Ambivalent Activism: Working with Contradiction, Hesitation and Doubt for Social Change

by Deborah B. Gould (Contribution by), Masa Mrovlje (Contribution by), Alyson Cole (Contribution by), Melody Howse (Contribution by), Adebayo Quadry-Adekanbi (Contribution by)

Overview

What if doubt, hesitation and ambivalence weren’t barriers to activism but powerful tools for change?

Challenging the idea that activism is fuelled only by anger or hope, this bold collection explores how activists across anti-racism, climate justice and mental health navigate uncertainty to sustain their work. Blending scholarship with on-the-ground perspectives, this book highlights ambivalence not as a weakness but as a dynamic force.

This is essential reading for anyone engaged in activism or emotional research, redefining what it means to feel and act for justice in a complex world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781529239737
Publisher:	Bristol University Press
Publication date:	10/14/2025
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	214
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

Akwugo Emejulu is Chair of Sociological Studies at the University of Sheffield.

Marlies Kustatscher is Senior Lecturer in Childhood Studies at Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh.

Callum McGregor is Senior Lecturer in Education at Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Working with Contradiction, Hesitation and Doubt - Akwugo Emejulu, Marlies Kustatscher and Callum McGregor

Part 1: Theorizing Ambivalence

1. Ambivalence as Misfeeling, Ambivalence as Refusal - Akwugo Emejulu

2. On (Not) Knowing What Is to Be Done (in 17 Affective Registers) - Deborah Gould

3. Facing Defeat: Rosa Luxemburg in Dialogue with Prefigurative Politics - Maša Mrovlje

4. Orchestrating the Furies: Anzaldúa’s Evolving Conception of Ambivalent Political Struggle - Alyson Cole

Part 2: Activism as Ambivalent Praxis

5. An Activism of the In-Between - Melody Howse

6. Resisting with People I Don’t Like: Exploring the Internal Tensions Among Queer Activists in Lagos, Nigeria - Adebayo Quadry-Adekanbi

7. Ambivalent Activism: Re-Contextualizing Mental Health Politics - Hel Spandler, Dina Poursanidou and Sonia Soans

8. Ambivalence and Veganism: Rethinking Sentiment in Moral Choices - Jordan McKenzie and Zoei Sutton

9. The Embroidery Collective: Embroidering and Reimagining Community in Times of Struggle - Cristina Florescu

10. Ambivalent Emotions Empowering Activism: Learning from Youth Activists in Aotearoa - Carisa R. Showden and Karen Nairn

Part 3: Activism and the Ambivalent Academy

11. Working with Discomfort: Contesting Ambivalence Through Care and Accountability in the University of Edinburgh’s ‘Skull Room’ - Nicole Anderson

12. The Poetry of Ambivalence: A Nudge toward Tending - Roxani Krystalli

13. The Role of ‘Stuckedness’: Ambivalence in Scholar-Activism - Aylwyn Walsh and Paul Routledge

Conclusion: Thinking with Pessimism - Akwugo Emejulu, Marlies Kustatscher and Callum McGregor

Editorial Reviews

‘Ambivalence is pervasive in activism but has far too long been neglected by scholars. This important and original collection explores the potential of ambivalence in a wide range of contexts’ Silke Roth, University of Southampton

From the Publisher