Includes bibliographical references (pages 205-215) and index.

Introduction -- Identifying as an activist -- Becoming an activist: the turn toward activism -- The emotional and relational dimensions of activism: familial and peer influences -- The intellectual dimension of activism: educational influences -- The behavioral dimension of activism: strategies and successes -- Conclusion.

"The analysis frames student activists as neoactivists, who borrow from and build on the legacies of past generations of college student activists and who present a robust alternative to narrow neoliberal conceptions of the purpose of higher education, the role of students, and the possibilities for democratic society. Based on extensive data from more than 235 self-identifying college and university student activists across 47 states, as well as 40 in-depth, follow-up interviews conducted between 2016 and 2018, this book offers clear insight into these new student activists--who they are, the causes they care about, the strategies they deploy, the factors that motivate and sustain them, and the impact they have had on their campuses and beyond, and how their activism affects them personally. The book aims to deepen understanding of the process of sociopolitical development for a diverse set of college students who take part in collective action to effect institutional and social change. This book also illuminates the influences of family members, high school learning environments, peers, and higher education coursework, professors, and staff on students' turn toward activism, and it reveals the fraught but mutually transformative relationship between institutions of higher education and student activists in the contemporary moment"-- Provided by publisher.