Féminisme Intersectionnel : Anti-oppression et anti-racisme dans le mouvement étudiant

17 novembre 2018
14h30 à 16h
Camp de formation féministe de l’ASSÉ
Université Laval,
Pavillon DeKoninck, Local 1231,
1030 Avenue des Sciences Humaines, Québec, QC G1V 0A6
https://www.facebook.com/events/973491029514607/

(English Below)
Alors que nous développons des espaces de résistance et de résilience face au patriarcat et l'(hétéro)sexisme à travers le féminisme, qu’en est-il des autres oppressions ? Au-delà de l’égalité entre les hommes et les femmes, comment peut-on aller plus loin dans nos analyses des discriminations et de la domination ? À quel point on peut conjuguer au quotidien le féminisme traditionnel, la notion de l’intersectionalité, l’anti-oppression ainsi que l’antiracisme. Comment pouvons-nous transformer nos structures et processus afin de ne pas reproduire des rapports de domination enracinés dans le racisme, le colonialisme, le capacitisme, la suprématie blanche, l’(hétéro)sexisme, la (trans)misogynie, le capitalisme, etc. ? Dans un espace plus sûr (safer space) cet atelier abordera les enjeux de l’inclusion, la discrimination, les privilèges et les oppressions systémiques afin de voir comment l’intersection de toutes ces oppressions et privilèges, y compris le racisme et le patriarcat, ont un effet cumulatif et interagissent ensemble. Également, cet atelier sera un espace où nous partagerons des pistes de réflexion sur comment créer des milieux plus accueillant tout en déconstruisant les oppressions que nous avons intériorisées afin de transformer radicalement nos pratiques !

Intersectional feminism : Anti-oppression and Anti-racism in the student movement

As we develop spaces of resistance and resilience in face of patriarchy and (hetero) sexism through feminism, how do we fare when it comes to other oppressions? Beyond equality between men and women, how can further our analysis of discrimination and domination? To what extent can we combine traditional feminism, the notion of intersectionality, anti-oppression and anti-racism. How can we transform our structures and processes so as not to reproduce relationships of domination rooted in racism, colonialism, capacitism, white supremacy, (hetero) sexism, (trans) misogyny, capitalism, etc.? In a safer space, this workshop will address the issues of inclusion, discrimination, privileges and systemic oppressions to assess how the intersection of these oppressions and privileges, including racism and patriarchy, have a cumulative effect and interact with each other. Additionally, this workshop will be a space to share ideas on how to create more welcoming environments while deconstructing the oppressions we have internalized in order to radically transform our practices!

Animé par/facilitated by Rushdia Mehreen

Publicités

Collective Care & Sustaining Activism

November 1, 2018
4pm to 7pm
Get Radical! A Seminar in Community Organizing
Concordia Student Union
https://www.facebook.com/events/1282934451847734/

Collective art-work by members of Politics & Care

Collective Care & Sustaining Activism
As we build social movements, we tend to spend a lot of time on meetings, strategizing, organizing, mobilizing and so on. While the what and why of organizing are often sufficiently covered within the groups, aspects around how we carry out our organizing, the soft side, is frequently overlooked and not enough emphasis is placed on the well-being of the members involved as we pursue the political goals; emotional labour associated with dealing with power dynamics, interpersonal conflicts, various frustrations, internalized oppressions and such is not valued. This labour is often disconnected from the “political” work of what and why, and consequently not enough time and effort are spent on working through such issues, while it should be a collective responsibility. In such environment, so many activists tend to overstretch, burnout and leave the movement while still wanting to bring about social change. This participative workshop will be a space to reflect on our collective practices and brainstorm ideas on how we can inculcate care in various forms in our organizing in order to sustain our activism and build thriving spaces.

Facilitated by Rushdia Mehreen

Community organizing

Our collaboration with community organizations and groups in Montreal over the last few years has been in specific areas of collective care. Examples include: facilitation of (emotional) debriefs, e.g., marche pour la terre mère, after a long and involving project; collective care discussion circle for grassroots groups with a focus on internal dynamics, e.g., climate justice montreal; coaching for and being present at the collective care discussions within organizations.

 

Dare to care! / Ose prendre soin !

Sunday, July 8, 2 PM – 4 PM
Jarry Park
Near the gazebo
https://www.facebook.com/events/2035342746489462/

un cercle de discussion, picnic, relax
pcq il faut oser
pcq seul on y arrivera pas
pcq on est dans un marathon et que sprinting n’est pas durable
pcq on a besoin des espaces pour partager nos vulnerabilités
pcq caring et solidarité vont ensemble
because care matters
because we are not robots
because activism can be more than meetings and tasks
because we want to connect with each other
because building relationships matter
because interconnections between different oppressions matter
because we need to resource, replenish and reenergize ourselves

bring your stories, your poems and your visions !
amenez vos récits, vos poèmes et vos visions !

if possible, thanks for bringing some food for our bodies and souls, and to share.
si possible, amenez de bouffe pour partager

*we’ll meet near the gazebo (south side of the park, near st-laurent and gary carter).
On se rencontre près du gazebo (côté sud du parc, près du st-laurent et gary carter).

some context for this picnic-potluck can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/536948169973245/

Animé par/facilitated by Rushdia Mehreen 

Collective care for educators – discussion circle

Discussion circle, Friday June 15th, 3pm at Dawson College.

Themes discussed at the previous session.

The discussion will focus on the following main points that came up in the previous discussion of From Self to Collective: Finding Care in a ‘Burnout Culture’ :
– where is the nurturing coming from in our profession/lives?
– how do we nourish ourselves?
– what is our support network? what’s our safety net?

Discussion pointers:

What is it like to be teaching at a time when younger generations are influenced by the popular culture, in particular by tendencies such as, alt-right phenomenon?

What impact does the culture of productivity and pressure to perform (internalized capitalism) have on us educators? How do systemic and macro-level factors affect our teaching and affect all of the above?

What is the impact of the individualized culture on us? How do we feel about collective care?

How does emotional labour associated with teaching (a task/profession that is exhausting although satisfying) weigh down on us?

How do educators deal with the feeling of isolation given that teaching is a pretty individualized profession?

How do we deal with the intersection of our life (and its emotions) outside of school with what happens in the classroom, and the feelings that arise there? Is there a space for our feelings in the school?

How can we create spaces where teachers can support each other, share concrete material but also be in solidarity with each other?

How can we create spaces where we can feel more connected with our values, our needs as well as with like-minded people.

What are the strategies to nurture and ressource ourselves collectively so the social justice works we do can continue without us feeling burned out/taking time away/leaving the profession?

This is a followup workshop to From Self to Collective: Finding Care in a ‘Burnout Culture’ held on April 27, 2018

Contact us at politics.and.therapy.are.one at gmail.com by Thursday 14 June, if you’d like to attend.

All educators are welcome.

Facilitated by R. Mehreen

Safer Spaces: Building respecting, equitable and enabling spaces (pamphlet)

Safe(r) Spaces are created to make spaces accessible to everyone in various ways – this includes creating spaces where we can have emotionally charged conversations. We start with a general understanding that it’s OK to feel and express emotions. Another objective is to facilitate building of empathy and mutual understanding among participants.

These spaces are created by laying down a set of basic guidelines that can increase our levels of self-awareness, as well as comfort and ease with the people with whom we are sharing intimate thoughts and issues, and sometimes matters in which we strongly believe. While the facilitators bring forth some basic elements of safer space practices, the space is open for participants to contribute additional practices to make the space safer for sharing delicate and emotionally charged matters.
….
Download the pamphlet, which is created based on our Safer Spaces post from 2017.

Navigating overwhelming emotions: A few tips

{{Version française plus bas}}

A post by Solomon Krueger of Flowland. Reposted with permission .

Navigating overwhelming emotions
It’s been an intense and emotionally turbulent couple of weeks for many people, including myself.
Here are some insights and tools that may help to navigate through difficult moments of feeling emotionally overwhelmed.

Change your plans and expectations for your day. Can you modify or postpone some of the things on your agenda? Can you delegate some of your tasks and responsibilities? Can you give yourself some free and unscheduled time in your day? Creating space in your day wherever possible is a good place to start. It can help to calm the mind and nervous system. And, you can have time to process your feelings and attend to what you may need.

Create a space to be fully present with your experience. Whether you have an hour or just 5 minutes, gift yourself a set amount of time to check-in with your body. Start by turning off your devices and find a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted. Then, either sit or stand, and do a body scan. Observe how your body is in this moment. Agitated? Shortness of breath? Sore muscles? Numbness? Bring curiosity to the qualities of your emotional and physical experience. Notice the subtle changes or movements in your body.