Choosing to be political

Some reflections on youth activism in the US

Bibliographic Data

ID4525327
AuthorsRaffaela Puggioni (0000-0002-0668-6299, ADA University, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume22
Issue3
Pages243-258
Publication date2018-04-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCitizenship Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1362-1025 • E-ISSN: 1469-3593
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13621025.2018.1449809
OpenAlexW2794285733
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited57

This article explores youth activism in the US, not through the lens of collective action, but as the product of personal choices. By drawing on existentialism, and particularly on the work of Jean-Paul Sartre, this article proposes to shift the focus of the debate from youths’ collective action to the self – a conscious self that observes, perceives and makes sense of the surrounding world through personal experience. It is this conscious self that decides how, and whether, to intervene against the ‘wrong’ that the self experiences. In this perspective, it is not only the acts (of citizenship) that matter, but the conscious process through which the self chooses to become political. Such an understanding will ultimately help uncover not only how the undocumented act and how to conceptualise their acts but also how they perceive and experience their current status and who they want to become

Citizenship · Criminology · Political activism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Gender Studies · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics