A review by siria
After the Protests Are Heard: Enacting Civic Engagement and Social Transformation by Sharon D. Welch

2.0

I'm generally fairly receptive to a message like Sharon Welch's: not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good, to seek pragmatic solutions that start from where we are rather than where we'd like to be. But I don't think I was the audience for this book, and I'm honestly not quite sure who is. It tries to be a practical guide for those working towards social change, but the often turgid, jargon-filled prose ("altermodern relational aesthetics", anyone?) is going to be alienating for anyone who's not an academic (and even then...). I also found Welch's attempt to square a circle—acknowledging the systemic injustices inflicted on minorities and calling for an engagement with indigenous wisdoms while also insisting that compassionate corporatism can somehow save us—off-putting. It felt, if not disingenuous, then oddly facile: after all, Welch's whole book starts from the premise that the protests will be heard. Given the past few years in global affairs, I don't think that's something anyone can take as a given any more.