Course
Capita Selecta: Methods for Non-Violent Resistance
In this 3-ECTs Capita Selecta course, we will explore non-violent ways in which people take matters into their own hands and actively embody or promote creative alternatives to the status quo. OtherWise offers this eight weeks Capita Selecta course with the aim to inspire 3rd year BSc and/or MSc students to explore their own potential to bring positive change to this world by creating space for debate, connection and action.
This course consists of seven evening sessions (and one optional afternoon event) where - with the use of contemporary cases - you will explore different ways in which people perform resistance and what methods are used to do this. Inspired by non-formal forms of education and experiential learning, we invite both students and educators to step a little bit out of their ‘academic’ comfort zone. This course is designed to tickle your senses, creativity, and imagination through jointly creating (a) space to bring change and ‘do’ politics in non-harming ways.
This capita selecta is an independent resultant of a collaboration between War Requiem Foundation – Bridge to the Future, the WUR departments of philosophy and disaster studies, and the Wageningen student group OtherWise Foundation. More information about these organisations can be found at the bottom of this description.
COURSE STRUCTURE
_____________________
The course starts on September 21st with an optional visit to the yearly Bridge to the Future Conference in Musis, Arnhem, commemorating the Battle of Arnhem, as organized by the War Requiem Foundation [language is in Dutch]. During this year’s conference, a variety of speakers present or discuss non-violent resistance in contemporary and historical moments of (war) crises.
The first official evening session of the course starts the week after in week three of period 1. The course ends in week 4 of period 2. Besides two theoretical lectures, the course will consist of three interactive workshops where different methods of non-violent resistance and tools to act will be presented and followed up with a creative and playful “experience-it-yourself” action.
EXAMINATION
______________
During the course, students will be asked to share visual reflection exercises after each evening session on an online platform. Students are examined for a final group assignment where they present their own design of a non-violent resistance project (60% of total grade, composed of 30% peer review and 30% teachers' evaluation). After the presentations on the last evening of the course, students are asked to write an individual reflection paper (the other 40% of the final grade).
DETAILED COURSE OVERVIEW
_____________________________
~~ PERIOD 1 ~~
(optional) Week 3 - September 21
---------------------------------------
Bridge to the Future Conference in Musis, Arnhem, commemorating the Battle of Arnhem, as organized by the War Requim Foundation. We can visit the event as a group when you are thinking to register or registered for the capita selecta. This event is held in Dutch only. You can register for this event by filling in this form: https://goo.gl/forms/LszB6Y8SRZZTqxaQ2
Week 4 - September 25
---------------------------
Opening lecture of the course is an open guest lecture by philosopher and anthropologist dr. Femke Kaulingfreks who will discuss different forms of political involvement by revealing the role of ‘street politics’.
Week 5 - October 4
-----------------------
Theoretical lecture by the drs. Leon Pijnenburg (Philosophy Group, PHI) and dr. ir. Gemma van der Haar (Disaster Studies, SDC) who will examine non-violent resistance and social change more in depth.
Week 6 - October 11
------------------------
Methodological session 1: Exercising methods inspired by amongst others Joanna Macy’s "Work that Reconnects" to dive into some deeper inner work in relation to activism and non-violent resistance facilitated and coached by Lian Kasper & Mali Boomkens.
Week 7 - October 18
------------------------
Methodological session 2: Theater of the Oppressed workshop with Susanne Prak.
~~ PERIOD 2 ~~
Week 1 - November 1
------------------------
Methodological session 3: Lecture on Rural Resistance in Colombia by Julian Cortes and an introduction to the Dragon Dreaming methodology by Elske Hageraats.
Week 2 - November 8
-------------------------
Creative Drafting Session: “Design Your Own Action” [more explanation follows later]
Week 4 - November 22
---------------------------
Presenting your Action
Enthusiastic? We will make registration possible from the start of September. Meanwhile we will keep you updated!
If you want more information or have a question, please contact us via Facebook or mail (otherwise@wur.nl).
APPLICATION
_____________
You can subscribe to this course via this online form: https://goo.gl/forms/j9OAHAKpZEOwIOf22. Be aware that you are eligible to apply only when you are a 3rd year Bachelor student or 1st/2nd year Master student. We can except a maximum of 25 students, and we expect quite some applications, so be prepared for a selection procedure!
Deadline to subscribe is on Thursday September 20, before 12:00 at mid-day. We will notify you latest Monday 24th of September on whether you are selected.
If you want more information or have a question, please contact us via mail, otherwise@wur.nl, or via FB.
MORE ON COLLABORATION
___________________________
Foundation War Requiem aims to stimulate awareness in the field of war, peace and freedom by means of cultural and artistic initiatives at the time of the Airborne Commemorations. The foundation annually organizes the annually Bridge to the Future Conference in the Eusebiuskerk in Arnhem commemorating the Battle of Arnhem. The conference is a nice opportunity to get an insight on the wider discussion of the capita selecta’s topic and the (unofficial) launch of the capita selecta. For more information about this foundation, see the (Dutch) website https://bridgetothefuture.nl/.
The WUR’s Philosophy Group (PHI) and Disaster Studies (SDC) aim to understand processes of ethical and social deliberation by focusing on dynamics of disasters and conflicts as well as the responses before, during and after these crises.
OtherWise is a Wageningen student group that tries to stimulate and offer students a window for a critical attitude towards a more ecological and socially just world. Next to this, OtherWise supports alternative pathways and creative bottom-up initiatives by citizens, communities and grassroots organizations that continuously emerge in the face of injustice. Exposing such initiatives, OtherWise’s aim is to open up a space for debate, connection and action.
For the FB event go here