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Dissident Citizenship: Democratic Theory, Political Courage, and Activist Women

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 March 2020

Holloway Sparks
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Abstract

In this essay, I argue that contemporary democratic theory gives insufficient attention to the important contributions dissenting citizens make to democratic life. Guided by the dissident practices of activist women, I devefop a more expansive conception of citizenship that recognizes dissent and an ethic of political courage as vital elements of democratic participation. I illustrate how this perspective on citizenship recasts and rechims women's courageous dissidence by reconsidering the well-known story of Rosa Parks.

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Type
Research Article
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Hypatia , Volume 12 , Issue 4: Special Issue: Citizenship in Feminism: Identity, Action, and Locale , Fall 1997 , pp. 74 - 110
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 by Hypatia, Inc.

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