Mentioning advocacy and activism experience in my SOP?

[Darth.Vegan]

Just as the title says, should I mention my experience as an advocate and activist in the animal rights, environmental and occupy movement in my SOP? I would have to say that the passion that I have developed for a number of these issues directly relates to my motivation to study particular research interests. I have been told that some programs (esp. enviro soc faculty at Wisconsin) will definitely appreciate this, while others may look down on it. How would you all deal with it?

[Karlito]

If it is relevant to your research projects and the way you envision your future scholarship, definitely mention it.

[Darth.Vegan]

Well my research thus far has been on the strategies and tactics of the animal rights and environmental movement. My interests in environmental soc. cover biotechnology, neoliberal development, political economy of agro-food systems, and sustainable food systems. So yeah, they relate, haha.

I have basically been doing all kinds of activism for roughly 15 years including but not limited to co-founding two non-profits that did outreach to the public about the realities of animal agriculture

Edited March 8, 2012 by xdarthveganx

[Karlito]

Does your interest for food systems and animal agriculture stem from your defense of animal rights or the environment? Or in what priority? Feel free to answer by pm, I am just curious

[That Guy]

I would think that it depends on the department/program you are applying to. Some academics are misttrustful of activism as a qualification for a position, while others feel that the discipline is not nearly as involved in affecting social change as it needs to be. Get a feel for who your audience is by looking at their CVs and the CVs of current students to see if activism is seen in a positive light there. However, at the end of the day, if you feel activism is a core part of who you are include it anyway. Do not misrepresent who you are just to get a spot. If a program is so misttrustful of activism that it would cause problems for you, odds are you probably would not be happy there anyway.

[rainydays2020]

I mentioned some of my activism in my SOP which I framed as public sociology. When deciding on where to apply, try to find programs that want to engage in public soc. and they will appreciate your work.

[Darth.Vegan]

Does your interest for food systems and animal agriculture stem from your defense of animal rights or the environment? Or in what priority? Feel free to answer by pm, I am just curious

I take a multi-pronged approach personally. I don't value animal issues over environmental issues or vice versa. In my opinion they are very closely related to one another.

I most definitely consider myself an ecocentrist.

I mentioned some of my activism in my SOP which I framed as public sociology. When deciding on where to apply, try to find programs that want to engage in public soc. and they will appreciate your work.

I don't necessarily want to change policy as I personally see it as ineffective. That kind of blends into my other research interest which is insider vs outsider strategies and has been a paramount discussion in the occupy movement.

Edited March 8, 2012 by xdarthveganx

[RefurbedScientist]

I would think that it depends on the department/program you are applying to. Some academics are misttrustful of activism as a qualification for a position, while others feel that the discipline is not nearly as involved in affecting social change as it needs to be. Get a feel for who your audience is by looking at their CVs and the CVs of current students to see if activism is seen in a positive light there. However, at the end of the day, if you feel activism is a core part of who you are include it anyway. Do not misrepresent who you are just to get a spot. If a program is so misttrustful of activism that it would cause problems for you, odds are you probably would not be happy there anyway.

I agree with this statement. If you've been so involved in activism/advocacy for so long, you would be remiss not to mention it. That being said, I would not frame it like academia is a logical next step from activism (as in, you want to study X topic in order to help change the world). Rather, I would frame it as your experience in these fields will make you a better academic. For example, starting and participating in various advocacy organizations would be highly relevant to your research as an organizations scholar, insofar as you've done participant observation of orgs. and you can gain easier entree into them for future research purposes. Or if you do frame analysis, then talking about your experience developing and employing strategic action frames is relevant. Or use a methods angle, such that your activism experience will make you a better ethnographer or your policy analysis experience will make you a better statistician.

Adcomms want to hear that your goal in life is to be a sociologist. If activism is an "extracurricular", then don't mention it. If activism is a resource that will make you a better scholar, then definitely mention it. But scholarship comes first (as least in your SoP. In practice, do what you want).

[RefurbedScientist]

I don't necessarily want to change policy as I personally see it as ineffective. That kind of blends into my other research interest which is insider vs outsider strategies and has been a paramount discussion in the occupy movement.

So I think that the insider vs. outsider strategies in occupy (and movements in general) is both a great research topic AND a perfect example where activism experience can be framed as a resource for research. The key is to adopt the jargon and debates dealing with this topic to signal that you're a serious scholar and then frame your activism as "informal research" or something. P.S. Check out Andy Andrews for insider/outsider strategy stuff and environmentalism organizations.

Edit: I would also add, and take this with a grain of salt, that language and style is paramount in statements of purpose when dealing with activism. Avoid at all costs any cliches like "Participating in Occupy Tulsa changed my life, made me a more empowered citizen, and enlightened me about the possibilities for sociological praxis...." That's all well and good for the introduction to your first book, but your SoP should used more measured language when it comes to personal experiences. Always frame the personal as a contributing factor to your potential as a scholar. Of course, there is a lot of debate about my claim. I think that the best writers among us may be able to pull off that "life changing anecdote" angle in the SoP. For the rest of us, it's safer to include personal experiences insofar as they shape academic questions and insight.

Edited March 8, 2012 by SocialGroovements

[Darth.Vegan]

I agree with this statement. If you've been so involved in activism/advocacy for so long, you would be remiss not to mention it. That being said, I would not frame it like academia is a logical next step from activism (as in, you want to study X topic in order to help change the world). Rather, I would frame it as your experience in these fields will make you a better academic. For example, starting and participating in various advocacy organizations would be highly relevant to your research as an organizations scholar, insofar as you've done participant observation of orgs. and you can gain easier entree into them for future research purposes. Or if you do frame analysis, then talking about your experience developing and employing strategic action frames is relevant. Or use a methods angle, such that your activism experience will make you a better ethnographer or your policy analysis experience will make you a better statistician.

Adcomms want to hear that your goal in life is to be a sociologist. If activism is an "extracurricular", then don't mention it. If activism is a resource that will make you a better scholar, then definitely mention it. But scholarship comes first (as least in your SoP. In practice, do what you want).

This is actually exactly how I see it. I have no real intention of "changing the world" as a sociologist. I do however want to change the way sociology views social movements and especially how sociology sees tactics.

Edit: just to add, I feel that my experience in social movements gives me unique insights that many scholars simply can't get. In regards to the environmental and animal rights movement I also bring a level of access that is rare amongst academics. Those movements tend to be especially cautious and skeptical given the high level of law enforcement scrutiny they have dealt with over the last 15 years or so.

Edited March 8, 2012 by xdarthveganx

[rainydays2020]

I don't necessarily want to change policy as I personally see it as ineffective. That kind of blends into my other research interest which is insider vs outsider strategies and has been a paramount discussion in the occupy movement.

Public sociology isn't necessarily about policy. I organized a teach-in and a number of lectures by faculty members in sociology and other disciplines all of which discussed the occpuy movement. I framed it as a way to educate the public about social issues. It worked for me as I got accepted to a top-50 program. But what I did is most likely different than your experience in activism. I didn't think it was necessary to talk about protests I attended or anything. I also agree with the other poster that if your activism enhances your scholarship that would be the way to frame it.

[Darth.Vegan]

Thanks for the advice everyone, framing my activism in the context of my research was the plan, but it's nice to hear confirmation this is an ok thing to do. I actually hope it will give me a leg up of sorts, I have found taking numerous classes from Soc to Women's Studies that my activism has given me a wealth of knowledge that other undergrads simply don't have, and also allowed me to focus on developing new insights and ideas instead of focusing on content that I largely already know.