Compact Nation Podcast: The Activist Academic

About the Episode

On this episode of #CompactNationPod, Marisol chats with Colette Cann and Eric DeMeulenaere, authors of the new book, The Activist Academic: Engaged Scholarship for Resistance, Hope and Social Change. Listen in as they share the true stories of their lives as activists, scholars, and parents who are trying to push forward social change through academic work. Plus, Andrew, Emily, and Marisol share their latest quarantine reads.

Show Notes

• Campus Compact Safe Elections Project: compact.org/impact-awards
• Sign up to be a poll worker: compact.org/webinarseries
• The Activist Academic: Engaged Scholarship for Resistance, Hope and Social Change : styluspub.presswarehouse.com/browse/book/9781975501396/The-Activist-Academic
• Maria “TOOFLY” Castillo (cover artist for The Activist Academic): tooflynyc.com

Guests

Colette Cann
Dr. Colette N. Cann is an associate dean and associate professor in the School of Education at the University of San Francisco. Before coming to USF, she served for over ten years at Vassar College as an associate professor of Africana Studies and Education, as a class advisor, as a house fellow in a residence hall, and as the director of a community college transfer program. In addition, Dr. Cann worked with Vassar students to establish the RISE Center for Racial Justice.

Dr. Cann’s scholarship has allowed her to collaborate with teachers, students, and community organizations and has appeared in journals such as Race, Ethnicity and Education; Whiteness and Education; Urban Education; Journal of Peace Education; Qualitative Inquiry, and Cultural Studies <–> Critical Methodologies. Dr. Cann’s most recent publication is The Activist Academic: Engaged Scholarship for Resistance, Hope and Social Change.

Eric DeMeulenaere
Dr. DeMeulenaere earned his M.A. (1999) and Ph.D. (2003) in the Social and Cultural Studies Program at the University of California at Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education. His dissertation research focused on urban students’ transformations of their academic identities and school performances.

Dr. DeMeulenaere joined Clark University’s Education Department from the San Francisco Bay Area, where he was involved in urban education for sixteen years. Dr. DeMeulenaere taught middle and high school social studies and English in Oakland and San Francisco for eight years. He also served as an adjunct professor in Education at the University of California at Berkeley, the University of San Francisco and San Francisco State University. More recently, he was the co-founder and principal of an innovative small high school in East Oakland focused on social justice.

Dr. DeMeulenaere has also worked as a consultant with urban schools, assisting them in transforming their organizational cultures to better serve the needs of students. Since arriving at Clark, he has worked directly with teacher inquiry teams at partnership schools and has continued to teach courses to high school students there. He works to engage teachers in critically examining their teaching practices and developing more liberatory pedagogical practices.