On October 24, 2024, we hosted the official kick-off presentation for the FoRE/HOPE project at Tampere University, an ambitious interdisciplinary project focused on exploring the powerful relationship between resistance and hope as drivers of social change. The research team, comprised of scholars and practitioners from various fields, shared their planned contributions to this multi-year project, which aims to uncover how everyday resistance and hope can help us better understand social change in the face of growing authoritarianism and social exclusion.
At the heart of the FoRE/HOPE project (Forms of Resistance & Practices of Hope) is the question: What can everyday resistance and hope teach us about social change? In a world where many people face oppressive structures, violence, and exclusion in their everyday lives, it becomes crucial to understand how they navigate these experiences. Resistance and hope are deeply intertwined, with each shaping and sustaining the other. By analyzing these practices, the project seeks to provide valuable insights into how individuals and communities resist and foster hope in challenging conditions.
Through an ambitious and interdisciplinary research design, the project brings together case studies from different regions: Finland, Palestine, Iran, and Mexico. These diverse empirical contexts offer a unique opportunity to explore and theorize the interrelation between various forms of resistance and practices of hope, taking into account factors such as temporality, spatiality, and the positionality of individuals. By combining different cases, FoRE/HOPE aims to gain nuanced and unprecedented insights into the everyday dimensions of resistance and hope.
The project’s strength lies in this combination of global perspectives, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of how hope and resistance manifest across different social and political environments. This will not only enrich academic theories but also have practical implications for social change efforts worldwide.
FoRE/HOPE also plans several key outcomes, including this website which will offer open access to written and visual materials that will serve as a repository of resistance and hope. Additionally, the project will produce peer reviewed articles, an edited book, a theatre play, a public event featuring a photo exhibition, all aimed at engaging both academic audiences and the general public.
Each member of the research team brings a distinct perspective to the project, reflecting their diverse academic and professional backgrounds. Together, we will explore how resistance and hope emerge, thrive, and interact within different cultural and political contexts. You can learn more about our individual contributions here.
We are looking forward to the next steps!
Oh, there was cake.
