Ambivalent Activism

Working with Contradiction, Hesitation and Doubt for Social Change
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-5292-3973-7
Verlag: Bristol University Press

Buch, Englisch, 176 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

What if doubt, hesitation and ambivalence weren’t barriers to activism but powerful tools for change?

Challenging the idea that activism is fuelled only by anger or hope, this bold collection explores how activists across anti-racism, climate justice and mental health navigate uncertainty to sustain their work. Blending scholarship with on-the-ground perspectives, this book highlights ambivalence not as a weakness but as a dynamic force.

This is essential reading for anyone engaged in activism or emotional research, redefining what it means to feel and act for justice in a complex world.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Emejulu, Akwugo

Kustatscher, Marlies

McGregor, Callum

Weitere Mitwirkende

Gould, Deborah B.

Mrovlje, Maša

Cole, Alyson

Howse, Melody

Quadry-Adekanbi, Adebayo

Spandler, Hel

Poursanidou, Dina

Soans, Sonia

McKenzie, Jordan

Sutton, Zoei

Florescu, Cristina

Showden, Carisa R.

Nairn, Karen

Anderson, Nicole

Krystalli, Roxani

Walsh, Aylwyn

Routledge, Paul

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction: Ambivalent Activism: Working with Contradiction, Hesitation and Doubt for Social Change - Akwugo Emejulu, Marlies Kustatscher and Callum McGregor

Part 1: Theorising Ambivalence

1. Ambivalence as Misfeeling, Ambivalence as Refusal - Akwugo Emejulu

2. On (Not) Knowing What Is to Be Done (In 17 Affective Registers) - Deborah Gould

3. Facing Defeat: Rosa Luxemburg in Dialogue with Prefigurative Politics - Maša Mrovlje

4. Orchestrating the Furies: AnzaldúA’s Evolving Conception of Ambivalent Political Struggle - Alyson Cole

Part 2: Activism as Ambivalent Praxis

5. An Activism of the In-Between - Melody Howse

6. Resisting with People I Don’t Like: Exploring the Internal Tensions Among Queer Activists in Lagos, Nigeria - Adebayo Quadry-Adekanbi

7. Ambivalent Activism: Re-Contextualising Mental Health Politics - Hel Spandler, Dina Poursanidou and Sonia Soans

8. Ambivalence and Veganism: Rethinking Sentiment in Moral Choices - Jordan McKenzie and Zoei Sutton

9. The Embroidery Collective: Embroidering and Reimagining Community in Times of Struggle- Cristina Florescu

10. Ambivalent Emotions Empowering Activism: Learning from Youth Activists in Aotearoa - Carisa R. Showden and Karen Nairn

Part 3: Activism and the Ambivalent Academy

11. Working with Discomfort: Contesting Ambivalence Through Care and Accountability in Edinburgh University’s ‘Skull Room’ - Nicole Anderson

12. The Poetry of Ambivalence: A Nudge Towards Tending - Roxani Krystalli

13. The Role of ‘Stuckedness’: Ambivalence in Scholar-Activism - Aylwyn Walsh and Paul Routledge

Conclusion: Thinking with Pessimism - Akwugo Emejulu, Marlies Kustatscher and Callum McGregor

Über Autor(innen)

McKenzie, Jordan
Jordan McKenzie is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Wollongong, Australia.

Emejulu, Akwugo
Akwugo Emejulu is Chair of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield.

Kustatscher, Marlies
Marlies Kustatscher is Senior Lecturer in Childhood Studies at Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh.

McGregor, Callum
Callum McGregor is Lecturer in Education at Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh.

Akwugo Emejulu is Chair of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield.

Marlies Kustatscher is Senior Lecturer in Childhood Studies at Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh.

Callum McGregor is Lecturer in Education at Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh.