Social injustices loom large in society, but little education is provided on citizen advocacy and activism for the health of a democracy. In the Gallup-Knight Foundation survey of U.S. college students, Free Expression On Campus: What College Students Think About First Amendment Issues (2016-2018), only 56% of college students say protecting free speech rights is extremely important to democracy and 61% state the climate on campuses prevents students from expressing views.
Using revolutionary critical pedagogy (Friere 1970, 2000; McLaren 2016) and communication activism pedagogy (Frey, et al 1996; Frey & Carragee 2007) as a foundation, the author will assert U.S. educational institutions were established, at least as part of their mission, to better their civic communities and promote democracy. Educators and students must engage the tenants of advocacy and activism within disciplines to sustain a civil and just society. Special attention will be given to the role of digital media in creating/sustaining participation in social justice issues. The pros/cons of online versus on-ground(and on-campus) advocacy/activism will be discussed through concepts of service-learning, armchair activism, community-based research, slacktivism, etc.
By integrating advocacy/activism education on campuses, students/faculty can collaborate to use communication tools to intervene or reconstruct unjust discourses in more just ways. Examples from campus culture will include the online coordination of protest rallies, expressions of solidarity via Facebook profiles, live news-streams of political uprisings via YouTube, collective outcries via hashtags and online petitions, and crowdfunding campaigns for charities.
References: Free Expression On Campus:What College Students Think About First Amendment Issues.(2016-2018). Gallup-Knight Foundation. Freire,P. (1970).Pedagogy of the oppressed.NY:Continuum. Frey,L.R. & Carragee,K.M. (Eds). (2007a).Communication activism:Vol.1.-Communication for social change. Cresskill,NJ:Hampton Press. Frey,L.R., etal. (1996).From medium to context to praxis and process: Transforming undergraduate communication curriculum. WorldCommunication,25,79-89. McLaren,P. (2016). Afterword. In M.Pruyn & L.Huerta-Charles(Eds). This fist called my heart: Peter McLaren reader,Vol.1. Charlotte,NC:Information Age.
About the presenterCaroline Fitzpatrick
Caroline (Carrie) Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Communications at Alvernia University, PA. Her research interests incorporate multimodal literacies, communication law, media advocacy, qualitative research, and digital publishing. She serves as a co-chair for her University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). She has published a textbook “Public Speaking for Leadership & Advocacy” in 2019, and she is currently working on an edited collection titled “Writing the Disciplines: A Practice-Based Anthology,” to be published in 2022.