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Self-work and social change: disindividualised participation amongst young Australian Buddhist practitioners
Recent work on youth participation has mobilised a ‘DIY’ or
‘individualised’ framework to explain the nature of contemporary
participation, particularly amongst minoritised religious youth. This
paper examines this conceptual framework in light of concurrent
claims that contemporary participation can be better
conceptualised using a ‘doing it with others’ (DIWO) approach,
which emphasises the collaborative nature of participation. In
light of these claims, I analyse the participation experiences of 22
young adult Buddhist practitioners who are located within a neoliberal Australian context, yet simultaneously have access to
religious teachings and practices which challenge distinct notions
of selfhood. This paper shows that both ‘DIY’ and ‘DIWO’
conceptions of participation find expression in the participation
experiences of participants from the study, and that both DIY and
DIWO approaches can additionally be seen as mutually reinforcing
rather than distinctly contrasting. I propose a new concept of
‘disindividualisation’, suggesting that Maffesoli’s concept of
‘disindividuation’ and Elias’s work linking psychological
development and social change should be considered in
conjunction with an individualised or DIY perspective on youth
participation to denote this kind of participatory work.
‘individualised’ framework to explain the nature of contemporary
participation, particularly amongst minoritised religious youth. This
paper examines this conceptual framework in light of concurrent
claims that contemporary participation can be better
conceptualised using a ‘doing it with others’ (DIWO) approach,
which emphasises the collaborative nature of participation. In
light of these claims, I analyse the participation experiences of 22
young adult Buddhist practitioners who are located within a neoliberal Australian context, yet simultaneously have access to
religious teachings and practices which challenge distinct notions
of selfhood. This paper shows that both ‘DIY’ and ‘DIWO’
conceptions of participation find expression in the participation
experiences of participants from the study, and that both DIY and
DIWO approaches can additionally be seen as mutually reinforcing
rather than distinctly contrasting. I propose a new concept of
‘disindividualisation’, suggesting that Maffesoli’s concept of
‘disindividuation’ and Elias’s work linking psychological
development and social change should be considered in
conjunction with an individualised or DIY perspective on youth
participation to denote this kind of participatory work.
