User:Beutber/sandbox1

(Social) Activism - an article on the history of social movements with links to related terms.

• Lead section: A scaffolding paragraph that summarizes the article (expand on current).

• History: Describe how the term was developed (including explanation of changes since earlier understandings of "social action").

• Theory: A brief explanation of activism as it has been developed, using own words. Section headings can be created to address specific claims or elements of the model (e.g. History of activism in the UK, history of activism in the US, traditional understandings of social action (religious, feminist, civil rights, etc.).

• Reactions: How did people build on or argue against the theory? Summarize and attribute perspectives reflected in academic literature (e.g. recent titles in the American Journal of Political Science)

COULD ADD MORE TO BEGINNING• Impact: Activism is a concept to be defined and understood in defining the emergence and effects of politically and socially active individuals, organizations and groups. Not all forms of government or social organization place an equal emphasis on recognizing activists or responding to activists' demands. In some countries and in some time periods, the practice of activism can result and has reuslted in ostracism, beating, torture, capital punishment or death.

ADDED: DEFINITIONS OF ACTIVISM

The history of the term "activism" traces back to earlier understandings of social action and the emergence of public demonstrations as an acceptable democratic option of protest or appeal. As late as 1969 activism was defined as "the policy or practice of doing things with decision and energy" (Clarence L. Barnhart, Editor in Chief, The World Book Dictionary, Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, Chicago, IL, Vol. 1,1969, p. 23), without regard to a political signification, whereas social action was defined as "organized action taken by a group to improve social conditions" (Clarence L. Barnhart, Editor in Chief, The World Book Dictionary, Chicago, IL: 1969, Field Enterprises Educational Corporation, p. 1963), without regard to normative status. No definition of social activism is included as an entry. However, the history of the existence of revolt through organized or unified protest in recorded history dates back to the slave revolts of the 1st century BCE (BC) in the Roman Empire, where under the leadership of former gladiator Spartacus 6,000 slaves rebelled and were crucified from Capua to Rome in what became known as the Third Servile War.

In English history, the Peasant's Revolt erupted in response to the imposition of a poll tax, and has been paralleled by other rebellions and revolutions in Hungary, Russia, and more recently, for example, Hong Kong. In 1930 under the leadership of Mahatma Ghandi thousands of protesting Indians participated in the Salt March as a protest against the oppressive taxes of their government, resulting in the imprisonment of 60,000 people and eventual independence for their nation. In nations throughout Asia, Africa and South America, the prominence of activism organized by social movements and especially under the leadership of civil activists or social revolutionaries has pushed for increasing national self-reliance or, in some parts of the developing world, collectivist communist or socialist organization and affiliation.

ADDED: CRITICISMS

Critics of activism vary across the centuries in accordance with the time and place of the civil or social movement which they disapprove. At the time of the French Revolution, famous British and American writers including Burke, LIST OTHER AMERICAN WRITERS disapproved of the activities in France while turning a more favorable eye to the revolution in America as more legitimate and less destructive. The primary argument against activism in these texts is that it is destructive and destabilising. In contrast, the primary arguments for activism are those of equality, fairness or democratic opportunities in the name of existing or alleged "rights". Examples would include the famous slogan of the French revolutionaries under Robespierre, "liberté, égalité, fraternité."

ADDED: ACTIVISM IN LITERATURE

Activism in literature (not to be confused with literary activism) includes the expression of intended or advocated reforms, realized or unachieved, through published, written or verbally promoted or communicated forms. In the history of education in England (now part of the United Kingdom), one of the most powerful and persuasive forms of activist literature is Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Women arguing for the participation of women in national education. In the United States, powerful and famous texts include the speeches of various politicians and cultural promoters, like Sojourner Truth's Aint I A Woman?, and the written legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Upton Sinclair's The Jungle is often studied as a representative of the genre highlighting the inequalities and oppression of the average working immigrant family in industrialized Chicago. Similar examples of activism in literature include works of fiction such as To Kill A Mockingbird and other examples of fiction portraying or commenting on the predicaments faced by the enslaved, oppressed or disenfranchised over time.

The abolitionist movement in 18th and 19th century Britain sought to influence the local reading public to abolish the slave trade through the publication and promotion of various books and tracts, including the memoirs of former slaves Ignatius Sancho, Olaudah Equiano (also known as Gustavus Vassa), and Ottabah Cugoano in his book Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil and Wicked Traffic of the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species. (CITE http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/rights/abolition.htm) (internal link to Abolitionism in the United Kingdom)

More recently, attempts by writers protesting sex trafficking and the selling of sexual services range from books like Prostitution Narratives, an edited collection by Caroline Norma and Melinda Tankard Reist, to Being and Being Bought by Kajsa Ekis Ekman.

STUDENT ACTIVISM

Go in to student movement of the 1960s onwards... need sources and some debates on all of the above from established journals.

CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Add also:

Links to social movements, protests, media activism and politics and technology.

See also:

https://www.britannica.com/event/Peasants-Revolt

https://www.britannica.com/event/Salt-March

http://www.historynet.com/spartacus.htm