On Tuesday (Feb. 6), we had the opportunity to attend “Dreaming Big: A Teach-in on Media Panics, Academic Freedom and The Intersectional University”. It was the first event for The Studio for Media Activism & Critical Thought Speakers’ Series.
We had the opportunity to hear from true game-changers in activism whose work revolves around defeating neoliberalism. Dr. Audrey Hudson, Dr. Sandra Jeppesen, Dr. RM Kennedy, and Susanne Nyaga told us the ways they bring their powerful voice to spaces that need it. As Hudson said, it’s all about ‘mapping’ – what you want to leave behind in the world. After hearing that, it made me really think about how I want to be remembered, and being a strong activist is something I’d want to be seen as.
I went into this café thinking a lot about something I read in one of our required readings by Susan Preston & Jordan Aslett. It said there is “An increased focus on viewing students as ‘entrepreneurial learners’ rather than critical thinkers…” (503), which really stuck with me. We’re paying several pretty pennies to be at Ryerson furthering our education in hopes to get “good jobs”. Yet, it seems like the more money we give to our university (already on top of our tuition fees) the better out future outcomes will be.
Going with what’s exemplified in this Instagram post, students are being seen more as “shoppers” and not as what we are: students. Preston & Aslett also states that students are taken as “potential contributions to the greater public good and supports market commitments to benefit capital.” (503)
A post shared by Ben Mitchell (@0siderius) on Nov 17, 2015 at 9:46pm PST
Hearing from each panelist about their work and how they address neoliberalism within the public education system made me extremely thankful. It was amazing to see (and know) that there are public educators actually educating people and students about a topic that often goes unspoken. From Dr. Audrey Hudson’s Hip-Hop & Convergence Culture course to Dr. RM Kennedy’s strike involvement and Susanne Nyaga’s social media activism awareness, it makes me feel like we are steps closer to fighting these issues.
One thing that came up a lot during the presentations and panel discussion was the aspect of ‘self-care’ and ‘caring about others.’ As Nyaga said, it’s not about ‘bubble baths and painting your nails’, but finding what you care about and informing (yet not educating) others who question it.
In Hudson’s work, caring is about knowing where you come from and how your work is often affected by it. It’s how to give back to the place(s) that influenced you and having compassion towards the people you are representing. To Kennedy, it’s about standing up for people who may not have the same voice you do. Having full-time contract professors being there with contract professors during the strike, showed that people are willing to fight for justice regardless of what would happen to them – because they care about the results.
With Jeppesen, caring is about giving people a place to speak for what is right. Campaigns like #METOO and #BLM-TO are all ways to give activists a space to show how much they care and influence others to care as well. Nyaga explained the care, to her, is standing with people who are being affected by injustice. If you’re able to speak your mind online, yet don’t defend anyone in person, you shouldn’t be saying you “care.”
So how do we defeat nay-sayers, ignorance, and instructo-bots? Dream big! Every panelist said that dreaming big about what you can achieve as your role as an activist will bring you closer to your goal. Manifesting the dreams you have about defeating these zombies and doing it, is what you need to end the injustice.
Referenced Work Preston, Susan and Jordan Aslett. “Resisting Neoliberalism from within the Academy: Subversion through an Activist Pedagogy”. Social Work Education, vol. 33, no. 4, 2014, pp. 502-518.
