Non-movements and social change
Asef Bayat’s (2010) concept of social non-movement refers to those practices that individuals do to survive forms of marginalization. These are acts of resistance that are often not deliberate, and are not done as part of organized groups. Bayat fleshes out this term further through the notion of “quiet encroachment of the ordinary,” in which ordinary people conduct a sustained and prolonged appropriation of city spaces simply by doing what they do to survive. In establishing informal settlements on land they do not own, for instance, individuals who otherwise cannot afford land in the city are now able to live and work in it. Taking Bayat’s notion a step further, the middle classes also engage in social non-movements in sharing real news on injustices online, donating to organized movements, or supporting small businesses that were set up to cope with pandemic losses. In these pandemic times, students who resist formal schooling – which some see to be an unfair practice especially if they are required to have gadgets, pay full tuition fees, and use their …