Embodying justice: Situating college student articulations of social justice in critical consciousness

Abstract

Many American evangelical college students today enter into college with a new awareness of justice-related issues. However, situating student commitments to justice in a larger discourse on critical-consciousness development is necessary for educators to assist students in their justice development. This article reviews the literature on critical-consciousness development and places it in conversation with Deleuzian affect theory, suggesting that extant theory does not take into account the affective domain of critical-consciousness growth. This article also demonstrates common ways Christian college students might portray themselves as critically aware through distinctly Christian tropes that express their passion for and commitment to justice. These tropes, which commonly include human trafficking, diverse friend groups, and being globally-minded, actually have an adverse impact on social justice. By better understanding these tropes as masquerading critical consciousness and by understanding how students become critically aware through affect theory, educators and mentors can more adequately guide students in their attempts to seek justice.