Scholar-activism as an object of study in a diverse literature: preconditions, forms, and implications

Farzana Bashiri (), Eugenia Perez Vico and Anders Hylmö
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Farzana Bashiri: Lund University
Eugenia Perez Vico: Lund University
Anders Hylmö: Lund University

Palgrave Communications, 2025, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract Scholar-activism—academic scholars engaging in some form of activism—has recently become a prominent phenomenon as we witness calls for scholars to engage in political, social, and environmental causes that go beyond their traditional academic duties. An emerging literature focuses on scholar-activism as an object of study. However, the literature is scattered across rather disconnected disciplines and research fields, with few empirically and theoretically well-grounded studies. In this paper, we review this literature and identify the diverse ways in which the phenomenon of scholar-activism has been studied, what is known, and what remains to be explored. This study is based on a systematic scoping literature review drawing on a diverse set of 85 publications from fields such as sociology, geography, management studies, and pedagogy. From the inductive analysis of the papers, three major themes emerge: preconditions, forms, and implications of scholar-activism. Preconditions refer to individual, organisational, and institutional factors conditioning engagement in scholar-activism. Forms involve the various ways in which scholar-activism is enacted, including activist research, teaching, and collaboration. The implications include individual, epistemic, and societal consequences of scholar-activism. The findings of this study provide insights into the growing but still diverse literature on scholar-activism and identify areas for future research and theoretical development.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-05573-6

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