Frames and Counter Frames In Pro-Palestinian College Campus Demonstrations: Content Analysis of U.S. News Stories, March - June 2024
Location
SU-003
Start Date
1-5-2026 10:10 AM
Department
Sociology
Abstract
Israel's response to Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack and subsequent invasion of Palestinian territories leading to the killing of over an estimated 40,000 Palestinians and nearly 100,000 wounded, spurred world wide outcry and claims of genocide. This was especially evident across U.S. college campuses, where supporters of the Palestinian people, and notably college students, participated in campus demonstrations to denounce the Israeli government’s actions, demand a ceasefire, and calls for universities’ divestment from Israel. Yet, despite the history of colleges being sites of social justice activism and free speech, some college administrators have denounced and sanctioned Pro-Palestinian student activists’ claims and actions. This raises questions about the role and impact of frames in support or opposition for global movements for social justice. This exploratory study seeks to identify the frames and counter frames university administrative officials and Pro-Palestinian college campus activists are used to describe each other. What frames do college administrators construct to label Pro-Palestinian campus activism as deviant? What counter frames do Pro-Palestinian activists deploy in response these deviant frames? Employing content analysis of newspaper articles from March 2024 to June 2024, we find that university administrators often used discourse that framed activists as law breakers and antisemitic. Activists countered with frames that cast university administrators as complicit in genocide and suppressors of free speech. These findings have implications for how college leaders, elected officials, and elected officials in the United States (and beyond) come to interpret progressive social movements and react to them.
Faculty Sponsor
Juan Martinez
Frames and Counter Frames In Pro-Palestinian College Campus Demonstrations: Content Analysis of U.S. News Stories, March - June 2024
SU-003
Israel's response to Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack and subsequent invasion of Palestinian territories leading to the killing of over an estimated 40,000 Palestinians and nearly 100,000 wounded, spurred world wide outcry and claims of genocide. This was especially evident across U.S. college campuses, where supporters of the Palestinian people, and notably college students, participated in campus demonstrations to denounce the Israeli government’s actions, demand a ceasefire, and calls for universities’ divestment from Israel. Yet, despite the history of colleges being sites of social justice activism and free speech, some college administrators have denounced and sanctioned Pro-Palestinian student activists’ claims and actions. This raises questions about the role and impact of frames in support or opposition for global movements for social justice. This exploratory study seeks to identify the frames and counter frames university administrative officials and Pro-Palestinian college campus activists are used to describe each other. What frames do college administrators construct to label Pro-Palestinian campus activism as deviant? What counter frames do Pro-Palestinian activists deploy in response these deviant frames? Employing content analysis of newspaper articles from March 2024 to June 2024, we find that university administrators often used discourse that framed activists as law breakers and antisemitic. Activists countered with frames that cast university administrators as complicit in genocide and suppressors of free speech. These findings have implications for how college leaders, elected officials, and elected officials in the United States (and beyond) come to interpret progressive social movements and react to them.