Social Media and the Idle No More Movement: Citizenship, Activism and Dissent in Canada

This paper, informed by a critique of traditional understandings of citizenship and civic education, explores the use of social media as a means of fostering activism and dissent. Specifically, the paper explores the ways in which the Idle No More Movement, which began in Canada in 2012 marshalled s...

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Main Author: Jennifer Tupper
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Bielefeld University 2014-05-01
Series:Journal of Social Science Education
Online Access:http://www.jsse.org/index.php/jsse/article/view/1354
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spelling doaj-e48cc67e30484c4f8c2da7df2a2077c02020-11-25T00:15:25ZdeuBielefeld UniversityJournal of Social Science Education1618-52932014-05-0113410.2390/jsse-v13-i4-13541245Social Media and the Idle No More Movement: Citizenship, Activism and Dissent in CanadaJennifer Tupper0University of ReginaThis paper, informed by a critique of traditional understandings of citizenship and civic education, explores the use of social media as a means of fostering activism and dissent. Specifically, the paper explores the ways in which the Idle No More Movement, which began in Canada in 2012 marshalled social media to educate about and protest Bill C-45, an omnibus budget bill passed by the Federal Government. The paper argues that Idle No More is demonstrative of young people’s commitments to social change and willingness to participate in active forms of dissent. As such, it presents opportunities for fostering ethically engaged citizenship through greater knowledge and awareness of Indigenous issues in Canada, which necessarily requires an understanding of the historical and contemporary legacies of colonialism that continually position First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples as ‘lesser’ citizens. Finally, the paper suggests that the example of Idle No More stands in contrast to the notion of a “civic vacuum” that is often used to justify the re-entrenchment of traditional civic education programs in schools and as such, can be used as a pedagogic tool to teach for and about dissent.http://www.jsse.org/index.php/jsse/article/view/1354
collection DOAJ
language deu
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Jennifer Tupper
spellingShingle Jennifer Tupper
Social Media and the Idle No More Movement: Citizenship, Activism and Dissent in Canada
Journal of Social Science Education
author_facet Jennifer Tupper
author_sort Jennifer Tupper
title Social Media and the Idle No More Movement: Citizenship, Activism and Dissent in Canada
title_short Social Media and the Idle No More Movement: Citizenship, Activism and Dissent in Canada
title_full Social Media and the Idle No More Movement: Citizenship, Activism and Dissent in Canada
title_fullStr Social Media and the Idle No More Movement: Citizenship, Activism and Dissent in Canada
title_full_unstemmed Social Media and the Idle No More Movement: Citizenship, Activism and Dissent in Canada
title_sort social media and the idle no more movement: citizenship, activism and dissent in canada
publisher Bielefeld University
series Journal of Social Science Education
issn 1618-5293
publishDate 2014-05-01
description This paper, informed by a critique of traditional understandings of citizenship and civic education, explores the use of social media as a means of fostering activism and dissent. Specifically, the paper explores the ways in which the Idle No More Movement, which began in Canada in 2012 marshalled social media to educate about and protest Bill C-45, an omnibus budget bill passed by the Federal Government. The paper argues that Idle No More is demonstrative of young people’s commitments to social change and willingness to participate in active forms of dissent. As such, it presents opportunities for fostering ethically engaged citizenship through greater knowledge and awareness of Indigenous issues in Canada, which necessarily requires an understanding of the historical and contemporary legacies of colonialism that continually position First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples as ‘lesser’ citizens. Finally, the paper suggests that the example of Idle No More stands in contrast to the notion of a “civic vacuum” that is often used to justify the re-entrenchment of traditional civic education programs in schools and as such, can be used as a pedagogic tool to teach for and about dissent.
url http://www.jsse.org/index.php/jsse/article/view/1354
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