Adult Education and Radical Habitus in an Environmental Campaign: Learning in the Coal Seam Gas Protests in Australia

Autor/inn/en	Ollis, Tracey; Hamel-Green, Michael
Titel	Adult Education and Radical Habitus in an Environmental Campaign: Learning in the Coal Seam Gas Protests in Australia
Quelle	In: Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 55 (2015) 2, S.204-221 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1443-1394
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Adult Education; Activism; Conservation (Environment); Fuels; Mining; Adult Learning; Personality Traits; Informal Education; Nongovernmental Organizations; Identification; Social Theories; Interviews; Australia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Adult; Adults; Education; Adult basic education; Adult training; Erwachsenenbildung; Aktivismus; Politischer Protest; Conservation; Environment; Konservierung; Bewahung; Umwelt; Treibstoff; Abbau; Adulte education; Individual characteristics; Personality characteristic; Persönlichkeitsmerkmal; Informelle Bildung; Nichtformale Bildung; Identifikation; Identifizierung; Gesellschaftstheorie; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Australien
Abstract	This paper examines the adult learning dimensions of protestors as they participate in a campaign to stop coal seam gas exploration in Gippsland in Central Victoria, Australia. On a global level, the imposition of coal seam gas exploration by governments and mining companies has been the trigger for movements of resistance from environmental groups. They are concerned about the impact of mining on their land, food and water supplies. In central Gippsland a group of "circumstantial activists" comprised of farmers, tree changers and other local residents are campaigning against coal seam gas exploration. This unlikely coalition of environmental action groups has made effective use of a variety of community education strategies. This paper commences by outlining some of the key literature on learning and activism drawing on the education tradition of adult learning. We then draw on key concepts from Bourdieu's writing on "habitus" and "field" to analyse the data from this research. We outline some of the learning practices of activists; through their involvement in this campaign, and the knowledge and skills they gain as they develop a feel for the game of protest. We argue circumstantial activists learn both formally and informally in the social environment of campaigning. Of particular interest is the role of more experienced activists from Friends of the Earth (FOE), a non-government organisation (NGO), as they pass on knowledge, experience, tactics and strategies to the novice and less experienced activists in this community campaign. We explore some of the contradictions of the protestors' identification as activists using Bourdieu's concepts of "doxa" and "Ilusio". The paper concludes by arguing learning in activism is a rich tradition of adult education and practice. However, Bourdieu's writing on field and habitus makes an added contribution to interpreting the learning that occurs in the social space of a campaign or social movement. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Adult Learning Australia. Level 1, 32 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra, ACT 2603, Australia. Tel: +61-02-6274-9515; Fax: +61-02-6274-9513; Web site: http://www.ala.asn.au
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01