Class Description:
Power, Privilege, Oppression & Intersectionality is an open space that centers on our identities and social justice. We will look at the different ways power is experienced in society and how it ebbs and flows situationally and across lifespans. This will allow us to reexamine how our power is practiced in relation to the power of others.
We will have in-depth and reflective discussions and activities about our experiences in relationship to social class, ability, race, gender, sexuality, religion, etc. We will also reflect on how isms (racism, ageism, sexism, ableism, classism, etc) are manifested on individual, interpersonal and institutional levels.

We will explore the history of intersectional feminism as a movement of empowerment for women of color. This will lead to discussions on why intersectionality is the key for being an advocate and being an ally. We will study contemporary social issues through artworks, films and interviews, deepening our understanding of social justice movements and how communities expand and strengthen their power through organizing.

Dates:
Weekly on Tuesdays
Feb 23rd - March 30th, 2020 Via zoom
6:30-8:30pm

Class materials & guest speaker:
The class is an integration of reading, screening and dialogue. We will have screenings by Aria Dean, Marlon Riggs, Hank Willis Thomas, and Elliot Reed, corresponding to writings from Bell Hooks, Audre Lorde, Paulo Feire, to Jamaica Kincaid, covering topics on resistance and resilience.

Nick Ogutu, a human rights activist and advocate for Black immigrants to share their journey in community organizing. Nick has extensively worked with and for refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants.

Bio:
Yehui Zhao (she, her, they) is an advocate, teacher and filmmaker. She is currently an adjunct professor at Hunter College Film and Media Department. Prior to this, she ran Community Advocacy Series in the Lower East Side, a class that explored the power of identities, intersectional feminism and resistance. She has also facilitated anti-oppressive workshops at Columbia University for social work students. She holds a Master in Social Work from Columbia University and is a candidate for Integrated Media Arts - MFA at Hunter College. In her art practice, Yehui explores made-invisible identities and experiments with unrecorded memories and history. Her work has been shown at the 43rd Asian American Film Festival, Microscope Gallery and Hunter College.