Learning from critical collective spaces: Reflections on the community-diversity dialectic in safe spaces
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Wallin-Ruschman, Jennifer
Patka, Mazna
Abstract / Description
Safe spaces have the potential to become prefigurative groups that aim to create social change. The idea of a safe space as a place separate and sheltered from dominant culture to mobilize for social change has gained traction in a number of academic and practical areas. However, safe spaces have the ability to be both progressive and regressive. To guide our discussion we utilize the concept of community-diversity dialectic to address the tension between these forces within two settings. First we discuss research in an upper level college course rooted in feminist praxis. Then we discuss a faith community’s use of adaptive liturgy with parishioners with intellectual disabilities. Following this discussion, we offer a new term, “critical collective spaces”, to better capture the work done in these spaces. We offer this alternative label to move popular and academic discourse away from debating about how “safe” these spaces are (or are not) and toward a more nuanced discussion of the community-diversity dialectic and other tensions within these spaces. Our overall intention is to generate dialogue on the regressive and progressive aspects of these locations and to inform the activism and community building process within prefigurative politics more broadly.
Keyword(s)
safe spaces prefigurative politics community-diversity dialectic community diversityPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2016-05-24
Journal title
Journal of Social and Political Psychology
Volume
4
Issue
1
Page numbers
318–331
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Wallin-Ruschman, J., & Patka, M. (2016). Learning from critical collective spaces: Reflections on the community-diversity dialectic in safe spaces. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 4(1), 318–331. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v4i1.530
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Wallin-Ruschman, Jennifer
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Patka, Mazna
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-11-26T12:45:11Z
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Made available on2018-11-26T12:45:11Z
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Date of first publication2016-05-24
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Abstract / DescriptionSafe spaces have the potential to become prefigurative groups that aim to create social change. The idea of a safe space as a place separate and sheltered from dominant culture to mobilize for social change has gained traction in a number of academic and practical areas. However, safe spaces have the ability to be both progressive and regressive. To guide our discussion we utilize the concept of community-diversity dialectic to address the tension between these forces within two settings. First we discuss research in an upper level college course rooted in feminist praxis. Then we discuss a faith community’s use of adaptive liturgy with parishioners with intellectual disabilities. Following this discussion, we offer a new term, “critical collective spaces”, to better capture the work done in these spaces. We offer this alternative label to move popular and academic discourse away from debating about how “safe” these spaces are (or are not) and toward a more nuanced discussion of the community-diversity dialectic and other tensions within these spaces. Our overall intention is to generate dialogue on the regressive and progressive aspects of these locations and to inform the activism and community building process within prefigurative politics more broadly.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationWallin-Ruschman, J., & Patka, M. (2016). Learning from critical collective spaces: Reflections on the community-diversity dialectic in safe spaces. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 4(1), 318–331. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v4i1.530en_US
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ISSN2195-3325
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1403
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1764
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v4i1.530
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Keyword(s)safe spacesen_US
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Keyword(s)prefigurative politicsen_US
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Keyword(s)community-diversity dialecticen_US
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Keyword(s)communityen_US
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Keyword(s)diversityen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleLearning from critical collective spaces: Reflections on the community-diversity dialectic in safe spacesen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue1
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Journal titleJournal of Social and Political Psychology
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Page numbers318–331
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Volume4
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Visible tag(s)Version of Record