Abstract
This article is offered as an example of practice-based research, focusing on the concept of praxis: the bringing together of research, theory and action. It does this by exploring the challenges of group work and collaborative thinking, sharing the learning and reflection of a group of civil society practitioners, from a range of different backgrounds and knowledge practices. The group came together under the auspices of the Raymond Williams Foundation, to reflect on 'keywords' that underpin their work in civil society. Using Raymond Williams's approach to hermeneutics, they considered how language is used and embedded within society. The approach allowed for the possibility of critiquing and contesting ideas that have become ideologically or politically dominant. The group considered the keywords 'charity', 'philanthropy' and 'voluntarism', and how their meanings have changed and evolved within society. The debate also brought into focus current concerns about shrinking state provision and consideration of whether the UK is witnessing a renewed focus on charity and corporate philanthropy. Ultimately, the article describes both the tensions and areas of commonality within the group in response to the debate, as well as opening up the group's learning experience to critical examination.
Highlights
This article is offered as an example of practice-based research, focusing on the concept of praxis: the bringing together of research, theory and action
Key messages ● This article explores the challenge of bringing together volunteers and practitioners from different backgrounds to reflect on the keywords ’charity’, ‘philanthropy’ and ‘voluntarism’ that underpin their work in civil society. ● The words enable reflection on the recent sustained period of austerity in the UK, alongside growing concerns about the impact of reducing state provision for the most vulnerable in society
We argued that aspects of philanthropy relate closely to the idealistic mindset cited above of ‘altruism, self-sacrifice and obligation’, and instances of philanthropy commonly overlap with instances of charity, not all charity is philanthropy, and vice versa
Summary
In January 2016, I was part of a group of UK civil society practitioners who came together for a weekend at Wortley Hall, near Sheffield in South Yorkshire, under the auspices of the Raymond Williams Foundation (RWF), as a small ‘think tank’, to collectively reexamine and challenge current debates about charity, philanthropy and voluntarism. This event offered me the rare privilege of experiencing a residential weekend, which allowed for a total immersion in the topics for discussion and an intensity and engagement with members of the group that I believe could not have happened in any other situation. Raymond Williams Society (which supports intellectual and political projects in areas broadly connected with Williams’s work and publishes the peer-reviewed journal Key Words: A Journal of Cultural Materialism), openDemocracy (an independent global media platform that seeks to challenge power and encourage democratic debate on social and political issues across the world) and the Independent Working Class Education Network
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