ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some of the ways in which public relations (PR) academics have sought to chart the historical development of PR, and argues that protest PR has largely been written out of the history of the profession, as dominant frameworks privilege a corporate-centric view. Including protest activity enables us to consider PR’s role in societal issues and social change, outside a narrow corporate or organisational focus. The chapter explores the innovative communicative activities of the suffragettes, and identifies enduring characteristics of protest PR, such as symbolic acts and mass mobilisation. The ability of protest PR to build collective identity, enable participatory action, and galvanize support for social change are behind its historic and continuing success.
