Consenting Voices? Activist Life Stories and Complex Dissent

摘要

What can life stories reveal about political dissenters who were once on the margins but have moved centrewards? This journey is one that many activist autobiographers have taken, from the academic Karla Jay (formerly in the lesbian rights group Lavender Menace) to the spectacular example of President Obama after writing his memoir Dreams From My Father. Do life stories help us to understand patterns of dissent and consent? Can they indeed balance judgements about insiders, outsiders and traitors to the cause? I will argue that they can, particularly when illuminated by theories of social movement cycles and the life course. I will also reflect upon my own life story work with feminist ‘veterans’ to open a space for thinking about the subtle relation between consent and dissent, especially when we take the long view of activism by ageing and aged subjects.View full textDownload full textKeywordsactivist, autobiography, social movement, life courseRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14484528.2011.619710