#MeToo as Connective Action: A Study of the Anti-Sexual Violence and Anti-Sexual Harassment Campaign on Chinese Social Media in 2018

ABSTRACT

In January, 2018, the global anti-sexual violence and anti-sexual harassment movement – popularly known as #MeToo – had its Chinese nascence. This study drew upon the theory of connective actions to investigate how digital technologies shift the way in which feminist activism takes place. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were employed to systematically analyse over 36,000 online articles related to the campaign. The study identified 48 cases of sexual violence and harassment allegations. Findings from time series analysis show that China's #MeToo campaign first emerged within educational institutions before gradually spreading to other sectors of society. Based on qualitative findings from the ten most controversial cases, this paper identifies a series of counter-censorship strategies. The study of how the #MeToo movement in China emerged, adapted, and grew within an authoritarian context reveals unique insights into how connective actions traverse various platforms and cultural contexts. Methodologically, this study demonstrates how mixed methods can be utilised to study connective actions on social media in China.     

Protest Reconsidered: Identifying Democratic and Civic Engagement Learning Outcomes

Using a case study approach, the authors examine the democratic and civic engagement learning outcomes of a campus protest. The conceptual framework is built on the ideas outlined in Learning Reconsidered (Keeling 2004) and modeled in its pragmatic follow-up, Learning Reconsidered 2 (Keeling 2006). Results suggest student and campus administrator actions during a campus protest support democratic aims, student development, and digital age democracy. Recommendations for campus educators are included. This study extends previous discussion on activism’s journey from detrimental to developmental (Astin 1999; Chambers & Phelps 1993; Hamrick 1998; Hunter 1988) by mapping the learning environment through the interaction of protestor and university and by incorporating new forms of activism. J. Patrick Biddix  received his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies with specialization in Higher Education from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. He is currently Assistant Professor of Higher Education and Research Methodology in the Department of Curriculum, Leadership, and Technology at Valdosta State University. His primary research interests include college student uses of technology outside the classroom, career pathways in student affairs, and research methodology. Patricia A. Somers  received her Ph.D. in Educational Administration with specialization in Higher Education from the University of New Orleans. She is currently an Associate Professor of Higher Education at the University of Texas at Austin. Her primary research interests include college access, student persistence, student development theory, and two-year colleges. Joseph L. Polman  received his Ph.D. in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University. He is currently an Associate Professor of Educational Technology in the Division of Teaching and Learning at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. His primary research interests include inquiry-based learning involving computers and the Internet as tools, viewed from a sociocultural perspective.     

Urban commoning for Jarip (self-standing) and survival: subcultural activism in “Seoul Inferno”*

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the spatial practice of a subcultural activism of the “young radicals” in Seoul, South Korea through the lens of urban commoning. As a cohort of people born after the 1980s, these young musicians, artists, and cultural activists have endeavored to create, produce, and transform urban spaces through involvement in a series of anti-eviction protests. In particular, this study investigates how and why radical musicians, artists, and their associates have negotiated the chasms among their personal lifestyle, collective subculture, and political activism by pursuing their spatial practices for self-standing and survival over the past 10 years. Although not necessarily place specific, several cases are drawn from a group that relocated to the central area of Seoul since the mid-2010s, making its urban activism a subcultural (and transcultural) formation.     

Becoming a youth activist in the internet age: a case study on social media activism and identity development

This paper draws on a case study of one youth activist, and explores connections between social media activism, identity development, and critical education. Justin Rodriguez, a 17-year-old high school student in Newark, New Jersey, leveraged social media and texting as organizing tools and garnered support for a school walkout to protest education budget cuts. Drawing on the Listening Guide interview method and Justin’s narrative of his experiences, the study explores the question: Does social media activism have implications for how we understand the development of youth activist identities? The findings suggest Justin’s development as a youth activist was mediated, not produced, by social media activism; and Justin developed as a youth activist through various forms of interaction that included social media and face-to-face relationships. The paper also explores the supports provided by adult mentors that were important in Justin’s development as an activist, including education for critical consciousness and opportunities for Justin to participate in civic venues.     

Problematizing public engagement within public pedagogy research and practice

In this article, we explore issues related to how scholars attempt to enact public pedagogy (i.e. doing ‘public engagement’ work) and how they research public pedagogy (i.e. framing and researching artistic and activist ‘public engagement’ as public pedagogy). We focus specifically on three interrelated issues we believe should be addressed by scholars as they continue to theorize, enact, and analyze public pedagogies in the broader public sphere: (a) power dynamics embedded in individualized versus more collective enactments of public intellectualism; (b) conflicting and complicated conceptualizations of the relationship between the public pedagogue and the public, and how that relationship should be enacted; and (c) ethical issues surrounding the framing of public engagement and activist work under the umbrella of ‘pedagogy’.     

Tools of inaction: the impasse between teaching social issues and creating social change

Within the field of teacher education, increased emphasis has been placed on social justice education (SJE). This qualitative study examined a group of beginning teachers who voluntarily participated in a social justice critical inquiry project (CIP). The findings indicate that while many of them were successful at teaching social issues, they provided few to no opportunities for their students to engage in social action and they themselves did not participate in activism. To explain this, the participants used the following four tools of inaction: tools of substitution, postponement, displacement, and dismissal. These tools relieved the tension of not taking action and allowed the participants to postpone, justify, or redirect the responsibility of becoming active in struggling for sustainable social change. Understanding the use of these tools can help teacher educators to understand the process of development of social justice educators.     

试析美国的司法能动主义

美国的司法部门是美国分权体制的一个组成部分。近几十年来，司法部门在美国的政治过程和社会生活中发挥着越来越重要的作用，表现出司法能动主义的趋向。美国人对司法部门的宪法地位和政治作用看法不一，对司法能动主义的争论也将继续下去。     

Latina/o Student Perceptions of Post-Baccalaureate Education: Identifying Challenges to Increased Participation

The percentage of Latinas/os decreases at each stage in the educational pipeline and is especially proportionally low at the post-baccalaureate level. This study investigates the complexities of the quest to increase post-baccalaureate participation for Latina/o students. We present data on post-baccalaureate education by utilizing 2 comprehensive survey instruments distributed at 3 California State University campuses (Hispanic-Serving Institutions), 1 for current Latina/o students and alumni and the other for faculty and administrators. Findings indicate that students evaluate the value of post-baccalaureate studies based on sometimes problematic undergraduate experiences, cost, and perceived opportunity.     

诽谤诉讼“实质恶意”原则的法理探讨

实质恶意标准是美国诽谤诉讼中一个非常重要的原则，该原则是美国最高法院在“纽约时报诉沙利文案”中确立的，它为确定表达自由和名誉权之间的界限提供了明晰的论证思路。重温这一原则的证成逻辑，阐释其背后的司法哲学，既可以领略司法能动主义在权利保障方面的积极作为，也有助于理解美国宪法第一修正案保障表达自由的司法精义。     

Muslim women against FEMEN: Asserting agency in online spaces

ABSTRACT

This essay considers the activist group FEMEN and the online reactions to their “International Topless Jihad Day” protests. Specifically, I analyze the vernacular discourses present in the Facebook group Muslim Women Against FEMEN and their counter-protests as they articulate their dissatisfaction with FEMEN’s imperialist feminism. I argue that online spaces can provide meaningful sites for Muslim women to reassert their agency alongside of, rather than despite of, their Muslim identity. Tensions over the boundaries of feminist activism help us understand how digital spaces can aid in developing a more capacious understanding of agency that actively decolonizes imperialist feminist politics.