the “new” social movements and their turn toward post-material values. The first part of the session will be dedicated to urban movements prior to the mid-20th century; the second part will focus on post-WW II experiences. Following a critical input by our discussant, the remaining time will be reserved for debate on how and to what extent urban mobilization indeed transformed during the post-war decades. We seek contributions that critically analyze specific aspects of struggle rather than detailed portrayals of historical urban movements. We are particularly interested in papers that either buttress or challenge the dichotomy of “old” and “new” social movements. We encourage contributors to reflect also on structural context–social, political, economic, and cultural–as this shall assist us in rethinking this dichotomy. Apart from establishing “objective” connections visible in urban movement practices, ideologies and representations of urban problems over time, this session also invites discussions over the “subjective” connections, i.e., particularly in the form of memory and historical references among urban movement activists. This shall facilitate the narration of a trans-generational history of urban movements that goes beyond the “old” and “new” dichotomy. Finally, we are very much interested in contributions that engage with practices of struggle, including analyses of the corporeal or spatial nature of contestation. There will be no geographical restriction but papers on non-Western experiences are particularly welcome.

• Spokesperson: Philipp Reick, Hebrew University
• Co-organizer(s): Jose Maria Cardesin Diaz, University of A Coruna | Mikkel Thelle, Aarhus University | Christian  Wicke, Utrecht University
• Keywords: Urban social movements | Urban struggle | Contentious politics
• Time period: Modern period
• Topic(s): Social | Political
• Study area: More than one continent