Agency and Resistance Continued.

Agenda

  • Third assignment due this Sunday by midnight. Any questions?

  • Reminder regarding attendance policy

    • Camera on policy

    • Staying on after lecture ended/in breakout rooms

  • Agency and Resistance continued.

Learning to Labor (Willis, 1977)

  • Comprises white working class boys known as "the lads."

  • "Ear ‘oles": depicted as rule followers.

  • Exhibits a nonconformist (counter/anti) school culture.

  • Highlights significance of agency in social reproduction.

Conformist Resistance

  • Oppositional behavior driven by the need for social justice.

  • Lacks critique of the systems of oppression.

  • Offers "Band-Aids" to address symptoms rather than addressing structural causes.

Conformist Resistance Example

  • Quote from Shawnie (Tyson, 2011):

    • Expresses a lack of association with Black peers due to perceived differences.

    • Describes feelings of pride in educational achievement amidst decreasing diversity in classes.

Transformational Resistance

  • Illustrates a critique of oppression and a desire for social justice.

  • Differentiates between:

    • Conformist Resistance:

      • Not motivated by social justice, no critique of oppression.

    • Transformational Resistance:

      • Motivated by social justice, seeks social change.

Manifestations of Transformational Resistance

  • Proving others wrong (Yosso, 2000).

  • Resilient Resistance (Yosso, 2000):

    • Success through educational pipeline as a reaction to visual microaggressions.

    • Positioned between conformist and transformational resistance.

  • Resistance for Liberation (Robison & Ward, 1991).

Contributors to Awareness of Inequality and Social Justice Orientation

  • Family and personal histories.

  • Presence of transformational role models.

  • Influence of transformational mentors.

Categories of Transformational Resistance

  • Internal Resistance:

    • Behavior seems conforming but engages in critique of oppression.

  • External Resistance:

    • More overt non-conforming behaviors.

  • Reflection Question:

    • How do the categories of transformative resistance resonate with you?

Social Praxis (Freire, 1970)

  • Emphasizes how students impact their institutional and social environments.

Paulo Freire (1921-1997)

  • Brazilian educator and philosopher.

  • A leading advocate of critical pedagogy.

  • Inspired by experiences in farmers’ literacy development.

Banking Education and Oppression (Freire, 1970)

  • Describes students as passive learners.

  • Views students as empty vessels to be filled.

  • Argues students lack knowledge to contribute.

Problem Posing Education and Liberation (Freire, 1970)

  • Learning as a dialogical process.

  • Recognizes knowledge contributions from both students and teachers.

  • Encourages reflection and action in response to the world.

Collective Action: Maldonado et al. (2005)

  • Focus on collective action's role in student retention in higher education.

Views of Retention: Social Integration/Assimilation

  • Development of connection with institutions (Tinto, 1987, 1993).

  • Individuals expected to conform to university.

  • Ignores group identity aspects of persistence.

Views of Retention: Multicultural Perspectives

  • Recognizes that colleges alienate students of color through monocultural structures (Rendón, 1994; Tierney, 1993).

  • Emphasizes that students belong to cultural groups.

  • Advocates for transformation to reflect diverse student populations.

Critique of Multicultural Views of Retention

  • The effectiveness of multicultural views undermined by superficial adaptations.

  • Needs to regard students as agents of social change.

The Student-Initiated Retention Project

  • University of California, Berkeley:

    • Bridges, a multicultural resource center.

    • Operates as a collective of student-run recruitment and retention centers.

  • University of Wisconsin at Madison:

    • Located within student-of-color organizations, linked through MCSC and APAC.

Concerns of Student-Initiated Retention Projects

  • Developing essential knowledge, skills, and social networks (Cultural and Social Capital).

  • Fostering commitment to communities (including ethnic/racial).

  • Challenging oppressive social and institutional norms (Social Praxis).