{"id":8491,"date":"2024-01-12T09:50:17","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T09:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/?p=8491"},"modified":"2024-01-12T09:50:17","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T09:50:17","slug":"reflections-on-activism-in-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/2024\/01\/12\/reflections-on-activism-in-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on Activism in Education"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I noted before Christmas, a <\/span>recent workshop<\/a> on activism which I listened to was disappointing. \u00a0It might have begun by exploring what activism entails (what it is and isn\u2019t) as a prelude to the discussion, but it didn't, and that absence prompted these thoughts.<\/p>\n

Activism<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are many definitions.\u00a0 Here are three from near the top of a recent web search:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cTaking action to create social change. Usually, you do this together with other people. Activism means the advocacy or active support of a cause, such as a political or social issue\u201d. \u00a0\u00a0Activist Handbook<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe use of direct<\/a> and noticeable<\/a> action<\/a> to achieve<\/a> a result<\/a>, usually a political<\/a> or social<\/a> one.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0Cambridge Dictionary<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cA doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action<\/a> especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0Merriam Webster<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What does it involve?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear from these that activism involves taking action for a purpose, where the purpose has a social and\/or political end.\u00a0 It can be done alone or with others.\u00a0 It follows that not all actions constitute activism; indeed, that most everyday actions do not.\u00a0 For example, having breakfast or catching a bus are actions that fall well short of being activism.\u00a0 Although it is not explicit in the extracts, activism also implies some level of commitment to an idea, cause, end, goal, etc.<\/p>\n

It's possible to set out a number of typologies or hierarchies associated with activism.\u00a0 For example, there is the three-part framework that was outlined in the webinar.\u00a0 Here\u2019s one possible hierarchy:<\/p>\n

Activism through \u2026<\/p>\n