Democracy is not a once achieved goal - it requires ongoing work by all of us to make sure it works. This includes engagement in both formal politics (often call 'big P' Politics and includes voting) as well as 'small p' politics (the everyday engagement with our communities, neighbourhoods and online involvement such as [...]
One of the areas I have always found fascinating is the concept of resilience - but with a focus on 'cultures of resilience'. That is, why do some communities mobilise and respond to a crisis while others collapse? What are the cultural elements that allow this to happen? This question of resilience continues to [...]
My approach to researching citizenship is to look at 'cultures of citizenship': that is, I am interested in the everyday engagement of citizenship processes. As such, I want to understand if people are engaged? Do they feel empowered? What happens when people disengage? As it is not a legal or political focus, I include [...]
This research article focuses on the challenges confronted by contemporary universities when they undertake ‘community engagement’ activities through the lens of an active citizenship workshop we have designed and implemented. Writing with Professor Bob Hodge, we begin by concentrating on the very concept of ‘engagement’, unpicking its ambiguities and returning its complexities to where they [...]
