University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations 2018 The Art Of Resistance: An Arts Based Understanding Of Activism Stephen Michael Weiser University of South Carolina Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons Recommended Citation Weiser, S. M.(2018). The Art Of Resistance: An Arts Based Understanding Of Activism. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/4777 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE ART OF RESISTANCE: AN ARTS BASED UNDERSTANDING OF ACTIVISM by Stephen Michael Weiser Bachelor of Arts. Florida State University, 2003 Master of Education. University of South Carolina, 2010 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Foundations of Education College of Education University of South Carolina 2018 Accepted by: Allison Anders, Major Professor Payal Shah, Committee Member Daniella Cook, Committee Member Carla Pfeffer, Committee Member Cheryl L. Addy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School © Copyright by Stephen Michael Weiser, 2018 All Rights Reserved. ii DEDICATION To the killjoys — those who don’t belong but remake the space for those who come after us. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This endeavor would not have been possible without the support of many people. First and foremost is my partner, Kate. She has put up with my ridiculousness for many years now and has been with me the entirety of this academic journey. During this time, we moved in together, we got married, and made our family bigger by one, and are now preparing to move halfway across the country. You are my best friend, best cheerleader (whether triathlon, marathon, or dissertation), and the best of wives and best of women. I write this as Liam is sleeping in the next room. I love you. I'm sorry for stealing hours away from you to write. While your smile and laugh often pulled me away from work, you always re-centered me and encouraged me to go on. Of course, my wonderful family helped me and supported me along this journey. My mom has always been my rock and I appreciate her always. My father challenges me to think about ideas and issues from multiple perspectives, and was in many ways, my first post-structural teacher. My brother inspires me, makes me laugh, and reminds me of the little kids that we once were. Thank you all for this! To my mother-in-law and my father-in-law, your un-ending confidence in me has always meant the world. Thank you for this. To my brother-in-law, thank you for making me laugh and always being willing to go on a Wawa run. I love you all! My committee is made up of four of the smartest and most amazing individuals I have ever known and I have been thrilled and honored to work with all four of you over the course of my academic career. Thank you all for everything that you have given to iv me, my family, and this project. To my chair, Allison, from my very first class with you in 2013, you have inspired me, pushed me, and affirmed me. Without your guidance and support, I wouldn’t be here. To Payal, thank you for pushing me to be more critical and thoughtful in my scholarship and teaching. To Daniella, thank you for believing in me and supporting me. Carla, thank you for all your guidance, humor, and advice. To all the faculty members who have given me advice and love over my time here not only in the College of Education (Payal, Kara, Michelle, Jenny, Christian, and Spencer) but also in Women Studies (Carla, Ed, Danny, Emily, Drue, and Suzanne), and AFAM (Nancy and Todd), I appreciate your mentorship and I will pay it forward. To my OMSAFam, thank you for being a part of me. Though I leave you physically, you will always be with me in my heart. To my Foundations Peeps: Tim, Salandra, Dalisha, Binda, Bry, Hadrian, and Devin thanks for all the conversations and support. To my writing partners: Travis, Nora, Toniqua, and Myles thank you for always pushing me and making me smile. To all those in student affairs, thanks for the work that you do for our community. Anyone else that has supported me through this journey, thank you. Even if you are not named, I appreciate you and all that you have done for me. v ABSTRACT In this project, the researcher explored the ways that millennial activists articulated the role of emotions in their activisms through artistic means. Specifically, through the production of zines, a format that eschews standardization but often reflect non-dominant positionalities, millennial activists explored their articulations, experiences, and engagement with activism. Informed by arts-based research (ABR) the researcher analyzed data from an emic perspective. Analyzing the experiences of the 14 millennial activists who reflected a heterogeneous group, the researcher represents eight themes: the demands of artistry; building community; distance in families of birth; resistance to oppression; emotion; mental health, self-care, and guilt; the South; and social media. This study makes scholarly contributions to the empirical, theoretical, and methodological spheres of education research, and student activism and is a resource for educational researchers, scholar-activists, and university administrators who work in community with young adult activists. Specifically, implications from the research include among others: changes in support and policy for historically underrepresented students, and campus response to hate-inciting speakers and events on and near college campuses, the incorporation of new technologies in student affairs outreach, new formations of university leadership, and a call for universities to be proactive to support historically underrepresented students. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iii ACKKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ iv ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2 : LITERATURE.......................................................................................... 23 CHAPTER 3 : METHODS ............................................................................................. 104 CHAPTER 4 : IMAGE INTERLUDE ............................................................................ 145 CHAPTER 5 : FINDINGS ............................................................................................. 174 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION......................................................................................... 307 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 340 APPENDIX A - RECRUITMENT FLYER & DISSEMINATION ............................... 397 APPENDIX B – ARTIST REPORTED DEMOGRAPHICS ......................................... 400 APPENDIX C - TRUMP COMMENTS ........................................................................ 401 APPENDIX D - LEIA PROTEST ZINE ........................................................................ 403 APPENDIX E – TABLE OF THEMES ......................................................................... 406 APPENDIX F - INFORMED CONSENT COVER ....................................................... 408 vii APPENDIX G - INFORMED CONSENT LANGUAGE .............................................. 410 APPENDIX H - PIGGY PARK ...................................................................................... 411 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 5.1 Artist Reported Demographics ....................................................................... 175 Table A.1 Recruitment Dissemination ............................................................................ 398 Table B.1 Artist Reported Demographics ....................................................................... 400 Table E.1 Table of Themes ............................................................................................. 406 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 Angel_Rainbow_Daisy 1............................................................................... 146 Figure 4.2 Angel_Rainbow_Daisy 2............................................................................... 147 Figure 4.3 CatsAreBetterThanDogs420 Exterior ........................................................... 148 Figure 4.4 CatsAreBetterThanDogs420 Interior............................................................. 149 Figure 4.5 Claire ............................................................................................................. 150 Figure 4.6 D.Prince ......................................................................................................... 151 Figure 4.7 Homogoblin 1 ...............................................................................................