Example youth and society dissertation topic 2:

Child social activists: Victims of manipulation?

Recent publicity surrounding child social activists, such as Martha Payne (aged 9), whose blog photographing school dinners has raised £115,000 for charity, and Shannon Sullivan (who, at age 12, founder of the youth advocacy group School Girls Unite), has highlighted the rise of the child social activist. This dissertation examines whether children are manipulated by parents, organisations such as Amnesty International (which promotes a ‘youth activist toolkit’), or activist-based teaching (for example, where scientific disagreement of the principles of global warming is not presented). The thesis also surveys the literature presently available, and makes recommendations for future study in an arena little served by current research.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Lund, D.E. (2001). Social justice pedagogy and teacher-student activism: A collaborative study of school-based projects. PhD thesis, University of Calgary.
• Lund, D.E. (2006). ‘Rocking the racism boat: School‐based activists speak out on denial and avoidance’, Race Ethnicity and Education, Vol. 9(2), pp. 203-221.
• Rootes, C.A. (1980). ‘Student radicalism’, Theory and Society, Vol. 9(3), pp. 473-502.