The recent formation of the National Communication Association's Activism and Social Justice Division puts a spotlight on the extent to which instructional communication and instructional communication research have advanced--or even should advance--the goals of social justice. To examine this issue, two of the leading scholars on this topic,…

Lawrence Frey and David Palmer present a provocative call for communication education and research that is urgent and opportune in this forum's stimulus essay, "Communication Activism Pedagogy and Research: Communication Education Scholarship to Promote Social Justice." The call is urgent because the global human condition--including…

For Frey and Palmer (2014), communication activism pedagogy (CAP) "teaches students how to use their communication knowledge and resources (e.g., theories, research methods, pedagogies, and other practices) to work with community members to intervene into and reconstruct unjust discourses in more just ways." The author of this response…

Communication activism pedagogy (CAP) is rooted in many of the same ideals as participatory action research (e.g., attending to issues of social inequality and oppression with the goal of enacting social change). Not only does participatory action serve an important role in taking research outside of the ivory tower, but also it notably gives…

In this rejoinder to this forum's respondents to the stimulus essay, "Communication Activism Pedagogy and Research: Communication Education Scholarship to Promote Social Justice," Lawrence Frey and David Palmer state that the forum editors asked them and the invited respondents to focus on communication activism pedagogy (CAP) research…

Communication activism pedagogy (CAP) illuminates an array of ways to intervene into oppressive systems to promote just conditions, and CAP's transformative effects on students and communities have been substantively demonstrated (Frey & Palmer 2014). Yet, Frey and Palmer recognize that "social justice issues are long-term, large-scale…

In this forum response essay, the author proposes that the largest challenge "and" benefit of Communication Activism Pedagogy (CAP) is bound up in a small but significant word in Frey and Palmer's (2014) definition of Communication Activism Pedagogy: "with." Working "with oppressed community members" challenges the…

Lawrence R. Frey and David L. Palmer describe communication activism pedagogy (CAP) as "putting meat on critical pedagogy's theoretical bones" and applying theory to real-life activist movements (Frey & Palmer 2014). Their hope is to inspire students "beyond matriculation to develop their roles as activists," and Frey and…

The retreat of state funding at public institutions paired with the growing concerns surrounding vulture capitalism that has weaponized philanthropic gift-giving (i.e., distinguished chairs, scholarships and fellowships, academic research centers, faculty lines, campus maintenance) means educators must find ways to teach students about the…