Executive Summary-
In the epilogue Welch recounts several pivotal moments of social activism that took place at UVM and helped inform "The Crossroads" protest of 1985. She utilizes that particular protest to reflect on the activist history or UVM and propel it forward to the more current climate. She also counters the perspecitive of "oh my university has a tradition of conservatism...not like UVM," with the recounting of UVM's VERY conservative and elitest past. Her aim is provide examples of empowerement and student/faculty/citzen involvment when engagement is achieved.
Questions/Challenges (more like a personal response)-
I know we are charged with the task of reading for methods and methodology but I cannot help but to get swept away by Welch's social activism and call for more of it. I find myself reading for ways to incorporate this in my own classroom and how to remain motivated vs. apathetic about how much "voice" one person has. My students tend to believe there is "nothing" they can do about representations in media. They are willing to make amends with "the media" being like "the weather"...no one can control it. I am dismayed by this attitude when "the media" is made up people (albeit in the form of large corporations with very politically and economically driven gendas). Nonetheless, the throw-up-our-arms and deal with it approach is inadequate for burgeoning intellectuals (in my not-so-humble opinion). So I suppose my question/challenge today is how do I incorporate this in my class when I honestly know so little about it? I feel remiss to say...I haven't ever organized a protest...not even attended one...I haven't even ever submitted an "op ed" piece. My intentions and concerns are there, just not my actions. How then do I become a PROFESSor of such? I guess when I think of methods I'm thinking Welch may have approached this book through the lens of social action and rhetorical analysis and employed the very rhetorical canons that she uses to analyze social movements.
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Interesting questions/dilemmas. I am struck by students painting the "media" as the issue. The issue, as Welch shows, is usually the economic system and systems of laws, codes, statutes that protect large interests and sacrifice small interests (people, their livelihood, health, general well being) in search of profit. The media, being consolidated and largely corporately controlled, tends to perpetuate the status quo with some exceptions such as investigative reporting and exposes. So student framing of the problem is a problem in and of itself. The media represents issues and can obfuscate and misrepresent, but it is only a piece of the larger structural problems.
ReplyDeleteI like your point about how one gets started with public writing and teaching for social justice when one is not a social activist. I think Welch would probably say that you start from where you and the students are and then go from there--write an op-ed or study social movements/interventions and consider how to take part in one that is going on locally. She even demonstrates that she wasn't that involved in activism herself until some event galvanized her into action--the Iraq/Afghan War, her husband's illness and fight for treatment.
I agree with you that this can all be imposing and intimidating--taking the plunge. She also notes that she got started with service learning, but then grew dissatisifed with that approach and sees its limitations, although she continues to work at an afterschool program.
Great question, Nicole!! I also wonder if activism is at all possible! With so many institutional barriers and other limitations, can we involve our students in protest against the issues they are unaware of and are not visibly affected by? Can they and we afford time, energy and money to make such programs possible? Even more crucial question is: do we have such a space other than a classroom? And doec classroom activism makes a difference? I am not just piling more questions, but really thinking over Spivak's question: can subaltern speak? and her answer that they can speak but their voice is not heard. My point here is that even if we involve students into activism against pressing issues, does anybody hear what we cry about? May be the immediate audience hopefully hears us but yet doesnot listen. So, though I am not at at hopeless of the project, I seriously doubt a classroom activism brings a real cahnge in global issues unless it too goes national or global....
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