Dr Manuel Cervera-Marzal, the author of a book chapter - "Ordinary Resistance to Masculine Domination in a Civil Disobedience Movement" - very kindly sent me a copy of his work. It's ... really good, and everyone doing activist work should read it. It escapes that most common of academic-studying-activists traps, the uncritical puff-piece extolling the... Continue Reading →
The tl:dr - six more articles, each with something of use for scholars or activists (and sometimes, for both). You should know the drill by now (one, two, three). Edwards G (2008) ‘The Lifeworld’ as a resource for social movement participation and the consequences of its colonization. Sociology 42(2): 299–316. Horton, J., & Kraftl, P.... Continue Reading →
When it comes to "successful" social movements the questions are usually "how big was the demo?"(1) or "how do we get more people along to our next meeting?" This is of course, wrong-headed. (Some of) the relevant questions are - "Who drops out?" "Why?" "Who sticks around?" "Why?" "What does "sticking around" even mean,... Continue Reading →
The TL:DR - Follow my "adventures" as I read a bunch of articles and only narrowly escape rabbitholitis. Conclusion - there ARE useful things to be had in reading about activism, useful for "movements." But you need to know a lot, have been through a lot, be able to theorise and act before you can... Continue Reading →
First, listen to this very cool song by Gil Scott Heron With one exception (1), what goes up, must come down. The big (2) wave of climate concern was, I thought, gonna crest and break in November-December 2020. But COVID-19 has pushed the Glasgow climate meeting into the long-ish grass of next year, and XR's... Continue Reading →
Gonna make videos about "useful" concepts - the ones that I seem to come back to time and again. Have downloaded Openshot, am gonna fire up my Paint skills (and maybe some Gimping). This one is as rough as a badger's arse, but so what? Biographical availability. Others to follow - emotacycles, legitimate peripheral... Continue Reading →
Another hot take about what may be coming. The USP for this one is that It tries to use some academic theories but in plain English It admits up front - “who the hell knows?” It actually foregrounds the crucial question other posts (e.g. this otherwise interesting one) ignore - “who is going to bell... Continue Reading →
The Sustainability Transitions Research Network today proudly announces a Mutual Love Partnership (MLP) - with the influential Bilderberg Group. The STRN, which has been in operation for almost a decade, acts as a platform for the exchange of ideas and a forum for chest-beating and prestige battles. It will be subsumed within the Bilderberg Group,... Continue Reading →
Hope gets on my tits. The need for hope censors. I am sick of the constant whining that if you tell people how serious things are they will "switch off". This is usually argued by people who basically believe in and are supported by the current system, who think the only problem is that our... Continue Reading →
Over the last few days I've seen some facebook posts/tweets/etc expressing anger/bewilderment that a) people are phoning up the cops to inform on neighbours who are going out more than the narks think they should b) the approval ratings for clearly failed "leaders" like Trump, Johnson and Morrison are going UP even though they are... Continue Reading →
