An Exploration of Popular Education from Occupy! London to the University: Making Hope Possible in the Face of Neoliberal
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An Exploration of Popular Education from Occupy! London to the University: Making Hope Possible in the Face of Neoliberal Enclosure? CASSIE EARL A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Manchester Metropolitan University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Education and Social Research Institute Manchester Metropolitan University 2015 Abstract The thesis is an examination of three sites of pedagogic experimentation: the pedagogic activities in the UK Occupy London movement (Occupy) as an example of organic community pedagogy and popular education; the Social Science Centre, Lincoln, as an example of democratic, cooperative pedagogy: and the University of Lincoln’s Student as Producer project, as an example of an alternatively organised Higher Education Institution. The work explores not only the pedagogic practices within the sites under enquiry, but also the claims by key participants that they are new, emergent forms of educational organisation. The pedagogical initiatives of the sites were investigated to explore whether a knowledge feedback loop could be created for knowledge exchange and support between higher education institutions, community groups and political and community activists which might afford new possibilities for activism at all levels. The thesis argues that this ‘loop of learning’, constituted in a similar but broader way to action research cycles, might enable political and pedagogical growth at all levels of education. Therefore, the key research questions were those of whether this ‘learning loop’ or broad action research-type cycle between the organisations is feasible; and what forms of pedagogy and institutions might be instigated to enable this research cycle, develop mutual support and be utilised for a popular education for social transformation. A bricolage approach to the research was adopted to enable the researcher to create an experimental approach to the research and to writing the thesis in order for it to contribute to the possibilities of this cycle and support. Occupy was utilised as the main case study for the research as it claimed by some to be an organic form of popular and critical pedagogy. It is argued that the possibility of examining and attempting to understand organic popular education as it happened could have something significant to contribute to theories of popular education and education for change. The other two sites are examined as supplementary forms of organisation to assess the feasibility of the learning loop. This entailed interviewing some of the key people in Occupy and the other sites, in addition to Internet searches on all subjects, reading academic and journalistic writings and keeping my own reflective journal about the processes and experiences. The purpose of the thesis is to create a discussion on the forms of pedagogical and educational organisation that could potentially bring about social change and support a democratic public. The research argues that the pedagogy practiced by Occupy gave some insight into approaches to organic popular pedagogy, and that within this small scale study, it could be argued that some activists are beginning to bridge the gap between activism and academia by starting to understand the role of knowledge production in the struggle for transformative democracy and social justice. The research also examines whether the two supplementary sites have the potential to assist social movements and other community initiatives by connecting the different levels of knowledge production by forming a praxis of theory and action. 1 The research’s main contributions to knowledge are that it examines a political social movement from a pedagogical point of view and assesses the claims regarding how learning in these particular sites are constituted in the current context. The research also examines the role of the researcher in creating ‘really useful knowledge’ to be utilised by both the academic and activist communities. 2 “To be truly radical is to make hope possible, rather than despair convincing” Raymond Williams, 1989 3 These people here on the streets of London, are learning, they are educating and being educated by the very fact of their being here. I wish people understood that, I wish people understood that school is not education and education is not school, for me the two concepts could not have been more different. People have said to me that I might not be interested in their story as they are not educated and would therefore be uninteresting for my study – on the contrary, they have a wealth of education, they are wildly interesting, they have the best education a person could have, they have street smarts, they have, for some reason been unsuccessful in the system of schooling – for me it was dyslexia and a non-conformist streak a mile wide – for them it could have been anything, a need to work, a racially biased curriculum, a gendered classroom, whatever. But, if they failed at school, yet they are still here, believing they can change things, then they are the most educated people I know. (Author’s Reflective Fieldwork Journal, 2012) 4 Acknowledgements Firstly, I want to say thank you to Earl Harper who has been my friend and fellow traveller, he has taught me more than I ever thought it possible to understand about myself, life and education. Without him, and his almost constant coffee making, none of this would have been possible because he has been both my inspiration and teacher, my rock and my reason. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude. I also must thank John Schostak, not so much because he was my supervisor, but because he was my colleague, my mentor and when needed, my friend. He believed in me from the beginning and that holds more power than any supervisory duty imaginable. He allowed me to explore my own ideas, in my own way, he nudged when needed but understood that PhD students have their own ways, ideas and often, but not always, lives beyond the PhD. My main gratitude is for letting me do what I needed to do throughout and never losing faith in me (or at least not showing it if he did!). He was the best supervisor and Director of Studies I could have hoped for. Thanks to Geoff Bright, who challenged me to be the best I could be, who put me on an emotional rollercoaster at times, for occasionally pissing me off to the point where I really had something to prove. But Geoff always held that what I was doing was important and worthwhile. Geoff brought back some of the fun in the work when it seemed to have all but disappeared. Thanks to my ever patient mother, Tina, for whom proof reading a dyslexics work is apparently a calling! Thanks for all your support. I want to thank ESRI as a community, in whose inspirational arms this thesis grew up, being in amongst the mind power and creativity in our little ‘old chapel’ has nurtured me in ways I will always be grateful for. I have special thanks for Harry Torrance in that respect who has allowed us students to forge our way into the community of equals. Thanks also goes to some of the most instrumental people who participated in my research: Katherine, you provided me with such rich insight, you were so generous and honest, thanks; Mike, you made me think deeply and were enthusiastic about what I was doing, you helped my thinking enormously; Dan, you inspired me to really believe that change is possible, one day, and that people can achieve anything they put their minds to; To Bud Hall and Jim Crowther and the people at PEN who gave me an injection of 5 confidence, just when I needed it; and to all those who gave their time, stories and passion to the world and for allowing me to witness your efforts. I am most grateful to all those people out there who are inconveniencing power to change the world. Those brave people who do things, who act, who put their bodies on the line to create a better future for all of us. Those are the people I wish to support, to help as critical friend; those are the people whose stories I wish to tell, to give yet another echo to their voice. Those are the people that give us all hope, that create a trust in humanity against the backdrop of distrust and despair. Those people have made this work possible and I am grateful to them for that, but more than my gratitude, I offer them my solidarity, my hope and my future efforts. 6 Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................ 1 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... 5 Chapter One - Introduction ................................................................................... 10 1.1 Why have I undertaken this work? ............................................................. 10 1.2 How is the Work Organised? ...................................................................... 20 Chapter Two: Introduction to the Research ........................................................ 24 2.1 What did I hope to find through the research? ......................................... 26 2.2 What does the research hope to contribute? ........................................... 28 2.3 Being There ................................................................................................... 31 Chapter Three: Setting the Scene ........................................................................ 45 3.1 The Spaces of Potential Hope ...................................................................