SSH 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Arab Spring, Ryerson University, Neoliberalism
2 Apr 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Page 1 of 8
Ryerson University – Winter 2018
SSH 102 – 011 – Learning and Development – March 14, 2018
SSH 102 – 011 – Learning and Development – March 14, 2018
Agenda
• Video.
• Go over presentations.
• Midterm review.
What are social movements?
What sort of possibilities do student movements have?
What is the role of education?
The art of protest, articulating some of the contemporary issues. In every society, each
generation must lay claims to certain issues.
Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter – how do those organizations make people think?
What is the role as far as student leadership is considered?
[Video] How did Quebec students mobilize hundreds of thousands for strike?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQcX1S4xIXc
• quote by Mark Twain: the did’t ko it as ipossile, so the et out ad did it.
• Neoliberal ideology, their rights as students.
• The young lady talks about drawing connections between reality and what is happening
in society.
• Are there reasons to protest, or do we have it so ell that e do’t eed to?
• Student: I think no matter how well we have it, there is always reasons to protest.
• And I would argue that it is intergenerational, every generation will have different
political movements.
Quebec Student Strike-A Chronology
• Maple Springs 2012.
• Arab Spring.
• Tuition fees.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Page 2 of 8
Ryerson University – Winter 2018
SSH 102 – 011 – Learning and Development – March 14, 2018
• Engaged with civil society and began to build this particular campaign in 2011.
• Strike began with tuition fees and snowballed into larger conversation about social contract.
• The strike lasted for 8 months and some students were arrested.
• Rest of country might not agree with what you are protesting, but you have the right to
protest. Some people felt that Quebec already has the lowest tuition rate in North
America, so what are they complaining about?
• This kind of conversation enables society to shift.
Why is it important for us to understand this movement?
• What is your role? How will you utilize your Canadian citizenship to change society?
• Claiming a voice, and in particular, a student voice.
• How would students not look like a bunch of privileged well-to-do students, but people
who have genuine concerns.
• How do you speak truth to power?
• How you are critically thinking? What does protesting look like? How do you utilize your
rights? How do you ensure you ights ae’t iolated hile ou ae out thee protesting?
• Organizing - you do’t at to be seen as just people out there protesting.
• What is ultimately at stake in society?
What can we learn from Maple Spring?
• Exercising agency is important – what you put your values behind is important.
• How are you moved by inequalities, for instance gender inequality, why do female
executives get paid 70 cents to the dollar? How does that link with patriarchal society?
• How do we think of radical change?
• Are you able to debate, articulate, understand the issue from multiple perspectives?
• How do you engage people that have different viewpoints then you do?
• How do we mobilize the students?
• Why is it important? It is important because it is pushing for change.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Page 3 of 8
Ryerson University – Winter 2018
SSH 102 – 011 – Learning and Development – March 14, 2018
How did the government respond?
• Government eventually responded by cracking down.
• Took students to court, Bill 78, intimated supportive faculty, students were arrested.
• Negotiated in bad faith, illegal policing tactics – this is undemocratic, ut that’s ho the
system works.
• Judges are impartial, can’t be pressured by the government.
• Student: What was the name of organization protesting? CLASSE.
• What happens in civil society when student movements are criminalized? How do we
look society in the mirror and rethink our values?
Public response
• Faculty, media in general, judges, community leaders, churches – all supported the
students.
• First they thought they were privileged and should just pay more, but they eventually
came around and started to support the students.
• Marching in solidarity, which made it harder to shut down the protests.
• Became a lot more difficult when it was everyone in general, not just the students,
ordinary folks came out in support of the students.
Social media, subjectivity, and surveillance: Moving on from occupy, the rise of live streaming
video
• Raising questions of democracy instantly, in real time and real space.
• Struggle was not only live, but also real and uncensored.
• Context: After the financial crisis of 2008, there has been mass mobilization of various
movements.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Agenda: video, go over presentations, midterm review. The art of protest, articulating some of the contemporary issues. In every society, each generation must lay claims to certain issues. Quebec student strike-a chronology: maple springs 2012, arab spring, tuition fees. Some people felt that quebec already has the lowest tuition rate in north. America, so what are they complaining about: this kind of conversation enables society to shift. It is important because it is pushing for change. Politics of utilizing live media, as far as the creation of a human subject that is fighting for justice. Student: people speaking do(cid:374)"t al(cid:449)a(cid:455)s ha(cid:448)e all the i(cid:374)fo(cid:396)(cid:373)atio(cid:374). Professor: it is real, live, in front of you. You look at it from your own vantage point and are able to make your own judgement. Student: they have more of a voice, they can be represented. Tude(cid:374)t: i(cid:374)di(cid:448)iduall(cid:455) i feel like i do(cid:374)"t, (cid:271)ut as a g(cid:396)oup i thi(cid:374)k i do.
