Ben Kirshner's book entitled, 聽(NYU Press, 2015) has been聽selected to receive a Social Policy Award for 鈥淏est Authored Book鈥� from the 聽and will be honored at an awards ceremony in March.
Published on June 15, 2015, this book gives readers insight into the political power today鈥檚 youth have come to acquire in an era of racial inequality, diminished educational opportunity and an atrophied public square. This is revealed through several examples, including one in which local youth organizers negotiate new school discipline policies to end the 鈥渟chool-to-jail鈥� track, discussed further in聽聽by Kirshner and Ricardo Martinez.
These examples, based on ten years of youth development research, explore how young people from marginalized communities interpret their sociopolitical context, learn to exercise collective political agency, and how activism contributes to youth development.
Shawn A. Ginwright of San Francisco State University describes this study as 鈥渁 powerfully rich analysis of youth activism, and youth participatory research across a variety of settings.鈥�
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Related Faculty: Ben Kirshner