Article Version of Record

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 diversity

Persistent 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
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Wallin-Ruschman, Jennifer
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Patka, Mazna
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2018-11-26T12:45:11Z
  • Made available on
    2018-11-26T12:45:11Z
  • Date of first publication
    2016-05-24
  • 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.
    en_US
  • Publication status
    publishedVersion
  • Review status
    peerReviewed
  • 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
    en_US
  • ISSN
    2195-3325
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1403
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1764
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Publisher
    PsychOpen GOLD
  • Is version of
    https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v4i1.530
  • Keyword(s)
    safe spaces
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    prefigurative politics
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    community-diversity dialectic
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    community
    en_US
  • Keyword(s)
    diversity
    en_US
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    150
  • Title
    Learning from critical collective spaces: Reflections on the community-diversity dialectic in safe spaces
    en_US
  • DRO type
    article
  • Issue
    1
  • Journal title
    Journal of Social and Political Psychology
  • Page numbers
    318–331
  • Volume
    4
  • Visible tag(s)
    Version of Record