Navigating sustainability: an activist ethnographic study exploring discourses, identities, and online learning networks in Latin American activism

Martinez Renteria, Abigail (2025) Navigating sustainability: an activist ethnographic study exploring discourses, identities, and online learning networks in Latin American activism. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

Sustainable development has become a central framework for addressing socioecological challenges in Latin America. Activism in the region has long played a crucial role in challenging dominant development models, including their “sustainable” variants. While research has explored activist networks, there is little understanding of how they evolve as communities of practice, particularly regarding the learning processes that sustain them. The ways activists engage with and navigate diverse Discourses of “sustainable development” over time remain underexplored, limiting insights into how online learning networks (re)shape activism and socioecological transformations.

This thesis examines how activists in Mexico and Colombia engage with “sustainable development” Discourses and identities. Using a conceptual framework that links Discourse, power, and knowledge, it investigates online learning networks through a communities of practice framework where activists negotiate and (re)shape these Discourses. An activist ethnography approach is applied, focusing on two networks: a national youth led initiative in Mexico and an international organisation’s Latin American branch. Through multi-sited ethnography, including digital and in-person observations and semi structured interviews, the study analyses how activists learn, navigate, and strategically engage with Discourses to construct and reconstruct their identities.

Findings reveal that while online learning networks provide resources, training, and visibility, they also promote institutionalised Discourses, often encouraging activists to legitimise their positions through certifications, reinforcing hegemonic Discourses. However, activists also use these networks to negotiate, challenge, and strategically align with or resist dominant Discourses based on power dynamics in their socioecological contexts. Strategic flexibility enables them to navigate these complexities in pursuit of transformative change.

This research contributes to the field of “sustainable development activism” by highlighting the Discursive and identity-based negotiations activists undertake. It underscores the risks of co-optation and institutionalisation within online learning networks while demonstrating how activists maintain agency and adapt to engage with diverse communities of practice.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
Depositing User:	Nicola Veasy
Date Deposited:	24 Jun 2025 07:48
Last Modified:	24 Jun 2025 07:48
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/99685
DOI:

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