I once overheard that “there are no radical students anymore, not even in sociology.”  Do you agree?  What does it mean for a student to be “radical” in our current social, cultural, political, and economic climate?  Often we associated being radical with a sweeping critique of current structures of power, standing defiant and instilling rebelliousness with a purpose.  As Newman (2006) noted:

“Defiance is more than rebelliousness. We normally defy somebody identifiable—our parents, our teachers, our bosses or our government—and the actions we take to express that defiance are commonly calculated ones. If we are to turn rebelliousness into defiance, we need to instill purpose into it. We may be rebellious by nature, culture or inclination, but we have to choose to be defiant.” (p.61)

How are students of sociology radicalized, defiant, and rebellious today?

[Newman, Michael. 2006. Teaching Defiance: Stories and Strategies for Activist Educators. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.]