We are living in times of great uncertainty and upheaval. This course will provide students opportunities to discuss these challenges in community, as they explore historic and contemporary examples of how communities have come together to stand up against oppression. Rooted in the principles of disability justice, Black feminism and intersectionality, we will ask the questions: How have people stood up against injustice? What methods and strategies did they use and how did they work? Using a combination of texts, video, workshops, site visits and sessions with invited speakers, students will be introduced to various issues and methods of collaboration and resistance. Students will be expected to draw from the theoretical material to create their own collaborative creative responses.
The course will draw heavily on the essential union of theory and embodied practice required by effective resistance movements past and present. Students will have the opportunity to engage in the ongoing research project Landship Valiant Star, which investigates the history of Barbados Landship and its maypole plaiting ritual as a method of community building and liberatory praxis. Moreover, students will work in groups to create their own creative interventions based on participation and community building. The course will culminate with a public -facing “Happening” or participatory event as part of the programming of Creative Citizens in Action @ CCA, where student projects and a maypole plaiting ritual will be presented.
The course will draw heavily on the essential union of theory and embodied practice required by effective resistance movements past and present. Students will have the opportunity to engage in the ongoing research project Landship Valiant Star, which investigates the history of Barbados Landship and its maypole plaiting ritual as a method of community building and liberatory praxis. Moreover, students will work in groups to create their own creative interventions based on participation and community building. The course will culminate with a public -facing “Happening” or participatory event as part of the programming of Creative Citizens in Action @ CCA, where student projects and a maypole plaiting ritual will be presented.
- Instructor: Valencia James