Essay #95: Alexandria Hollett, ‘No Gods, No Masters: Practicing Freedom Through Anarchist Civics’

In this essay, Alexandria Hollett describes how liberal and conservative approaches to civic education in the so-called United States dangerously position the nation-state as the incontestable organizer of contemporary life, promote national myths, encourage young people to develop affinity for the nation-state, and position voting and other constitutional processes as exclusive tactics for social change. By contrast, this essay offers direct democracy, mutual aid, and direct action as anarchist interventions into the ongoing crisis of civic education.  Alexandria Hollett is an Assistant Professor of Elementary Education at California State University, Northridge. Alexandria Hollett's most recent publication is ‘No Gods, No Masters: Practicing Freedom through Anarchist Civics’ and she is a member of the Black Rose/Rosa Negra Anarchist Federation. You can find her at https://academics.csun.edu/faculty/alexandria.hollett or on Instagram at @alleholle.  Anarchist Essays is brought to you by Loughborough University's Anarchism Research Group and the journal Anarchist Studies. Follow us on Twitter @arglboro. Our music comes from Them'uns (featuring Yous'uns). Artwork by Sam G.