John Gaventa
Encyclopedia
John Gaventa is the director of the Coady International Institute and Vice-President of International Development at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Gaventa received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University
in 1971, and was a Rhodes Scholar
at Oxford
. He taught at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville
from 1987 until 1996.
He began to help lead a grass-roots adult educational program at the Highlander Research and Education Center
in New Market, Tennessee
in 1976, and was director from 1993 until 1996. He received a MacArthur Award in 1981 for his work with the Highlander Center. His first publication Power and Powerlessness: Quesicience and Rebellion in an Appalachian Valley broke new theoretical and empirical ground in the study of social power, winning The Woodrow Wilson Foundation Book Award of the American Political Science Association, The V.O Key Book Award of the Southern Political Science Association, The Lillian Smith Book Award of the Southern Regiona Council, The W.D Weatherford Book Award, and earned co-runnerup in the first annual Robert F. Kennedy Book Award competition.
While studying at Oxford with Steven Lukes, author of Radical Power (1976), Gaventa developed a theoretical and methodological approach to the study of community power that has radically transformed community power studies in political sociology and opened a path for the legitimization of participatory research in mainstream sociology and political science.
Gaventa's articulation, and empirical demonstration, of the "three dimensional" approach to the study of power has informed multiple disciplines and multiple scholars as to the nuances of social power and the processes of its legitimization; while at the same time lending significant support to the growing community of scholars and social change advocates who would find the sources and the solutions of social problems, not in the dictates or preconceived notions held by social scientists, theologians and philosophers, but in the narratives of the affected alienated populations. Such methodological subjectivity allows the framing of a social problem, and a social solution, to occur from within the group, in Gaventa's theory, empowering, better enabling, the group to take collective action in the face of an almost unlimited power by those in Authority to frame issues as non-issues in the public's mind.
Borrowing from Lukes, Gaventa identifies three analytical dimensions that are the proper study of social power, with each dimension becoming increasingly more difficult to empirically observe with traditional methodologies of political science, a situation which forces Gaventa to synthesize numerous understandings of socialization into a cogent articulation of observable processes through which symbolic production is channeled within identifiable networks and communities.
The one dimensional approach involves direct empirical observations of very openly contested public issues. It involves defining and framing these issues in terms of identifiable winners and losers, and reflects the traditional pluralist approach to the study of community power. The second dimensional involves the addition of what Gaventa refers to as the "mobilization of bias" through which cultural hegemony is both asserted and legitimized. Empirically Gaventa's contribution is development of a method for looking at the various channels through which those in positions of social power turn concerns, claims, and potential challenges about inequities in outcome into 'non-decisions'. The third dimension involves addition of the capacity to manufacture expectations of social outcomes through the manipulation of the symbols and ideology, in such a way as inequities themselves become 'non-issues'.
His publications include
Gaventa received his B.A. from Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
in 1971, and was a Rhodes Scholar
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
at Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. He taught at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
from 1987 until 1996.
He began to help lead a grass-roots adult educational program at the Highlander Research and Education Center
Highlander Research and Education Center
The Highlander Research and Education Center, formerly known as the Highlander Folk School, is a social justice leadership training school and cultural center located in New Market, Tennessee. Founded in 1932 by activist Myles Horton, educator Don West, and Methodist minister James A. Dombrowski,...
in New Market, Tennessee
New Market, Tennessee
New Market is a town in Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Morristown, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,234 at the 2000 census.-Geography:New Market is located at ....
in 1976, and was director from 1993 until 1996. He received a MacArthur Award in 1981 for his work with the Highlander Center. His first publication Power and Powerlessness: Quesicience and Rebellion in an Appalachian Valley broke new theoretical and empirical ground in the study of social power, winning The Woodrow Wilson Foundation Book Award of the American Political Science Association, The V.O Key Book Award of the Southern Political Science Association, The Lillian Smith Book Award of the Southern Regiona Council, The W.D Weatherford Book Award, and earned co-runnerup in the first annual Robert F. Kennedy Book Award competition.
While studying at Oxford with Steven Lukes, author of Radical Power (1976), Gaventa developed a theoretical and methodological approach to the study of community power that has radically transformed community power studies in political sociology and opened a path for the legitimization of participatory research in mainstream sociology and political science.
Gaventa's articulation, and empirical demonstration, of the "three dimensional" approach to the study of power has informed multiple disciplines and multiple scholars as to the nuances of social power and the processes of its legitimization; while at the same time lending significant support to the growing community of scholars and social change advocates who would find the sources and the solutions of social problems, not in the dictates or preconceived notions held by social scientists, theologians and philosophers, but in the narratives of the affected alienated populations. Such methodological subjectivity allows the framing of a social problem, and a social solution, to occur from within the group, in Gaventa's theory, empowering, better enabling, the group to take collective action in the face of an almost unlimited power by those in Authority to frame issues as non-issues in the public's mind.
Borrowing from Lukes, Gaventa identifies three analytical dimensions that are the proper study of social power, with each dimension becoming increasingly more difficult to empirically observe with traditional methodologies of political science, a situation which forces Gaventa to synthesize numerous understandings of socialization into a cogent articulation of observable processes through which symbolic production is channeled within identifiable networks and communities.
The one dimensional approach involves direct empirical observations of very openly contested public issues. It involves defining and framing these issues in terms of identifiable winners and losers, and reflects the traditional pluralist approach to the study of community power. The second dimensional involves the addition of what Gaventa refers to as the "mobilization of bias" through which cultural hegemony is both asserted and legitimized. Empirically Gaventa's contribution is development of a method for looking at the various channels through which those in positions of social power turn concerns, claims, and potential challenges about inequities in outcome into 'non-decisions'. The third dimension involves addition of the capacity to manufacture expectations of social outcomes through the manipulation of the symbols and ideology, in such a way as inequities themselves become 'non-issues'.
His publications include
- Power and Powerlessness: Quiescence and Rebellion in an Appalachian Valley. ISBN 0-252-00985-1
- We make the road by walking : conversations on education and social change. ISBN 0-87722-775-6
- Communities in Economic Crisis: Appalachia & the South ISBN 0-87722-650-4
- Global citizen action ISBN 1-55587-968-3