How can we reimagine the relationship between academia and activism to provide new opportunities for social change?
Based on an ethnography with an anti-violence feminist collective, this vibrant and vital book develops an interdisciplinary approach to activism and activist research, helping us reimagine the role of scholarship in the fight against social inequality.
With its reflections on novel tools that can be utilized in the fight for social justice, this book will be a valuable resource for academics in critical management studies, sociology, gender studies, and social work as well as practitioners and policymakers across the social services sector.
21 TWO Academic gangland During the past ten or 15 years, the UK has witnessed an increase in street gang culture and the emergence of violent urban street gangs which are active in a small number of urban areas. This phenomenon includes recent changes in gang composition (increased organisation with ever-younger affiliates staying in the gang longer), (Pitts, 2008b; Densley, 2013), presentation (links to the drug economy and so- called ‘postcode beefs’) (Pitts, 2008b; Densley, 2013) and a concurrent upswing of serious and seemingly chaotic gang
Introduction Academic staff are critical to the HE system, contributing both original knowledge and scholarship to schools of thought and subjects of study. The role of academic staff has changed considerably with them now engaged in governance, lead roles, publishing, delivering research and teaching excellence, conferences and curriculum development, among a few areas ( Graham, 2015 ). This chapter explores the different aspects of academic staff experience. Despite various policy changes and anti-racism frameworks in many HEIs, systemic institutional
395 NINETEEN Academics and public policy Daniel Cohn Introduction Academics—those who hold permanent faculty positions at universities and colleges—have a somewhat privileged place when it comes to public policymaking and analysis in liberal democracies such as Canada. Unlike bureaucrats, they are not burdened by the responsibility of representing an official position with which they might not agree. Unlike politicians and corporate actors, they are free from the need to produce immediate results. These and other freedoms also impose a heavier
275 THIRTEEN Policy analysis by academics Marleen Brans, David Aubin and Valérie Smet Through their policy-relevant research outputs and integration in policy networks, Belgian academics aim to ‘speak truth to power’ (Wildavsky, 1979) and ‘make sense together’ (Hoppe, 1999) in political and public debates about policy problems and options. Gradually they are also becoming involved in evaluating policies. At the turn of the millennium, the federal and regional governments began to move towards institutionalising policy-relevant research in the so-called inter
Introduction The topic of ableism in music academicism is gargantuan. In this chapter I highlight at least some of the problems facing disabled people within academic musical environments. Most of my focus is geared towards issues with the conservatoire/music college environment, as I have had most direct interaction with this form of institution in higher education. However, the issues within these institutions relate to all professionals in the music industry, as performers and composers have to interact with this on some level. All musicologists started as
Reconsidering academic capitalism Universities today leave nothing to chance when it comes to their public presentation. Their websites, among other marketing and advertising material, speak to this preoccupation, as they are one of the primary means by which universities communicate a desirable image to the wider world. The results of these marketing efforts are carefully curated ensembles of web pages, of individual academics, departments, faculties, administrative departments and universities as a whole, that document great academic accomplishments
283 EIGHTEEN Academic research and public policy Brian Head and James Walter Introduction Academic researchers are not usually ranked highly in discussions of who wields power and influence. Nevertheless, academics are vitally concerned with mapping the contours of political power, the determinants of public policy and debates over policy reform and improvement. This chapter examines the nature of academic research concerning public policy, and its direct and indirect linkages to policy debates and policy processes. We note several types of policy
