Guest Editors' Introduction II: reflections on scholarship and activism in Canada and Ireland

This second of two back-to-back special issues for Studies in Social Justice (SSJ) features articles that offer a spectrum of case studies addressing the relationship between scholarship and activism in Canada and Ireland. As the guest editors of these two issues, we requested that the authors, who represent a range of disciplines and positions in their respective institutions of higher education, employ a critical and self-reflexive lens to examine the challenges and rewards associated with negotiating their roles as scholars and activists. In collaboration with myriad organizations and networks, these authors strive for greater social justice within their local communities. Their efforts are, however, hampered by the unrelenting encroachment of neoliberalism within and beyond the ‘ivory tower.’ Consequently, many focus their discussion on the rising levels of managerialism and corporatization within higher education, highlighting the metrics-oriented response to austerity measures that forefronts monetizable ‘deliverables’ and, in the process, negatively impacts the ability of academics to engage in activist endeavours (see in this issue Brulé; Giroux, Karmis & Rouillard; Hawthorne-Steele, Moreland & Rooney; Luka, Harvey, Hogan, Shepherd & Zeffiro; Murphy; and Visser; see also, e.g., Mercille & Murphy, 2015; Walsh & Loxley, 2014; Washburn, 2005).