Agency and Idealism: Relational and Collaborative Research towards Human Rights & Justice

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Idealism, as discussed in the conference theme, is defined as the “the practice of forming or pursuing ideals” and is often associated with a certain naivete about the structural limits and constraints of achieving often lofty goals. The idea of universal education a century ago would have been seen as an “idealistic” pursuit given the marginalization of huge swaths of the globe under colonial and imperial rule; in 1947 at the time of India’s independence, for example, just 16% of its populace (mostly male) could read and write. Writers such as Octavia Butler offer examples of idealism and utopic visioning. Closely correlated to these concepts is the notion of agency, particularly in its strategic and transformative forms (Bajaj, 2018; Freire, 1970).

In this session, we engage the nexus of where idealism meets agency as a catalyst for the realization of greater freedom through liberatory education. We present four examples through the papers in this session that offer community or formal education settings, and highlight how deeply relational, reciprocal and collaborative research methodologies can uncover possibilities for movement towards human rights and social justice.

Drawing on the theme of transformative agency, comprised of the subcomponents of relational, strategic, coalitional and situated agency (Bajaj, 2018), each panelist then offers case studies that investigate the concept of agency through engaged learning opportunities, collaborative research and reflective practices. The concept of idealism is linked in each paper as the projects explore the tension between human rights imaginations, freedom dreaming (Kelley, 2002), and agency vis-a-vis the institutional and political constraints on participants’ lives in each study presented.

Two papers example community-based research projects with the Uyghur diaspora and refugee communities broadly and the other two examine participatory research projects in higher education settings in the U.S. examining the co-optation of free speech discourse to promote hate and the right to food respectively. Through these four papers, the panelists individually and collectively will explore how engaged scholarship can offer methodological lenses for the field of comparative and international education that are rooted in ethical relationships and reciprocity with communities we carry out research with. The panel collectively centers the dialogical nature of collaborative research undertaken with a vision for more just futures.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• Monisha Bajaj, University of San Francisco

Individual Presentations

• Beyond the Food Pantry: Addressing Food Insecurity on the College Campus through Student Centered Research, Reflection and Action - Rachel Brand, University of San Francisco

• Mending the Middle: Student Affairs Professionals of Color Navigating Community College Hate Speech - Michiko Kealoha, University of San Francisco

• Uyghur Diaspora Perspectives on the Genocide in East Turkestan - Lina Lenberg, University of San Francisco

• A community research praxis: Discovering, co-generating and amplifying refugee knowledge for community well-being - Jane Pak, Refugee

Discussant

• Roozbeh Shirazi, University of Minnesota