Resistance to Co-optation: Successes and failures from the field

Now that community participation and multiculturalism have been institutionalized within public health initiatives, how does this impact the effectiveness of emancipatory social movements? People of color, LGBTQ, feminist, environmental justice and other advocacy group demands for relevance, voice and resources have been normalized, but at what cost? How do we ensure that advocacy issues are continually on the agenda, without giving dominant culture institutions the power of co-opting and reframing social problems in ways that depoliticize the historical/structural roots of health inequities? These questions are especially important for those of us who seek to transform our classrooms into opportunities for collective reflection on critical social theory and advocacy, yet still places for realistic appraisals and skill building within current public health practice. These tensions will be explored through the lens of teaching and research approaches at two university graduate programs: The Center for Participatory Research, University of New Mexico; and the Indigenous Wellness Research Institute, University of Washington.