Articles by William H Westermeyer
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Open Anthropological Research, 2021
Although public responses to national and international crises are never without contestations an... more Although public responses to national and international crises are never without contestations and conflicting truth claims, the COVID-19 pandemic draws attention to the stark political and cultural divisions presented by conservative populism in the age of the Tea Party Movement and Donald Trump. Beginning with research among Tea Party activists in 2010 and continuing through the Trump Administration and "reopen" protests, I have documented a shifting cultural world of right-wing populism. The vivid and symbolically elaborate performance of patriotism and indignation by the Tea Party Movement declined in 2012, being replaced by a more belligerent and less colorful form of populism with Donald Trump. As Trump-inspired protests opposing COVID-19 mitigation policies emerged in 2020, however, Tea Party themes and symbols reemerged as frames for resistance to government restrictions. Yet, despite the shifting styles, there was a constant theme of what I term "fundamentalist populism." This style illustrates political identities characterized by vilification of opponents, distrust of existing political and social institutions, ideological rigidity, and a rededication to individualism and personal freedom. Ethnographic and documentary research shows how these themes animate a small yet vocal resistance to the science-based and cooperative guidelines prescribed by public health experts
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The Tea Party Movement (TPM) is often discussed in terms of Americans for Prosperity,
the Republi... more The Tea Party Movement (TPM) is often discussed in terms of Americans for Prosperity,
the Republican Party, and other well-funded, national groups. Yet, grounded ethnographic
research reveals vibrant, independent, local organizations, which, while they do draw on
nationally disseminated cultural images and discourses, are far from simple agents of the
larger organizations and media. Relying on eighteen months of fieldwork among eight local
Tea Party groups in central North Carolina, I argue that these small, locally situated groups
are crucial components in the TPM and its effects. Using theoretical concepts from social
movement studies and social practice theory, I analyze the ways personal and Internetbased
social networks, media, and elite organizations are cocreating new political subjects,
and demonstrate the importance of local, face-to-face political organizations in cultivating
and animating these subjects. I suggest that localized political groups are important for
long-lasting political transformations.
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Sapiens, Feb 17, 2017
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Book Chapters by William H Westermeyer
Tha Anthropology of Donald Trump: Culture and the Exceptional Moment, 2022
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Political Sentiments and Social Movements: The Person in Politics and Culture, 2018
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Political Sentiments and social Movements: The Person in Politics and Culture, 2018
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Conference Presentations by William H Westermeyer
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Books by William H Westermeyer
University of Nebraska Press, 2019
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Papers by William H Westermeyer
The Anthropology of Donald Trump
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Articles by William H Westermeyer
the Republican Party, and other well-funded, national groups. Yet, grounded ethnographic
research reveals vibrant, independent, local organizations, which, while they do draw on
nationally disseminated cultural images and discourses, are far from simple agents of the
larger organizations and media. Relying on eighteen months of fieldwork among eight local
Tea Party groups in central North Carolina, I argue that these small, locally situated groups
are crucial components in the TPM and its effects. Using theoretical concepts from social
movement studies and social practice theory, I analyze the ways personal and Internetbased
social networks, media, and elite organizations are cocreating new political subjects,
and demonstrate the importance of local, face-to-face political organizations in cultivating
and animating these subjects. I suggest that localized political groups are important for
long-lasting political transformations.
Book Chapters by William H Westermeyer
Conference Presentations by William H Westermeyer
Books by William H Westermeyer
Papers by William H Westermeyer
the Republican Party, and other well-funded, national groups. Yet, grounded ethnographic
research reveals vibrant, independent, local organizations, which, while they do draw on
nationally disseminated cultural images and discourses, are far from simple agents of the
larger organizations and media. Relying on eighteen months of fieldwork among eight local
Tea Party groups in central North Carolina, I argue that these small, locally situated groups
are crucial components in the TPM and its effects. Using theoretical concepts from social
movement studies and social practice theory, I analyze the ways personal and Internetbased
social networks, media, and elite organizations are cocreating new political subjects,
and demonstrate the importance of local, face-to-face political organizations in cultivating
and animating these subjects. I suggest that localized political groups are important for
long-lasting political transformations.