Take back our future : an eventful sociology of the Hong Kong Umbrella Movement /

This edited volume from Lee (Univ. of California, Los Angeles) and Sing (Hong Kong Univ. of Science and Technology) uses the 2014 Umbrella Movement as a case study to address "both the historical and social structural conditions of Hong Kong politics as well as the fine-grained mobilization processes of street contentions." Lee asserts from the outset that the movement "politicized a whole generation of people who had no prior experience in politics" and "awakened popular consciousness." The following 10 essays then survey the factors that shaped the protests and its outcomes. Chapter 3, for instance, documents the participation of various grassroots groups in the movement, and chapter 5 explores the issue of press freedom versus censorship and self-censorship. Chapter 6 evaluates the contributions of labor, trade unions, and grassroots organizations to the movement. Chapter 8 reviews the mobilization of the conservative middle class by the pro-China civic organization against protesters, and chapter 9 focuses on artistic creation as one of the movement's most outstanding achievements. Finally, chapter 10 covers "China's strategy of 'using business to encircle politics.'" This study is highly recommended for faculty, graduates, and undergrads. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. --Stephen K. Ma, emeritus, California State University, Los Angeles