Academics and social movements: Knowing our place, making our space

Mason, Kelvin John 2013. Academics and social movements: Knowing our place, making our space. ACME 12 (1) , pp. 23-43.

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Abstract

This paper considers the place of academics in social movements, not as (predominantly) researchers or individuals but as activists acting collectively (Autonomous Geographies Collective, 2010). The notions of militant particularism and convergence space (Routledge, 2003; Cumbers et al. 2008) are deployed in relation to global justice networks, to analyze the discussions between academics planning direct action collectively and potentially with the network Climate Justice Action during the UN COP15 climate change summit in Copenhagen in December 2009. A notable tension in these debates centered on 'radical' versus 'reformist' action and how either might contribute to transformative social change. The discussions ultimately led to the action of an academic seminar blockade, analyzed as a form of constructive resistance based on mutable particularisms flowing between shifting scales of convergence space. The paper concludes with the proposal that scholar activists should make a long-term commitment to act collectively, develop our own militant particularisms, and bring these to the convergence spaces of global justice networks.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Geography and Planning (GEOPL)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races
Publisher:	University of British Columbia, Okanagan
ISSN:	1492-9732
Related URLs:	Publisher
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	04 May 2023 18:24
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/40414

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