Action Medicine as Education for Social Justice Within Neoliberalism’s States of Exception

• In Event: Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Analysis of Teaching and Pedagogy

Abstract

This paper draws on social theory, history, and ethnographic work to explore how a radical group of medics, known as street medics, have created a practice of science and medicine tailored to de-democratization or what Giorgio Agamben calls “the state of exception.” The paper explores the medics as both a medical support network and popular (Freirean) educational movement. It examines three forms of educational work and looks at their pedagogy. The paper points to five conditions that make the street medics effective: commitment to social justice, insider status, prioritization of community concerns, low bar for entry, and embrace of multiple perspectives. The paper concludes by considering implications for schools from the street medic movement.

Author

• Matthew Weinstein, University of Washington - Tacoma