York Hope Consortium - Hope and Social Change

In this introductory event PhD Student Joseph Gascoigne and MA Student/ Research Assistant Mel Williams explore political constructions of 'hope'- What does hope mean? What is the political importance of hope? What are sources of hope in seemingly 'hopeless' times? They explore their interpretations of 'Hope' and how it may have been shaped through their work on this seminal, global project. 

PhD student Cardona-Gomez explores Hope in the time of Settler Colonialism: Indigenous Demands of Justice and Multicultural Political Theory. He explores hope associated with legacy of operations and continuation of social injustices and the opportunities people have to continue on this journey to change things. Hope can be seen as a future where things are different and future generations are not subject to the same injustices.

In this event Indrajit Roy is joined in conversation by Simon Parker (York), Carole Gayet (CNRS Paris), Suryakant Waghmore (IIT-Bombay). Discussions start off with considering hope as a collective aspiration that can bring about tilting the balance of power in favour of the disadvantaged. The panel goes on to discuss in more depth hope in terms of political agency and transcending temporalities, power in hope at the margins, and how these groups make meaning of hope to implement change and why cities have collective solidarity and hope as well as the conflictual element of hope.

York Hope Consortium were joined by Abdul Kalam Azad (Virjie University) former visiting fellow at University of York CAHR, Maureen Grant former Assistant Trust Secretary at Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and Jacqui McKenzie (Partner- Leigh Day) and chair Melissa Williams (York) to discuss the concept of 'Hope' in the context of Citizenship Deprivation and Statelessness. The event featured a discussion with individuals who work on, and some who have experienced, citizenship deprivation in Assam and Britain, followed by a Q and A where audience members asked participants about their conceptualisations of 'Hope' in the terrifying contexts of Citizenship Deprivation and statelessness.

PhD Student Ian Foxley from the Centre for Applied Human Rights at the University of York joins the Hope Consortium in conversation around hope in the various stages of discovering some form of deep wrongdoing and wondering what to do about it.They explore examples of collective action, social movements and civic solidarity that construct hope in the whistleblowing sphere.

The Hope Consortium are joined by the brilliant Dr Remi Joseph-Salisbury and Dr Laura Connelly to discuss 'Hope' in the context of their book 'Anti-Racist Scholar-Activism'. The book, Anti-racist scholar-activism raises urgent questions about the role of contemporary universities and the academics that work within them. As profound socio-racial crises collide with mass anti-racist mobilisations, this book focuses on the praxes of academics working within, and against, their institutions in pursuit of anti-racist social justice. Amidst a searing critique of the university's neoliberal and imperial character, Joseph-Salisbury and Connelly situate the university as a contested space, full of contradictions and tensions.

York Hope Symposium was joined by 'Citizenship Futures: Politics of Hope' colleagues Dr Oznur Yardimci and Professor Simon Parker to reflect on hope in the context of recent Turkish-speaking migrants in London. Over the last decade, authoritarian regimes in different parts of the world have been mobilizing increasingly incommensurable citizenship regimes based on explicit boundaries demarcating the desired citizens. Since the 2010s, Turkey has been a showcase where citizenship has been reformulated as a privilege granted on the basis of political/ideological loyalty and alliances, rather than rights. This created new forms of exclusion that contradict market-led hierarchies as some ‘profitable’ individuals and groups also faced alienation. The session explores the growing exodus of metropolitan and politically liberal middle-class individuals from Turkey and how these individuals engage in a self-changing journey in search of hope contributing to a deeper insight into new avenues to reconstruct citizenship futures.