Unfurling routes of self-determination in Aotearoa New Zealand: The Black Women’s Movement 1978 – 1982

<p>Self-determination is a transformative process of ideas and action. It can manifest in a variety of ways but is often dependent on the meeting of likeminded people, the circumstances they find themselves in, and the energy that fuels them into action. This thesis is a theoretical and empirical exploration of Māori and Pasifika women’s self-determination in Aotearoa via a study of the Black Women’s movement from 1978 to 1982. The primary focus is on the complexities, connections and contradictions of their identification with Blackness as part of an assertion of self-determination and Tino Rangatiratanga (Māori self-determination). Using the indigenous concepts of mauri (life force), whanaungatanga (familial relationships) and the koru (unfurling koru frond), this research shows how their Black identification was an important catalyst for a particular type of self-determination, asserted within the political landscape of both the public and private spheres. Black women often negotiated spaces of activism, making their struggles central to, and an example of, the core values that drive anticolonial activist politics. This investigation adds to current Māori activist literature, by addressing the largely ignored solidarity between Māori and Pasifika women within anticolonial activist movements of the era. Overall, the thesis contributes to a wider understanding of the particular racial and gendered dynamics of social and political movements in Aotearoa.</p>

Unfurling routes of self-determination in Aotearoa New Zealand: The Black Women’s Movement 1978 – 1982

<p>Self-determination is a transformative process of ideas and action. It can manifest in a variety of ways but is often dependent on the meeting of likeminded people, the circumstances they find themselves in, and the energy that fuels them into action. This thesis is a theoretical and empirical exploration of Māori and Pasifika women’s self-determination in Aotearoa via a study of the Black Women’s movement from 1978 to 1982. The primary focus is on the complexities, connections and contradictions of their identification with Blackness as part of an assertion of self-determination and Tino Rangatiratanga (Māori self-determination). Using the indigenous concepts of mauri (life force), whanaungatanga (familial relationships) and the koru (unfurling koru frond), this research shows how their Black identification was an important catalyst for a particular type of self-determination, asserted within the political landscape of both the public and private spheres. Black women often negotiated spaces of activism, making their struggles central to, and an example of, the core values that drive anticolonial activist politics. This investigation adds to current Māori activist literature, by addressing the largely ignored solidarity between Māori and Pasifika women within anticolonial activist movements of the era. Overall, the thesis contributes to a wider understanding of the particular racial and gendered dynamics of social and political movements in Aotearoa.</p>

Paying for Our Periods: The Campaign to Tackle Period Poverty and End the Tampon Tax in the UK

Tampon tax and period poverty activist movements are growing in tandem worldwide. These movements are reshaping the way we think about menstruation and what governments can do to tackle period-based injustices. Through this Essay, two United Kingdom (UK) period activists will explore how these UK movements were erected, how they interact with the global movements, and how Brexit has impacted UK menstruation activism and law-making. Finally, they will look ahead to discuss what they believe the future of period activism might look like.

‘Creator gave us two ears and one mouth’

Acoustic ecology has served as a foundational theoretical field for many sound scholars to understand the soundscape as a signifier for environmental crisis. While sound theorists like R. Murray Schafer and those in the World Soundscape Project have developed ways in which to critically analyze environmental soundscapes, these methods have often excluded Indigenous narratives which offer complex understandings of sound through embodied experience. In this paper I employ a brief description of acoustic ecology, drawing attention to its benefits as a methodological approach to sonic ordering, while also demonstrating the possibilities for expansion of this field when examined in conversation with Canadian Indigenous perspectives and notable sonic activist movements. I address how Indigenous knowledge systems, futurisms, art, and activism can provide critical perspectives within the field of acoustic ecology, which lends well to understanding soundscapes of crisis. I identify a few case studies of sonic forward Indigenous environmental movements which include game design by Elizabeth LaPensée, Rebecca Belmore’s Wave Sound sculpture, and the Round Dance Revolution within the Idle No More movement. In sum, this paper works to bridge the work of acoustic ecology and Indigenous sonic movements to encourage a complex and nuanced relationship to sound, and to explore moments for understanding sonic intersections at the forefront of environmental crisis.

“Let’s keep it about Kony, not Kony 2012” Exploring the shifts in language around a user generated hashtag during the Kony 2012 movement

Social media has become more than a platform for social engagement and connectivity. Users have tapped into the power of social media‟s reach to connect with like-minded individuals around the world. Protests, revolutions and global movements are taking shape as a result of what the Internet affords us as users – immediate connectivity. This paper aims to explore Twitter as a platform for activist movements. Specifically, I look at the language used within the Kony 2012 movement and aim to understand how the language within tweets changed overtime by following a user-generated hashtag (#Kony2012). For this study, I analyzed 325 tweets from the Kony 2012 campaign. These tweets were collected from March 5th 2012 to March 17th 2012. My findings indicate that Twitter‟s hashtag function was always used in the three following ways: (1) Sharing Information, (2) Passive Calls to Action, (3) Strong Calls to Action. Overall, the tweets I studied surrounding #Kony2012 hashtag suggest that this movement was weak in mobilizing change but strong in raising awareness

“Let’s keep it about Kony, not Kony 2012” Exploring the shifts in language around a user generated hashtag during the Kony 2012 movement

Social media has become more than a platform for social engagement and connectivity. Users have tapped into the power of social media‟s reach to connect with like-minded individuals around the world. Protests, revolutions and global movements are taking shape as a result of what the Internet affords us as users – immediate connectivity. This paper aims to explore Twitter as a platform for activist movements. Specifically, I look at the language used within the Kony 2012 movement and aim to understand how the language within tweets changed overtime by following a user-generated hashtag (#Kony2012). For this study, I analyzed 325 tweets from the Kony 2012 campaign. These tweets were collected from March 5th 2012 to March 17th 2012. My findings indicate that Twitter‟s hashtag function was always used in the three following ways: (1) Sharing Information, (2) Passive Calls to Action, (3) Strong Calls to Action. Overall, the tweets I studied surrounding #Kony2012 hashtag suggest that this movement was weak in mobilizing change but strong in raising awareness

Creating a Culture of Activism in the Education Doctorate

Attempting to combine activism and scholarship would seem natural because most academic research is born out of a deep-rooted desire to change, eradicate, or transform a societal issue. As such, translating research into practice by way of activism would seem conventional for most scholars, because it is “informed by both personal and political values and the need to engage our emotional responses to the world around us” (Derickson & Routledge, 2015, p. 5). However, the elite, “ivory-tower” of the academy is not so accepting of scholar-activists. Perhaps it is because activism places higher education in the cross hairs of the criticisms, critiques, and call-outs that activism seeks to influence. Institutions of higher education have done a mediocre job at cultivating spaces for academics to freely engage in activism, as academics who desire to participate in activism face considerable and specific career-related risks (Flood et al., 2013). Loss of tenure, reduced opportunities for collaboration, decreased funding, isolation, and oftentimes physical threats are but a few strategies used against academics who openly participate in activism. While many activist movements have been birthed on college and university campuses, very few demonstrate a willingness to embrace the causes or individuals involved in these activist movements. As institutions of higher education try to strengthen both the policies and practices related to diversity, equity, and inclusion it is imperative that they also examine the oppressive structures, antiquated hiring practices, and exclusionary curriculum that inhibit the culture of activism from thriving. These three specific areas are the focus for this article.

La Fe en Acción: Faith-Based Activism, Immigration Reform, and Structural Vulnerability

Religious conviction has played a prominent role in many activist movements throughout the United States. In this article, I detail one social justice organization’s enactment of activism called la fe en acción (faith in action). This approach was nuanced from being simply “activism” but one that, according to participants, was more strategic and longer lasting. La fe en acción served as the central strategy utilized by this organization in order to garner public and political support for comprehensive immigration reform. A crucial component within this approach included the sharing of testimonios (testimonials) of participants. While this form of activism was intended to garner the participation of all people—including undocumented immigrants—for some, structural vulnerability hindered their ability to participate. Overall, I explore the positive and negative aspects of this approach as elaborated from data gathered during attempts to garner support for comprehensive immigration reform in 2013.

Sociodrama, Activism, and Role Training to Empower Communities

This chapter will highlight the use of role-playing, especially sociodramaand role trainingin community empowerment and social activist movements. Historical context will be provided for the traditions of using drama, theater, and role-play in social work and social activismincluding Jacob Moreno’s vision of the theater as a modality for societal change. The sociodramatic approach will be outlined with focus on its utility in community settings as an experiential and communal experience of social action. Multiple examples of sociodrama or role training in communities are depicted with an emphasis on its adaptability for different settings and its effectiveness at empowering people. Examples include its application with youth, law enforcement, intergenerational dialogues, domestic violence response teams, undocumented immigrant communities, social work students, and to empower advocacy with employers, insurance providers, funders, or policy makers.