Creating a Faculty Activism Commons for Social Justice

“In this volume, Warner and Case have curated “soul songs” rising from an invisible and crucial space of unacknowledged, bone crushing, joyous and usually invisible academic labor: the faculty activist commons. Reading through these relentless, powerful, intersectional and heart-breaking narratives sketched in the shadows of the commons…they reflect, in public and in writing, on the struggle for justice in our universities. This is not a volume of despair but courage/imagination/radical transformation from within, as they offer a cautionary tale about why it matters so much to fight for a progressive, bold, truth telling and inquiry driven academy.” Michelle Fine, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Critical Psychology, The Graduate Center, and Visiting scholar at the University of South Africa. “This important book highlights strategies to reimagine the university as more socially just. Recognizing isolation, resistance, and defeat as well as connection, joy, and success, the authors showcase the frustrating and hopeful world of faculty activism.” Joya Misra, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA. ""We live in a society that tacitly accepts the assumption that scholarship and knowledge, ideally, transcends worldly concerns and should be unsullied by investigator bias. The scholars in this book reveal the extent to which knowledge production is tied intimately with systems of oppression and injustice. Fighting for social justice in spaces of higher education is already difficult; to write about one's own journey navigating those systems even more so. The contributors of this book have given us all a gift in their words and narratives. The contributions to this volume will inspire you, move you, and even stir you to action."" Rudy Mendoza-Denton, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, University of California at Berkeley, USA.