Office 411, Tower Block
Email kyle.matthews@otago.ac.nz
Twitter @jitsnz
Youth activism in New Zealand: Radicalism and the political constraints of neoliberalism
Abstract
Adopting a Political Activist Ethnography approach, with knowledge production grounded in the voices of actors, this thesis will explore the way in which young activists in New Zealand use the political boundaries between ‘acceptable’ and ‘radical’ political theories, approaches and actions in their work.
Key questions are about the constraints of political agency in the neoliberal context; the definition and boundaries of mainstream and radical contexts; and the goals that activists set and the theories, beliefs, praxis and methods they use in moving between them.
Supervisors
Associate Professor Karen Nairn (Primary Supervisor)
Dr Sophie Bond (Secondary Supervisor)
Young Activists Research Project
What inspires young people (aged 18–29+) to join others to create social change?
Kyle is a Research Assistant with this project.