On the 17th of November, the Policy Futures International Webinar Series hosted an insightful presentation on student politics and agency by Donatella della Porta and Manja Klemenčič. Donatella’s talk explored student mobilizations from four different countries, Quebec, Chile, Italy and England, by considering them within a broader concept of student politics, looking at movement but also non-movement dynamics. Donatella’s presentation focused on the ‘triangle’ formed by movements, political parties and public opinions that allow an understanding of the capacity of social movements to influence the policy-making process. Manja’s talk considered how students can directly and purposefully influence academic and social life of higher education institutions in reference to theory of student agency, and in specific, student political agency. Her presentation focused on the findings from the global comparative research project Student Impact on Higher Education Globally (SIHEG).
Manja’s and Donatella’s talks were complemented by discussants Gritt B. Nielsen, Associate professor Aarhus University and Thierry Luescher, Research Director at Human Sciences Research Council and affiliated associate professor of higher education, the University of the Free State, South Africa.
The event was introduced and chaired by the Policy Futures program director and Associate Professor, Katja Brøgger from Aarhus University.
