Feminist Internships and the Depression of Political Imagination: Implications for Women's Studies

Abstract

Scholars have paid ample attention to many of the effects of the institutionalization of the women's movement, but have not sufficiently attended to how such formalization has affected younger generations' perceptions of what it means to be politically active. The article uses interviews with an ethnically and racially diverse sample of Canadian university students who interned in feminist organizations to better understand their perceptions. The authors found the "feminist internship" to have predictable features that depress students' understanding of the kind of social change or challenges that are possible, and that train them to think of activism as another form of paid employment—a process the authors refer to as the routinization of political consciousness. Significantly, too, they found the likening of activism to work has also transformed social interactions among generations in the movement, replacing conflict and contestation about political goals and means with a script akin to employer/employee relations. Despite the trend towards formalization, students in the study most valued organizations in which staff members broke rules, attended to political ethics, eschewed hierarchy, strove for transparency, and openly debated ideas, signaling that de-professionalization may be a sound strategy for producing more movement adherents from emerging generations. Finally, the article reflects upon the role of women's studies units in brokering these relations between students and organizations, explicating how internships also lead students to revise their conceptions of women's studies curriculum as impractically critical and utopian.

Making the Intern Economy: Role and Career Challenges of the Music Industry Intern

“…Interns reported that they did not accomplish what they had expected from internships, suggesting a significant gap between interns' expectations and what was actually achieved (Muhamad, Yahya, Shahimi, & Mahzan, 2009). Based on interviews with 25 student interns from various feminist organizations, Taylor and de Laat (2013) depict the interns' difficulties fitting in and understanding their (blurry) role, being treated by host organizations as "temps, patients, clients, members, donors, or mailing-list recipients," and feeling disappointed and disillusioned from the experience (p. 94). Knemeyer and Murphy (2002) found that student and staff member assessments of internship effectiveness differed significantly.…”

Negotiating Educated Subjectivity: Intern Labour and Higher Education in Hong Kong

“…Researchers have noted the disparity between interns' expectations and the knowledge interns develop or the networks they build through their placements (Frenette 2013;Tayler and de Laat 2013;Figiel 2013). What interests me is how interns negotiate his gap.…”

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“…Researchers have noted the disparity between interns' expectations and the knowledge interns develop or the networks they build through their placements Tayler and de Laat 2013;. What interests me is how interns negotiate his gap.…”