The perils and possibilities of climate activist capital

Dr. Bobby Wengronowitz, assistant professor of sociology, will present the Tea Talk: "Valorizing the marginalized: The perils and possibilities of climate activist capital."

Description: "Drawing on observant participation, interviews, and surveys, I present findings from a climate justice campaign against a natural gas pipeline in the northeast USA. This research suggests that some activists valorize the marginalized, that is, they celebrate the dominated in the space of positions. This means — all else equal — that typically disadvantaged individuals are advantaged while typically advantaged individuals are disadvantaged.

"For example, women and gender non-binary identifying individuals and gay and queer folks are celebrated. They are understood to appreciate oppression, disadvantage, and so on, such that they are better activists (or at least could be). This flipped hierarchy garners them the symbolic form of what I call Climate Activist Capital: status-enhancing recognition that has value within the climate activist social space."