ARCHIVE - September, 2001

Why I Choose to be an Activist-Scholar
David N. Pellow, Department of Ethnic Studies and Department of Sociology

A growing movement of scholars and activists is arguing that the academy must develop new methodologies that respond to the various crises and needs of communities. One such methodology is advocacy research, the practice and theory of making the scholarly enterprise more application-oriented, more sustainable, and more relevant to communities. Advocacy researchers, or activist-scholars, argue that scholars ought to give something back to communities from which they take knowledge. Moreover, advocacy researchers argue that the entire tradition of peer review should be revamped to include lay persons, who have as much say (and perhaps more at stake) than any cloistered academic regarding the validity of a research endeavor. These scholars view themselves, their students, their research informants, and the public as stakeholders in the knowledge production process. Much of my own scholarly work is produced in this tradition. I view myself not simply as a scholar, but also as an activist-scholar.

My research focuses on the efforts of community members and workers of color to resist environmental pollution by firms and governments. For many ethnic studies and environmental sciences scholars like myself, working directly with these populations makes good sense because they are the principal data source for our research. We must develop relationships with the people we are studying, which requires meaningful reciprocity. Significant tensions often exist between communities and universities, but the interactions that result from advocacy research help build good will and also produce better research. They serve to bridge the university-community divide that plagues so many college towns.

Many indicators suggest a growing university-community divide. A widespread perception is that universities are 'ivory towers' unresponsive to society's needs. Universities often support institutions that commit acts of environmental and social injustice. For example, during the 1980s hundreds of American colleges and universities indirectly supported the South African apartheid system by investing in companies doing business there. More recently, several universities have invested in firms that run sweatshops and/or in companies engaged in commerce with nations like Burma that practice vast ecological destruction and vicious military rule. Moreover, institutions of higher learning directly engage in actions having negative social and environmental consequences. Many universities hire scholars who study social problems like poverty and homelessness. Yet through land acquisition and expansion projects, these same institutions frequently displace the very populations being studied. The University of Colorado engages in a number of socially, ethically, and environmentally problematic ventures. Accepting a multi-million dollar award from corporate bad boy BP-Amoco is just one example.

I am heartened by the emergence of "Environmental Equity Justice Centers" at historically black colleges and other universities. These institutions serve as centers for research, advocacy and collaboration between the academy and local communities on environmental justice issues. In many respects, they are reminiscent of the "halfway houses" that sprang up during the civil rights movement. Halfway houses trained activists in tactics of non-violent resistance and disseminated crucial movement information. Likewise, environmental equity/justice centers are designed to meet the environmental education and training needs of communities disproportionately exposed to pollution. These centers are bridging the university-community divide.

Activist-scholars also feel impelled to agitate for better working and living conditions for students, staff, and faculty at their own universities. We have an obligation to demand more control over institutions of higher education from top to bottom. These ideals permeate our teaching, service, and research. My passion for justice informs all of my work and imbues it with meaning. That is why I choose to be an activist-scholar.

IN THIS ISSUE:

The opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors, and do not represent those of the Boulder Faculty Assembly, CU faculty at large, or the University of Colorado.

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