Social justice, corporate influence, and development: Defending the public interest at a state university

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-31-2019

Abstract

We chronicle student-led resistance to a controversial public-private partnership between the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and AgriSol Energy, a transnational energy company engaged in a development project in Tanzania. We track students’ resistance effort from their genesis in a classroom case study assignment to their broader reach in a community forum organized in collaboration with the local Occupy movement to challenge corporate influenceand institutional direction at the university. These efforts elevated ethical concerns about social justice in development projects and, closer to home, defended the mandate of a public university to serve the public good. We emphasize the importance of witnessing, persistence, framing, and alliances in these efforts, mindful of the need to both document and contextualize resistance.

Publisher's Statement

©2019 Transformative Studies Institute. Publisher's version of record: https://dx.doi.org/10.3798/tia.1937-0237.1902

Publication Title

Theory in Action

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS