The politics of social movement education : the educational practice of the anti-globalization movement
Date
2003
Authors
Hague, Cassie Ann
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Abstract
This thesis introduces the idea that social movements such as the contemporary 'antiglobalization' movement can be understood as educational practice. It argues that social movements function to create new knowledge and meaning in society by engaging in extensive and diverse forms of social movement education. This educational practice is, however, always haunted by an irresolvable dilemma between freedom and control in that it both strives to extend liberatory social relations while also serving to reinforce power inequalities. The thesis therefore explores the pedagogical possibilities for addressing such dilemmas through a pilot study of the educational activities of four Canadian antiglobalization activists. As a result of this study, the thesis claims that the most interesting aspect of social movements such as the anti-globalization movement is that they provide social movement actors with an opportunity to actively learn how to produce meaningful change and create alternate collective futures. Thus the thesis attempts to add a political and educational angle to sociological accounts of social movements that focus solely on the creation of collective identity.