Student Political Activism An International Reference Handbook [Hardcover]

This compilation of 29 country studies could not be more timely. Recent student unrest in El Salvador, Czechoslovakia, and West Germany, a national student forum held in Moscow, and China's Tiananmen Square student tragedy all suggest a worldwide upsurge in students' efforts to participate in political life. . . . Each chapter presents historical analyses of key events, with emphasis on the past three decades. . . . Altbach has assembled a strong international team in a landmark work. Choice

Providing a global perspective on student political activism in 29 countries, this reference work features in-depth essays by specialists who bring multidisciplinary insights to student movements, programs, and motivations and to the historical, political, social, and educational contexts in which these movements exist. Altbach defines student political activism and outlines the rationale behind this important collection of essays--why student political activism should be studied and who can benefit most from knowledge of this historically important force. He elaborates on how an understanding of the workings of student politics can benefit political leaders, members of the academic community, and the activists themselves. The historical role played by student political movements in the development of nationalism in Germany and in colonial nations in Asia and Africa is described, and the powerful university reform movements of Latin America are reviewed. Student activism is revealed to be a significant, perennial, and accepted factor in many Third World political arenas. However, in most parts of the world, student movements as a political force, whether right-wing, left-wing, liberal, or radical are characteristically sporadic but often very influential phenomena. The impossibility of a permanent revolution in the university is explained as are the sociological factors that tend to undermine sustained studenlS%