Cultivating a New Generation of Social Justice Activists
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Authors
Warren, Mark R.
Issue Date
2014-11-15
Type
event
flash
flash
Language
Keywords
Inequality and Stratification
Alternative Title
The Liberal Arts in an Unequal Society
Abstract
Growing inequality, deep-seated and persistent racism, and the confluence of environmental and other crises pose profound social justice challenges to American democracy. This presentation will discuss the need for liberal arts institutions to respond to these challenges by thinking in social justice and activist terms. College students have played important roles in movements for social justice and, upon graduation, often continue to play leading roles in these movements. College is a time of life where many young people are open to adopting new and critical frames of analysis and begin a commitment to activism. While students often learn about systems of injustice in their coursework, they do not necessarily learn about solutions. Meanwhile, community partnerships typically involve community service not activism. Yet social justice requires something more or different. Students need to learn how to address structures of inequality and develop the capacity to build collaborative relationships with people who are different from them, often across lines of race and class. This is highly challenging work for institutions, for faculty and staff, and for students as it demands engagement beyond the cognitive level to the moral and relational spheres. Yet it offers higher education institutions a path to redefine their relevance to a society that grows more divided every day.