On "The Dimensions of Black Women's Learning in the Environmental Justice Movement in the Southeastern U.S."

Summary:

Bowles (2007) writes about the role of intergenerational learning in a Black woman's environmental justice movement. She bases the background research on the idea that education is a central component of social change, and while many authors have written on this very subject such as Dewey and Lindeman, she suggests that more research is needed on the relationship between intergenerational learning and civic capacity building in women. Bowles goes on to establish that social movements are a significant producer of knowledge because it creates opportunities for collective knowledge.

Using semi-structured, face-to-face in-depth interviews, Bowles found that those who were part of these movements gained knowledge from three main sources: mentors, others in the movement, and experts. Specifically, mentors contributed to capacity building through "technical expertise, guiding activist work, and/or generally coaching" as it related to the movement itself (p. 2). Others who were not necessarily mentors provided opportunities to learn together along the way. Finally, those deemed as experts such as grassroots activist, professional activists, and academic activists also helped when a "mentor" was not present (Bowles, 2007).

Personal Reflection:

The work of Bowles is important because it is one of the few actual studies that speaks to the learning processes of Black women in activist movements in the United States. The authors discussion of the three main sources of intergenerational learning can provide a framework for the study that I will do as part of my own research on the intergenerational learning processes of female youth in activist movements in Detroit. Bowles could have; however, provided more verbatim on the intergenerational learning opportunities of the women in the study.

Citation:

Bowles, T. (2007). The dimensions of black women's learning in the environmental justice movement in the southeastern u.s. AERC Conference , 1-5. Retrieved from http://www.adulterc.org/applications/ClassifiedListingsManager/inc_classifiedlistingsmanager.asp?ParentCategoryID=146&offset=30

©Nicole Carter