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Walking Against The Grain: A Case Study Of Catholic Women‟S Social Justice Discourse, Practice And Spirituality In Post-Katrina New Orleans, Sherri K. Lawless

Adult Education Research Conference

This qualitative study explored the relationship between Catholic women adult educators‘ understanding of social justice and their engagement in anti-poverty activist practice with Hurricane Katrina survivors, in the context of a religiously-affiliated organization. While the privilege discourse was predominantly used by the eight activists interviewed, analysis also revealed that they understood social justice in multiple and layered ways. Specifically, these adult educator activists‘ enacted practice has a complexity that does not conform neatly to traditional conceptualizations of social justice. Keywords: Adult educator activists, Anti-poverty activism, Catholic social thought, Catholic women, Critical theory, Economic inequality, Homeless People, Katrina, Poverty, Spirituality, Social …