Grassroots Educational Organizing in an Era of Global Capital

Session Submission Type: Symposium

Abstract

The rise of venture philanthropy and expansion of global capital have resulted in highly organized and well-funded campaigns aimed at culturally and economically reconstructing the "mission" of education locally, nationally, and globally. In this session, panelists critically analyze this new class of entrepreneurial decision makers, the organizations and foundations with which they are associated, their guiding ideologies, and the circuits of capital investment they have created. At the same time, they take equally seriously the task of illuminating how under-resourced grassroots educational activists, teachers, and students can advance democratic education and establish their own networks of resistance, change, and solidarity in the face of such heavily capitalized initiatives. In this regard, session participants directly address the conference's central theme that "knowing is not enough." It is not sufficient to analyze and critique the power of global capital—we must assess which strategies and spaces provide the means for intervening in and disrupting the exercise of such power.

Sub Unit

• Division B - Curriculum Studies / Section 6: Youth Organizing and Communities in Action

Chair

• Kristen L. Buras, Georgia State University

Papers

• Panel Member - Wayne Au, University of Washington - Bothell

• Panel Member - Kristen L. Buras, Georgia State University

• Panel Member - Janelle T. Scott, University of California - Berkeley

• Panel Member - David O. Stovall, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Panel Member - Kurt D. Squire, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Discussants

• Michael W. Apple, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Joseph J. Ferrare, University of Wisconsin - Madison