Transformative Social Change
Encyclopedia
Transformative Social Change is a philosophical, practical and strategic process to effect revolutionary change within society, i.e., social transformation
. It is effectively a systems approach applied to broad-based social change
and social justice
efforts to catalyze sociocultural, socioeconomic and political revolution
. In seeking to integrate and then politicize personal development
and social development as an over-arching approach to social change at multiple levels, addressing a wide range of issues, using holistic, nonviolent methods, it may be best classified as a new social movement. Rather than focus on particular issue(s), it seeks to impact the culture of left of center social movement and organizing work. However, by considering the dismantling of and liberation from oppressive systems, including economic, as core to its goal, it defies even definitions put forth for new social movements. As a comprehensive approach to progressive social change, it seeks distinguishes to itself from the "ordinary" change of conventional social change, social justice and their respective organizing practices by placing emphasis on personal, organizational and social systemic change that cannot be undone, or "deep change."
) Williams further proposes that "because suffering cannot be alleviated by instigating suffering"; the conditions under which social justice activists and seekers operate within organizationally need to exemplify the conditions they wish to ultimately see cultivated within society at large. This ideal coincides with the quote often attributed to but not said by Gandhi, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
Seeking to better define and cohere the emerging and evolving work of transformative social change, a People's Movement Assembly process was held at the 2010 US Social Forum
in Detroit, MI in which the following framework for defining transformation was agreed to by way of resolution:
~Transformation, as applied to social change, is a process through which who we are – individually or collectively – is changed so deeply that the following are altered:
Further, the work of transformation requires the following components:
~ Transformation can and does consist of multi-disciplinary practices, modalities and paths, but overall it points toward the centrality of consistent, rigorous practice capable of undoing conditioning. Such a practice must effect systemic changes, internal and external. We refer to the broad spectrum of varied modalities as transformative practices.
~ Transformation happens in its own time and it can’t be undone. We expect processes of transformation, as distinct from change, to be inclined towards being irreversible.
~ In the transformation process, one identity or self passes away and a new, radically altered one emerges. The new way of being is more integrated, resourceful and aligned. This is apparent to others in your presence, your actions and your increased capacity to respond based on vision, rather than reaction. This process repeats itself and deepens through continued engagement in transformative practices and processes. The old, previous “form” sheds again and new emerges again.
~ The methods and philosophy of transformation must be rooted in an explicit analysis of oppression.
~ We recognize that this work is grounded in ancient wisdom, lineages and history, and that it is entering a new phase of coherence that allows us to move forward.
, Hidden Leaf Fund, Fetzer Institute
, Jewish Funds for Justice
, Seeds of Justice, Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program and small family funds held an inaugural Transformative Leadership Awards and awarded six collaborative teams $30,000 and two finalists $5,000 for their work in the field.
's critical pedagogy
and Jürgen Habermas
' critical social theory, and the implications those convergences have for educational practice. However, the term is never specifically defined in the book, nor is any distinct theory set forth.
More recently the phrase is being applied as a social change field and movement in which developing inner awareness and nurturing one's inner life, i.e., personal development, is seen as essential in effective social justice work. This is taken to mean from an aligned, sustainable, and nonviolent place. It seeks to operationalize, in practical terms, the ideal of embodiment of the future desired state, in other words, to actualize Gandhi's exhortation to "be the change."
While transformative social change has evolved to include secular practices with no specific spiritual ties, it's emphasis on collective liberation shares history, principles and proponents with spiritual activism and liberation spirituality. Likewise, it shares principles of transformative learning
and transformative justice
, Examples of "transformative practice" include: yoga, meditation, centering prayer, tai chi, forward stance and types of somatic practices.
Social transformation
One definition of Social transformation is the process by which an individual alters the socially ascribed social status of their parents into a socially achieved status for themselves. However another definition refers to large scale social change as in cultural reforms or transformations...
. It is effectively a systems approach applied to broad-based social change
Social change
Social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. It may refer to the notion of social progress or sociocultural evolution, the philosophical idea that society moves forward by dialectical or evolutionary means. It may refer to a paradigmatic change in the socio-economic...
and social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
efforts to catalyze sociocultural, socioeconomic and political revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
. In seeking to integrate and then politicize personal development
Personal development
Personal development includes activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitates employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations...
and social development as an over-arching approach to social change at multiple levels, addressing a wide range of issues, using holistic, nonviolent methods, it may be best classified as a new social movement. Rather than focus on particular issue(s), it seeks to impact the culture of left of center social movement and organizing work. However, by considering the dismantling of and liberation from oppressive systems, including economic, as core to its goal, it defies even definitions put forth for new social movements. As a comprehensive approach to progressive social change, it seeks distinguishes to itself from the "ordinary" change of conventional social change, social justice and their respective organizing practices by placing emphasis on personal, organizational and social systemic change that cannot be undone, or "deep change."
Definitions and Components
A key premise defining Transformative Social Change is that "the ends of justice can never be served by the means of injustice, even when the injustice is as subtle as the mental framework instilled by the quest for liberation.("Change vs. Transformation" by Angel Kyodo WilliamsAngel Kyodo Williams
angel Kyodo williams is an African American//mixed race writer, ordained Zen priest and the author of Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living with Fearlessness and Grace , published by Viking Press in 2000...
) Williams further proposes that "because suffering cannot be alleviated by instigating suffering"; the conditions under which social justice activists and seekers operate within organizationally need to exemplify the conditions they wish to ultimately see cultivated within society at large. This ideal coincides with the quote often attributed to but not said by Gandhi, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
Seeking to better define and cohere the emerging and evolving work of transformative social change, a People's Movement Assembly process was held at the 2010 US Social Forum
US Social Forum
The United States Social Forum is a gathering of social justice activists in the United States which grew out of the World Social Forum process, bringing together activists, organizers, people of color, working people, poor people, and indigenous people from across the United States...
in Detroit, MI in which the following framework for defining transformation was agreed to by way of resolution:
~Transformation, as applied to social change, is a process through which who we are – individually or collectively – is changed so deeply that the following are altered:
- identity (way of seeing/thinking/reflecting upon ourselves and environment),
- emotions (range of feelings and reactivity,)
- embodiment (relationship and connectedness to and within our bodies and how we show up,)
- actions (behaviors, patterned responses,)
- creativity (capacity for responsiveness and ability to access resources,) and
- paradigms (overall perspective and mode of operating.)
Further, the work of transformation requires the following components:
- Awareness of the default conditioning, habits and reactions in our individual, organizational and movement experience.
- Appreciation of old identities and states as they pass away and an understanding of the experience of crisis, breakdown, “undone-ness,” or “not-knowing” as a necessary catalyst that moves us toward new identities and states. People and entities can and must be supported in these periods.
- A container at the individual, organizational and movement levels; practices that support the process, and a commitment to mentoring people into the necessary skills and processes.
- A sustainable relationship with the whole web of life.
~ Transformation can and does consist of multi-disciplinary practices, modalities and paths, but overall it points toward the centrality of consistent, rigorous practice capable of undoing conditioning. Such a practice must effect systemic changes, internal and external. We refer to the broad spectrum of varied modalities as transformative practices.
~ Transformation happens in its own time and it can’t be undone. We expect processes of transformation, as distinct from change, to be inclined towards being irreversible.
~ In the transformation process, one identity or self passes away and a new, radically altered one emerges. The new way of being is more integrated, resourceful and aligned. This is apparent to others in your presence, your actions and your increased capacity to respond based on vision, rather than reaction. This process repeats itself and deepens through continued engagement in transformative practices and processes. The old, previous “form” sheds again and new emerges again.
~ The methods and philosophy of transformation must be rooted in an explicit analysis of oppression.
~ We recognize that this work is grounded in ancient wisdom, lineages and history, and that it is entering a new phase of coherence that allows us to move forward.
Outcomes Sought
~Applied transformation leads to the following outcomes:- Radically increased awareness, clarity and comfort with direct experience what is so.
- Breakthroughs in ways of knowing, thinking and accessing creativity
- Impacts our character in a way that is observable, felt and experienced by others.
- Increased ability to respond from a place of vision and compassion rather than ego or self-interest.
- Increased capacity for, skillfulness with and practice of: presence, authenticity and interdependence.
Grants and Awards
In 2009, the Seasons Fund for Social Transformation, a funding collaborative of representatives from small to large foundations, including W. W. Kellogg Foundation, Ford FoundationFord Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
, Hidden Leaf Fund, Fetzer Institute
Fetzer Institute
-The Institute:The Fetzer Institute is a mid size operating foundation based in Michigan, United States, founded by John E Fetzer.Since its founding, the Fetzer Institute has been interested in individual and community health and wholeness, from our early days of mind-body health research to its...
, Jewish Funds for Justice
Jewish Funds for Justice
The Jewish Funds for Justice is an Amercian charity based in New York. Since 2005, Simon Greer has been its President & CEO.-History:The original Jewish Fund for Justice was created in 1984...
, Seeds of Justice, Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program and small family funds held an inaugural Transformative Leadership Awards and awarded six collaborative teams $30,000 and two finalists $5,000 for their work in the field.
Influences
Transformative Social Change is influenced by the work of social movements led by individuals that are viewed as attending to both their personal/spiritual development as well as systemic social issues because of the "realization that action is not enough":- Aung San Suu KyiAung San Suu KyiAung San Suu Kyi, AC is a Burmese opposition politician and the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy. In the 1990 general election, her National League for Democracy party won 59% of the national votes and 81% of the seats in Parliament. She had, however, already been detained...
- Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
- Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
- Black ElkBlack ElkHeȟáka Sápa was a famous Wičháša Wakȟáŋ of the Oglala Lakota . He was Heyoka and a second cousin of Crazy Horse.-Life:...
Related Work
In 2002, scholars Raymond Allen Morrow and Carlos Alberto Torres used the phrase "transformative social change" as part of the subtitle in their book Reading Freire and Habermas: Critical Pedagogy and Transformative Social Change, Teachers College Press, (ISBN 0-8077-4202-3), 2002 as a term to convey the intersection between Paulo FreirePaulo Freire
Paulo Reglus Neves Freire was a Brazilian educator and influential theorist of critical pedagogy.-Biography:...
's critical pedagogy
Critical pedagogy
Critical pedagogy is a philosophy of education described by Henry Giroux as an "educational movement, guided by passion and principle, to help students develop consciousness of freedom, recognize authoritarian tendencies, and connect knowledge to power and the ability to take constructive...
and Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas is a German sociologist and philosopher in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. He is perhaps best known for his theory on the concepts of 'communicative rationality' and the 'public sphere'...
' critical social theory, and the implications those convergences have for educational practice. However, the term is never specifically defined in the book, nor is any distinct theory set forth.
More recently the phrase is being applied as a social change field and movement in which developing inner awareness and nurturing one's inner life, i.e., personal development, is seen as essential in effective social justice work. This is taken to mean from an aligned, sustainable, and nonviolent place. It seeks to operationalize, in practical terms, the ideal of embodiment of the future desired state, in other words, to actualize Gandhi's exhortation to "be the change."
While transformative social change has evolved to include secular practices with no specific spiritual ties, it's emphasis on collective liberation shares history, principles and proponents with spiritual activism and liberation spirituality. Likewise, it shares principles of transformative learning
Transformative learning
At the core of Transformative Learning Theory, is the process of "perspective transformation", with three dimensions: psychological , convictional , and behavioral ....
and transformative justice
Transformative justice
Transformative justice is a general philosophical strategy for responding to conflicts. It takes the principles and practices of restorative justice beyond the criminal justice system. It applies to areas such as environmental law, corporate law, labor-management relations, consumer bankruptcy and...
, Examples of "transformative practice" include: yoga, meditation, centering prayer, tai chi, forward stance and types of somatic practices.
External links
- Center for Transformative Change http://www.transformativechange.org
- stone circles http://www.stonecircles.org
- Social Justice Leadership http://www.sojustlead.org
- Generative Somatics http://www.somaticsandtrauma.org
- Movement Strategy Center http://www.movementstrategy.org
- Rockwood Leadership Institute http://rockwoodleadership.org/
- Transformative Social Change Network http://xsochange.ning.com/
- Seasons Fund for Social Transformation http://www.seasonsfund.org/
- Hidden Leaf Foundation http://www.hiddenleaf.org/
- LiberationSpirituality.Net