There are a number of empirical studies we have done, or are planning, which explore the relationship between apparently non-political activities, those embedded in everyday life, and the more spectacular or ‘high profile’ events which create new understandings of space and time. It is our contention that without a detailed understanding of the submerged networks from which these spectacular eruptions occur, one cannot grasp the complexity and significance of contemporary social movements.  Specific studies we have undertaken or are planning to undertake to develop further this explicitly activist oriented understanding are listed below.