Seeing Neoliberal Youth Work for What It Is

It is important to understand the realities within the youth work. Since beginning my career in youth work in the 1990s I have been exploring its theoretical and social underpinnings throughout my career. Wiggling its fingers throughout my efforts has been neoliberalism.

Unpacking #Youthification

There’s a conversation afoot about “youthification,” which means acting younger. Apparently, moms do it, businesses should do it, neighborhoods are doing it, and entire cities want to do it more. After reviewing several articles about this term, I have identified several assumptions in the conversations about “youthification”: All Youth Are the Same: This conversation about youthification generally revolves around the idea thatContinue reading “Unpacking #Youthification”

Selling Ourselves

Tonight on Facebook, my friend Lilian Kelian shared her sadness about people who relate to each other through interpersonal hegemony. I thought about it a while… Is the growing phenomenon of interpersonal hegemony the deep impact of neoliberalism on our personal and collective psyche? The word hegemony means dominance; interpersonal hegemony is when we try to dominate others withContinue reading “Selling Ourselves”