Agency and Resistance p. 1

Agency and Resistance

  • Overview of the importance of understanding agency and resistance within educational contexts.

  • Key date and course reference: EDUC 005: Introduction to Education Studies, 2/18/2025.

Agenda

  • Focus on two key concepts: Community Cultural Wealth and Resistance.

Bodies as Resistance

  • Insights from Sonya Renee Taylor on the nature of resistance.

  • Exploration of how these insights aid in conceptualizing resistance.

Historical Context: East Los Angeles School Walkouts (1968)

  • Notable slogan: "The change was inside of us".

  • Significance of the RAZA movement in promoting educational equity.

UCLA Chicana and Chicano Studies Protests (1993)

  • Major action: Hunger strike.

  • Goal: Establishment of a Center for interdisciplinary instruction.

  • Outcome: Demand for six full-time faculty members.

Latina/Latino Critical Race Theory

  • Emphasis on a progressive coalitional Latina/Latino pan-ethnicity.

  • Issues addressed: language, immigration, ethnicity, culture, identity, phenotype, sexuality.

  • Key scholars include Espinoza, Garcia, and Valdes, among others.

Human Agency

  • Definition: The confidence and skills required to act on one's behalf.

  • Reference: Solorzano & Solorzano, 1995.

Defining Resistance

  • Based on Henry Giroux’s framework:

    • Two intersecting dimensions of resistance:

      • Critique of Social Oppression: Understanding systemic issues.

      • Motivation by Social Justice: Acting towards equity and justice.

Types of Resistance

  • Reactionary Behavior: Not a form of resistance.

  • Self-Defeating Resistance:

    • Traditional forms that critique oppression but do not aim for social justice, resulting in recreating oppressive conditions.

  • Conformist Resistance:

    • Oppositional behavior lacking critique of oppression, focusing on symptomatic solutions.

Case Study: Conformist Resistance

  • Quote from Shawnie highlights disconnection from Black peers and a limited view on social integration.

Transformational Resistance

  • Characteristics:

    • Critique of Oppression: Awareness of systemic injustice.

    • Desire for Social Justice: Committed to transformative action.

Manifestations of Transformational Resistance

  • Strategies for proving others wrong, resilient resistance through educational success amidst challenges,

  • Key concepts:

    • Resistance for Liberation: Concept by Robison & Ward.

Contributors to Awareness of Inequality

  • Family and personal histories play a crucial role.

  • Influence of transformational role models and mentors.

Categories of Transformational Resistance

  • Internal Resistance:

    • Behaviors conforming to norms but involve a critical awareness of oppression.

  • External Resistance:

    • More overt behaviors that challenge norms and express direct opposition to oppression.

Case Study: Bill and Marv

  • Discussion on how their experiences exemplify resistance.

  • Application of resistance typology to categorize their actions.

Cultivating Transformational Resistance

  • Question posed on how educational or civic programs can foster transformational resistance.

Paulo Freire (1921-1997)

  • Notable Brazilian educator and philosopher.

  • Critic of traditional educational methods, linking social class and knowledge.

  • Experience of imprisonment and exile during Brazil's coup d'état in 1964.

Banking vs. Problem Posing in Education

  • Freire’s view on education as a collaborative process rather than an imposition.

  • Emphasizes the need for transforming content to engage learners actively in the learning process.