Week 5 Reflections: On agency
Workshopping a project
This morning’s DIS session got me buzzing…such great ideas and such rich conversation. I felt like we were about to change the world with what we had brewing. The diversity of thought within our group was key to developing each of our projects. That we perceive situations in different ways made all the difference.
This week I’ve been thinking a lot about agency (which I’ve decided will form the basis of my final project). The DIS session this morning made me think about whether a shared reality is always a good thing or not? I also attended a couple of talks at Stanford this week, both for book launches1 by African American authors who use the power of stories in their books to advocate for change, at an individual level and beyond. One of my reflections was about the way we perceive ‘activism’ and why certain forms of activism (e.g., activism delivered through a person who has earned the respect of society or a ‘legitimacy marker’ whether that be their education or status) tend to have more followership than others. I also thought a little bit about the role of intersectionality in agency… are people who are at the intersection of several different types of inequalities more or less likely to create their own agency even if the system makes it challenging to do so? Another random thought…if those experiencing an issue are really best placed to come up with a solution to the issue, how are we equipping them with the support they need during the design-thinking process?
A combination of these musings and comments from Rhi, Juli and Darcie on my previous blogs, helped me to decide on a direction for my final project. That is, to look at epistemology problems of perception and the impact this has on moving towards a solution for inequality. I’m more inclined to look at this through the lens of agency and how our perceptions/understanding of inequality impacts our ability to make positive change. Peer feedback during the session today really helped (thank you Juli, Rhi and Leanne). For instance, looking at what this looks and feels like for different people being stretched by the system, or capturing how different people imagine that positive change happens… and then of course looping this back into key stakeholders of my own start-up.
I’m not sure I’ll get much further with my thoughts in the next week and a half with intensives on Monday and Tuesday, transatlantic travel on Thursday and Friday, Saturday to sleep off the jetlag, a day of Arabic on Sunday, intensives on Monday and Tuesday and a deadline on Wednesday with some dentist appointments sprinkled in between somewhere… but let’s see!
A final note/food for thought
I won’t end with a specific food for thought this week given the brain dump of musings above. However, below I have added a little note of the book launches I went to for anyone interested… some really interested topics!
1Viral Justice by Ruha Benjamin and Creative Hustle by Olatunde Sobomehin and sam seidel
I just started my copy of Viral Justice! Once again, I just love the way you write your blogs Maryam – and its quite a delight to read them. I am so interested in hearing about your project as it evolves. Good luck with the busy times ahead!
Oooh how exciting! I’m planning to read through it on my flight back to the UK. Once you’re done too, I’d love to exchange thoughts and reflections if you’re up for it 🙂 Thank you so much for your kind words and well wishes too
Hi Maryam,
As usual, you have some fascinating ruminations, and I’m excited to read about how your final project is developing. Am I reading this right that you would be investigating whether how the way people view the process of positive change allows them to overcome barriers placed upon them by a system that would seem to make them more at risk for ending up on the less equal side of inequality?
On this topic, “Are people who are at the intersection of several different types of inequalities more or less likely to create their own agency even if the system makes it challenging to do so?” this reminds me of a book I read recently: Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas ( https://www.amazon.com/Dear-America-Notes-Undocumented-Citizen/dp/0062851357 ). Vargas is a Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist, who it turns out was brought over to the US undocumented as a kid (before the DREAM Act). This memoir is a really quick read on his struggles to build an identity for himself within a system that keeps signaling that he’s not welcome because he doesn’t possess the right paperwork.
Hi Theresa, thank you so much for your words of encouragement. In answer to your question, that is one of the key things I’d like to investigate further. I started making a bit of a list of angles I could take but haven’t got much further as of yet. I’ve just had a quick look at the book you recommended and have bought myself a copy. Thank you so much.
In terms of the list of random thoughts/angles I’ve considered so far:
* Research impacts e.g., looking at the (in)ability to measure of inequality and how this impacts the likelihood of inequalities being addressed properly
* Community impacts e.g., How does the structure of a society affect the role people see themselves playing in the process of positive change? How does our reaction to victims reactions regarding the inequalities they face, exacerbate inequalities?
* Individual impacts: e.g., Are people less likely to make a change because they think inequality is too big of an issue or do people on an individual level see themselves as having the agency to make a positive difference from where they are?
* Organisational impacts- specifically looking at the entry points of inequalities and accountability in global supply chains
* Word association (reality vs imagined?)- to what extent do our perceptions of what certain words mean make a difference to the process of being able to help ourselves or others