Transforming Communities through Academic Activism: An Emancipatory, Praxis-led Approach

Isobel Hawthorne-Steele, Rosemary Moreland, Eilish Rooney

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

This article tracks the engagement of university faculty in academic and community activism during thirty years in conflict-affected Northern Ireland. Over time, the team of three academics who wrote the article developed programs to help tackle educational disadvantage in a deeply divided society riven with violent conflict. Our pedagogical approach was driven by social justice principles in practice. In the process, students became what Ledwith & Springett (2010) describe as participative activists in the academy and in their own communities. The aim of this collective activism was to foster transformative change in a society that is now in transition from conflict. Key examples of critical practice are described. We use a case study approach to describe challenges faced by faculty and participants. We argue that academic activism and community partnership can play a positive role in community transformation in the most difficult circumstances.
LanguageEnglish
Pages197-214
JournalStudies in Social Justice
Volume9
Issue number2
Publication statusPublished - 2015

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community
social justice
academy
university
student
Society
time

Keywords

  • transformational education
  • emancipatory praxis
  • critical reflection
  • community-academy engagement

Cite this

Hawthorne-Steele, Isobel ; Moreland, Rosemary ; Rooney, Eilish. / Transforming Communities through Academic Activism: An Emancipatory, Praxis-led Approach. In: Studies in Social Justice. 2015 ; Vol. 9, No. 2. pp. 197-214.
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Hawthorne-Steele, I, Moreland, R & Rooney, E 2015, 'Transforming Communities through Academic Activism: An Emancipatory, Praxis-led Approach', Studies in Social Justice, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 197-214.

Transforming Communities through Academic Activism: An Emancipatory, Praxis-led Approach. / Hawthorne-Steele, Isobel; Moreland, Rosemary; Rooney, Eilish.

In: Studies in Social Justice, Vol. 9, No. 2, 2015, p. 197-214.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

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N2 - This article tracks the engagement of university faculty in academic and community activism during thirty years in conflict-affected Northern Ireland. Over time, the team of three academics who wrote the article developed programs to help tackle educational disadvantage in a deeply divided society riven with violent conflict. Our pedagogical approach was driven by social justice principles in practice. In the process, students became what Ledwith & Springett (2010) describe as participative activists in the academy and in their own communities. The aim of this collective activism was to foster transformative change in a society that is now in transition from conflict. Key examples of critical practice are described. We use a case study approach to describe challenges faced by faculty and participants. We argue that academic activism and community partnership can play a positive role in community transformation in the most difficult circumstances.

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Hawthorne-Steele I, Moreland R, Rooney E. Transforming Communities through Academic Activism: An Emancipatory, Praxis-led Approach. Studies in Social Justice. 2015;9(2):197-214.

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