Lisa Mueller, author of The New Science of Social Change: A Modern Handbook for Activists
General Nonfiction Category, sponsored by Fredrikson & Byron P.A.
Each week leading up to the 37th annual Minnesota Book Awards, we are featuring exclusive interviews with our finalists. You can also watch the authors in conversation with their fellow category finalists here.
What inspired you to write this book – or inspired you while writing it?
I would sometimes return from a protest fired up but unsure of whether my activism made any difference. I sensed that other protesters might feel the same, and wrote this book to help all of us increase the impact of our activism.
What is one detail you wanted to include in this book, but couldn’t find a place for?
I admire Tony Fauci as a model for how academics and activists can join forces to change the world. AIDS activists stormed Fauci’s office in 1990, demanding better drug access. Instead of warding them off, Fauci sat down to listen to them. This launched a decades-long partnership that helped to reform HIV/AIDS research and deliver experimental medicines to the sickest patients.
Tell us about someone (whose name isn’t on the cover!) who proved instrumental to the creation of this book.
I developed this book in a course I taught at Macalester College, called “Protest Hacking: How the New Science of Social Change Can Empower Activists.” The students in that class provided instrumental feedback on the work in progress.
Please tell us something about yourself that is not widely known. (It doesn’t have to be about the book in question – or even about your writing at all!)
Most relevant to the present audience, I religiously read five books a month. 2) I’m an avid runner and race for the Mill City Running race team. 3) I also trained seriously as a harpsichordist up through college.
Share your thoughts about the role and value of libraries.
Libraries are one of the few remaining public gathering spaces in many communities. Any time I’m in a new town, I always feel like I can find a home at the public library.
Lisa Mueller, PhD, is associate professor of Political Science at Macalester College. Her first book, Political Protest in Contemporary Africa, received an honorable mention for Best Book of the Year from the African Politics Conference Group. She is a contributor to the Washington Post and has just returned from a year of service and study as a Fulbright Scholar.