Living Against Austerity
A Feminist Investigation of Doing Activism and Being Activist
By Emma Craddock
Published
Sep 22, 2021Page count
224 pagesISBN
978-1529205756Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Mar 11, 2020Page count
224 pagesISBN
978-1529205701Dimensions
234 x 156 mmImprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Mar 11, 2020Page count
224 pagesISBN
978-1529205725Imprint
Bristol University PressPublished
Mar 11, 2020Page count
224 pagesISBN
978-1529205725Imprint
Bristol University Press
Living Against Austerity
In the media
'Don’t judge a book by its cover? The value of looking closely at anti-austerity activist culture' in Discover Society
With austerity’s disproportionately heavy impact on women now apparent, this engaging book considers activism against it from a feminist perspective.
Emma Craddock goes deep inside activist culture to explore the many cultural and emotional dimensions of political participation. She questions what motivates and sustains protest, considering the enabling aspects of solidarity and empathy, as well as the constraining factors of negative emotions and gendered barriers associated with activism, examining the role of gender and emotion within protest.
This is a lived-in study that gets to the heart of what it means to be an anti-austerity activist and an important addition to social justice debate.
"‘Living against austerity’ contributes to understandings of how meanings relating to the activist identity are constructed within the local anti-austerity scene and the implications this can have for women. By focusing on emotions, Craddock provides nuanced insights into the contradictions and multi-layered dynamics within Nottingham’s local anti-activist scenes." Social Movement Studies
“Emma Craddock has written a candid and sophisticated account of the existential tensions involved in anti-austerity activism.” Steve Fuller, University of Warwick
Emma Craddock is Senior Lecturer in Health Research at Birmingham City University. Her research utilises a feminist methodology and a combination of qualitative research methods to produce an in-depth exploration of the ‘making’ and ‘practising’ of local anti-austerity activist cultures.
Introduction
Part I: Establishing Context
A Critical Review of Social Movement Theory: Gender and Emotion in Activist Cultures
The Empirical and Political Context of Anti-Austerity Activism
Part II: Doing Activism: Enabling and Constraining Factors
The Affective, the Normative and the Everyday: Exploring What Motivates and Sustains Anti-Austerity Activism
Barriers to Doing Activism
PART III: Being Activist: The Activist Identity and Its Problems
The Authentic and Ideal Activist Identities: Having the ‘Right’ Motivation and Doing ‘Enough’ of the ‘Right’ Type of Activism
The Dark Side of Activist Culture and its Gendered Dimension
Part IV: Concluding Remarks
Subverting/Reinforcing Neoliberal Capitalism: The Complex Ambivalence of Anti-Austerity Activism
References
Appendix
