What stories do we tell about ourselves and the worlds we inhabit? What role do stories and story-telling play in the creation of knowledge and how we make sense of our society, culture, politics and economy? Which stories become dominant, and which are submerged? What role do oral traditions play among marginalized communities as they struggle for collective self-preservation in the face of adversity? How might we learn from hidden, suppressed and overlooked histories? And how can such submerged histories help us better understand the past, the present, and guide us as we work to build better, liberatory futures? These are some of the inquiries that will guide our work in this program.
We’ll begin our studies by taking stock of the stories we carry with us into the classroom. What are the stories in our own communities and how to they inform the way we relate to our society and others around us? As author Gloria Anzaldúa says in Borderlands, “Her first step is to take inventory. Just what did she inherit from her ancestors?” As we work towards building a learning community, we will explore the traditions we all come from, learn about the practices involved in collecting oral histories, and cultivate our listening skills as we hear from, and engage in conversations with, community members. While learning about ourselves and our communities, we will also learn from stories that illuminate the ways in which communities have collectively contested structures of oppression in their efforts to bring about a more just and equitable society.
To help us develop insights into the stories we engage and encounter, we’ll learn and practice conceptual tools from feminist theory, Indigenist research paradigms, history, political economy, education and psychology. We'll use these tools to illuminate our respective worldviews and the structures that govern our society. Together, we'll also practice cultivating generous and collaborative spaces for thinking, reconsidering, imagining, creating and ultimately learning through this interdisciplinary inquiry.
Program activities will include workshops, seminars, lectures, guest speakers, films, reading, writing and arts assignments, oral/visual presentations, as well as potlucks and field trips.
Preparatory for careers in education, community-based organizations, government and non-government agencies, environmental agencies, labor organizing, immigrant-rights advocacy, law, political economy, social work, cultural studies, media studies.
This program is coordinated with Greener Foundations for first-year students. Greener Foundations is Evergreen’s in-person introductory student success course, which provides first-year students with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive at Evergreen. Students expected to take Greener Foundations should use CRN 10033 to register for a 2-credit Greener Foundations course in addition to this 14-credit program. When using this CRN students will take additional steps to complete their registration, more information can be found at the Greener Foundations Registration Help Wiki.
First-year students who are not expected to take Greener Foundations or have been granted an exemption should use CRN 10032 to register for this program. Find more details about who isn't expected to take Greener Foundations on the Greener Foundations website.
Anticipated Credit Equivalences:
4- Introductory political economy
4- Learning and Growing in Communities
3- Oral history as Inquiry
3- Making Meaning through Writing and the Arts
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$20 fee covers museum entrance fee