Politics & Organizing
Theatre of the Oppressed
No theatre experience necessary! We will be using the tools and techniques of Theatre of the Oppressed to play, dialogue and connect with each other. Theatre of the Oppressed was developed in Brazil and is now used all over the world as a means for personal and community exploration and transformation. Based in the experiences, stories, struggles and desires of the group, we will use in-your-body activities to explore and dialogue together. These are tools you can also take and use in many different group settings.
Location
Make Media, Make Trouble
Saturday, October 2, 2010
3-5pm
Hosmer Library (lower level)
347 East 36th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55408
Workshop Description:
In this 2-hour participatory workshop, we will first collectively examine some movement media (that is, media created from inside social movements for the explicit purpose of furthering radical change) from various local--global struggles crossing race, age, class and gender identities. Then, we'll do some mediamaking of our own. Bring your creative mind, political passions and willingness to interact. (And, if you want, a pencil, crayons, videocamera... whatever tools might come in handy!)
Participants will leave with tricks, tactics and inspiration for 1) making media for radical social change, and 2) taking action to make another wor(l)d possible.
Printed resources will also be available for participants to take home.
Register for this workshop via EXCO and a confirmation email/phone call will be made at least one week before the date.
About the Facilitator: Jaime is a Twin Cities Indymedia collective member, writer and discontent in south Minneapolis with experience facilitating participatory media trainings/workshops. To talk or ask questions, email me: bjhokanson[at]gmail.com.
Location
Crisis in the Borderlands
Crisis in the Borderlands: Resistance In AZ
Sunday July 18th, 2010. 7 pm
Bedlam Theatre
1501 6th Street South
Minneapolis, MN 55454-1162
Suggested $5 donation- no one turned away.
The situation in AZ has reached a crisis point. Borderland communities, long under the pressure of an oppressive and violent border enforcement policy, have been besieged and attacked by a series of racist new state laws that seek to undermine the very fabric of our communities.
New AZ State laws have mandated racial profiling (SP 1070), cut off access to social services for mix-status families (HB 2008) and targeted Raza Studies programs in high schools (HB2281.) A new bill on the horizon proposed by State Senator Russel Pearce wants to get rid of birth-right citizenship for children of undocumented parents. These kinds of policies, motivated by deep hatred, seek to criminalize border communities and spread fear.
Come join in a discussion about the history of US border enforcement policy, the continuing and increasing raids under Obama and the growing resistance in Arizona. Learn how you can support border communities in resistance and help us build a movement for justice, equality and hope in direct opposition to border militarization, white supremacy and state-sponsored terror.
Crisis en la frontera
Location
Indigenous Imperative
The premise of course is that our future is not only ecological but
indigenous. We will be looking at not only the Six Nations Confederacy,
but several other cultural and political powers in the western
hemisphere including the Hopi, the Ojibway, the Inca, the Maya, Aztecs
and many others. One of the goals of this course will be to not only
push the envelope but get rid of the envelope. No discussion of our
problems or potentials is possible without our indigenous center.
NOTE: Ray does not use email so if you want to get in touch with him
before the class please call.
Location
We Are an Image From the Future: The Greek Revolt of December 2008
A reading group on the recent book We Are an Image From the Future: The Greek Revolt of December 2008.
Here's a description of the book from AK Press:
University Struggles: We Are the Crisis!
We will read some recent texts about strategies for university struggles from some accomplished organizing collectives in California and Washington: Advance the Struggle, Gathering Forces, and Democracy Insurgent. These folks are quite impressive in terms of the theoretical sophistication of their reflections on the current struggles.
Here are links to a couple key articles that we can start with for reflecting on March 4th and strategies...
http://advancethestruggle.wordpress.com/2010/04/12/crisis-and-consciousn...
http://gatheringforces.org/2010/04/26/the-debate-on-strategy-in-the-anti...
We can also read texts that they draw on, as well as other reflections on recent struggles across the US, in Europe, and around the world. Other options for reading include broader analyses of higher education (such as Marc Bousquet's How the University Works) and its history (such as Christopher Newfield's Unmaking the Public University: the Forty Year Assault on the Middle Class).
We will invite other education activists from around the world to join us in these discussions via blog conversations on common readings.
The time and day of the class will be determined by all participants through an online poll here:
http://www.doodle.com/tu42qxpnddmh6a3f
<.... more description coming soon!!!>
Locations
Radical Feminism
This is a reading group on radical feminism.
What is radical feminism today? How can we incorporate radical feminist practices in our activism and everyday lives? This class will approach these questions through reading and discussing contemporary feminist texts (reading 20-50 pages per week), and talking about these ideas in relation to our experiences and situations.
See http://excoradfeminisms.wordpress.com/ for previous and current readings (continuing from the first session of this class this spring).
Locations
Renewing Our Future: Energy, the Economy, and Climate
****The time of this class has changed. It will now be from 2-4 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays and will start on Wednesday, 6/23. We apologize for any inconvenience this change causes.****
Course description: Climate change presents a bold challenge to the way we develop our economies, organize our communities, and operate our daily lives. We now embark on an intense period of building solutions – a transition that will transform our energy systems, agriculture, urban structure, the global economy, and our everyday lives. Are we ready for this challenge? As scientists struggle with technology, leaders fight entrenched political and social assumptions, economists try to rethink global markets, and everyday people prepare to adapt, we will unravel the challenge of our century.
This class is focused on providing a thorough understanding of issues surrounding creating green jobs and economic opportunity in our communities through climate and energy solutions. We will prepare ourselves with a background understanding of real and feasible alternatives to current unhealthy, polluting, and exploitative patterns of energy use.
Is this about the environment? Development? Culture? Technology? Foreign policy? Social justice? Community empowerment? Your worldview? Global Citizenship? The answer is yes. With so many facets, we will encourage participants to work with us to develop a focus for their inquiry and identify outside readings, news sources, and initiatives for them to pursue, as well as strengthening initiatives participants are already involved in.
Locations
Citizen Backpack Journalism
Join Sheila Regan and Ann Alquist for a primer on how to submit content to the TC Daily Planet. Whether you want to share details about your neighborhood meeting or simply submit an event in your community, www.tcdailyplanet.net is THE vehicle to share what's going on. We'll also go over the basics of setting up a YouTube account and how to submit video to the website.
Location
Class in America - How to Get the Conversation Started
Class is one of the divisions in American society that we don't talk about but should. In this workshop, we'll confront issues of class, understand hidden class biases and discriminations, and talk about how to deal with it. Through journaling, discussion, videos, and creative projects, we'll explore what class really means in America, how it affects life choices, politics, etc.
There will be no outside reading or homework for this class.
Location
