What is activism?

I am currently pursuing my Master's in Education, but have been seeking a new adventure in my academic journey.  Rather than taking an Education course this term, I have decided to take a graduate course in Geography and Environmental Studies titled, Shaking the Tree: Environmental Activism.  I signed up for this course partly because I wanted to take a course that would challenge my beliefs about mankind's relationship with the world, as well as my interest in the need for people to accept personal responsibility for their actions to achieve real environmental change. Over the past six months, I've been thinking about doing my thesis on the role of curriculum documnets to promote personal responsibility in youth to act on behalf of the environment. 

When I think of activism, images pop into my head of protests at this summer's G20 summit in Toronto, breaking windows and lighting police cars on fire, while the cops respond with batons and tear gas.  Activism also brings to mind oppressed groups fighting for recognition of their rights, such as the Oka Crisis in Quebec in the 1990's.  What could I, a simple farm boy know about activism.  Afterall, us conservative-minded yokels tended to shy away for the radical politics promoted by those liberal fanatics.  It wasn't until after my second class that I realized I had probably come from a family that had engaged in as much or more activist behaviour than anyone else in my class.  My family and our neighbours waged a large-scale rally, including petitions, a town-hall meeting, a lawsuit and more against the establishment of hog barns in our municipality.  My father attended rallies concerning the future of the Canadian Wheat Board, my mother walked the picket line for the Manitoba Nurses Union for four weeks one year, and my father was a councilor for a term for the local municipality.  As a university student, I was on our student union, the president of our Education Students' Society and an active proponet of reflective practice within the Faculty of Education which reflected the needs and concerns of the students. 

I see an activist as one who is committed to promoting tenents of their cause through a variety of means, such as letter writing, protesting, starting a citizens' group, or making conscious decisions when shopping.  Such a definition makes activism seem more inclusive to people who might not typically consider themselves activists, such as myself.  As a social studies teacher, I engage in a form of activism on a daily basis, making my students reflect upon their concept of citizenship and question their relationship with the environment.  By taking this course I hope to understand different facets of activism, how it works in society, and how to engage in and plan activist events.  Since activism is based upon people accepting the personal responsibility they have towards a cause, I want to explore how I could inspire my students to be activists for the envionment, thus promote environmentally sustainable behaviour.