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Civic Engagement

The many activities you can participate in to make your community a better place to live, plus related Whittemore Library resources.

Activism as Civic Engagement, The Personal as Political

People on the planet are being routinely convinced by the public discourse that the situation they find themselves in is inevitable, and that the suffering they feel is their own issue, but we know better. Organizing around activism helps people realize that personal suffering is a part of a larger collective struggle and that the truth is not an objective state of nature separate from our shared lived experiences. People who do activism reclaim their own agency in deciding what kind of world they want to live in. Activism helps us bridge the gap between what needs to be done and what our governments are willing to do so that we could live dignified lives.

What is activism? | Activist Handbook. (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2023, from https://activisthandbook.org/theory/what-is-activism

Resources about Activism from the Whittemore Library

The Ashgate Research Companion to Lesbian and Gay Activism (Print Book)

Provides scholars and students with a comprehensive and authoritative state-of-the-art review of the current research in this subject.

Digital Activism Decoded (E-Book)

"Digital activism" and its dynamics, practices misconceptions and possible futures are presented together for the first time.

Asian American Media Activism (Print Book)

How activists and minority communities use media to facilitate social change and achieve cultural citizenship.

Local Food Networks and Activism in the Heartland (E-Book)

"Set in the agricultural heartland of the United States but relevant to everyone interested in local food networks and activism, Local Food Network's many voices address the theme that local food networks improve the cultural, economic and social balance of a given community."

Organizing While Undocumented (Print Book)

An inspiring look inside immigrant youth's political activism in perilous times .

Creative Activism (E-Book)

Moving away from a narrow idea about politics that is organized around elections, advocacy groups, or concrete manifestos, the subjects of Creative Activism do their work through song, poetry, painting, and other arts.

Global Feminism (Print Book)

Explores the social and political developments that have energized movements of global feminism.

The Great Suppression (Print Book)

Control of the country is up for grabs-and Republicans have been rigging the game in their favor.

Youth Activism in an Era of Education Inequality (E-Book)

Diverse case studies on how youth build political power during an era of racial and educational inequality in America.