Politics & Organizing

[[UPDATE: the class has already started, but you are welcome to join in at any time... Please see this blog for regular updates: http://excoradfeminisms.wordpress.com/ -- and email the facilitator at eli.meyerhoff@gmail.com if you'd like to join.]]

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.  We will start with Nina Power's One Dimensional Woman, which critiques up-beat feminisms and offers a more anti-capitalist approach.  Nina is a rad philosopher and the author of a cool blog: infinite th0ught.  Here’s a blurb about the book:

This course will be an overview of political ideologies. It will explain what ideologies are conceptually, explain and define specific, major ideologies, and address the relationship between ideologies in theory and as the labels are applied in practice. Ideologies can be considered at times as description and at other times as prescription. The label and concept meta-narrative will sometimes be used to refer to ideologies and other broad ideas about how to organize political communities and behavior.

There will be an initial defining of the concept of ideology and setting up general categories of issues they address in order to understand given ones.  Then individual ideologies will be reviewed and explained. The major ideologies to be addressed are: Democracy, Liberalism, Capitalism, Social Democracy, Socialism, Communism, Fascism, Totalitarian, Authoritarian, Monarchy, Libertarian, and Anarchism. The review will include looking at key similarities and differences, with emphasis on governing structures and economic systems.

Why is the idea of force always associated with violence and aggression? There is a whole field and ideology that utilizes nonviolent action to enact change that supports social and environmental justice. This course will examine the history, theories, techniques, and effectiveness of nonviolent action and civil disobedience.

We will explore a variety of topics, movements, and skills through lecture, films, readings, speakers, and discussions. The speakers will include nonviolent activists who've engaged in civilian disobedience themselves. The course will also include training in civil disobedience and direct nonviolent action. These will hopefully include training in direct action planning, support skills, basics of blockades, and introduction to climbing techniques. Through these trainings, you will learn the strategies for effective nonviolent protests and action.

In the spirit of experiential learning, we are open to the direction of the course based on student needs and interests. The vision and hope is to educate and inspire students to use what they've learned to support their own causes and make that "change you seek in the world," (Gandhi, one of the few well-known nonviolent activists).

Want to learn how to get information out of the federal, state and local governments? Join a workshop facilitated by Twin Cities Indymedia, with special experts in the field explaining how government record works, and how to get the info out.

Tuesday March 23rd

With presentations from citizen information activist Rich Neumeister & data practices expert Don Gemberling.

Tuesday March 23
5:30-7:30pm
U of M West Bank, Blegen Hall 140
map: http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/maps/BlegH/