Samenvatting

Those who engage in ‘activism’ fight not only for social change, but also against negative connotations. This essay explores what this means for academics, who will often find that the label ‘activism’ is an attempt to disqualify their work and message, especially when they challenge the status quo. This essay is partly rooted in the author’s own involvement in the Rotterdam action groups Recht op de stad (Right to the city) and Woonopstand (Housing revolt), but it discusses many more forms of involvement of academics in social protests.