From social movement learning to sociomaterial movement learning? Addressing the possibilities and limits of new materialism

In recent years academic interest in social movement learning (SML) has flourished. Studies in the Education of Adults has arguably emerged as the premier international forum for exploring the links between adult learning and movements for progressive change. In parallel to this subfield, yet largely in isolation from it, Studies has fostered the development of sociomaterial approaches to adult education and lifelong learning studies. These approaches reflect a wider trend in the social sciences and humanities towards what has been termed ‘new materialism’. In what follows, I develop SML theory by considering what such perspectives have to offer. Firstly, I explore the similarities and differences between so-called new materialisms and historical materialism. Secondly, I explore what happens when social movement learning is redefined as sociomaterial movement learning. The final part addresses the ethico-political questions raised when SML is understood in sociomaterial terms.