by Walker Kelly and Kiaora Motson.
Our project begins with the ongoing “LC: Go Fossil Free!” divestment campaign. We use this movement as a case study, to distill our understanding of how activism and scholarship interconnect on our campus. Activism, according to Merriam-Webster, is “a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue.” Doctrine implies a firmly held belief, an area with little wiggle room. Are you pro or are you con? Activist campaigns are but one of many tools used in the instigation of change, and under this umbrella term is a vast network of smaller actions. Our question is: is this tool always as strong as it could be? Are there trends of weaknesses? What must be sacrificed for a successful campaign? Could campaigns be made stronger by addressing the grey areas and the counter arguments? What sorts of motivations exist in the hearts of activists?
We branch out from Divest to approach some bigger questions relating to Environmental Scholarship, and begin to detangle this web of questions through looking at current student attitudes about activism. Current anecdotal evidence suggests that perhaps student activists may need to engage in hyper focus of the pros of campaigns in order to succeed. The details and steps of accomplishing a well intentioned goal may overshadow thoughtful, deep engagement with complex ideologies. It is easy to have a certain tunnel vision – “there is the goal! Now I need to get to it!” but this could put up walls between the campaigners and those they are up against, as well as those who are working to achieve a similar goal though through different means. The dichotomy of pro and con, right and wrong, winner and loser, is everywhere, and no different is activism. But how do we embrace difference in these situations without setting off sparks of conflict?
Addressing all these questions is beyond the scope of our small engagement project. At the very least, we hope to begin a conversation around activism by meeting with students on campus to discuss the way they approach their work. Important concepts we hope to approach are fairness, passion, motivation, sacrifice, and connections to studies. Obviously activism falls outside the confines of academic deadlines, but how separate and distinct are the choices around activism, and what we learn in our fields of study? Are they at odds? Is there a mechanism we an use to spark an external critique of the isolated nature of these movements?
By Festival of Scholars, we will have done preliminary research into current attitudes regarding thoughtful action, that perhaps a new generation of Environmental Engagement students could elaborate on through more structured, campus wide engagement.