Event

Contemporary activism: A colonial past? A feminist future?

This lecture challenges you to think and talk about the history and/or present of colonization and feminism. Together with you we would like to discuss forms of contemporary activism that not only challenges our ways of thinking but also disrupts society and university.

Organised by Stichting Otherwise Wageningen
Date

Tue 15 May 2018 20:00 to 22:00

Venue Vreemde Streken, Bevrijdingsstraat 38 6703 AA Wageningen

To do this, OtherWise has invited decolonial feminist scholar Rosalba Icaza from Institute for Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam and anti-racism activist Inez Blanca from The University of Colour. The goal of the evening is to comprehend and to get to know different viewpoints, so there will be enough room for questions and a discussion. Below you can find more info on the speakers and the OtherWise activism series.

Rosalba Icaza is a decolonial feminist and International Studies scholar with 15 years of research and teaching experience on gender and development, international political economy and research methodologies. Understanding social resistance, and particularly indigenous and working-class women individual and collective resistance to interrelated forms of transnational/global oppressions has been at the core of her thinking and teaching. She recently published "Diversity or Decolonization? Researching Diversity at the University of Amsterdam" and was part of the Diversity Commission studying diversity at the University of Amsterdam. She is Senior Lecturer of Governance and International Political Economy at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University of Rotterdam (EUR).

Inez Blanca is member of the Amsterdam-based anti-racist collective The University of Color. The collective begun during the 2015 student protests and occupation at the University of Amsterdam. By organising events, participating in public debate, and supporting anti-racist activism in the Netherlands, they aim for “decolonial” higher education in Amsterdam. This project involves “creating a more balanced curriculum that includes non-Eurocentric perspectives” and diversifying the student body, staff and management of universities. Inez will talk about her personal experiences doing activism and what (de)colonization means for her.

Doors open: 19:30
Introduction: 20:00 - 20:05
First speaker Rosalba Icaza: 20:05 - 20:50
Break: 20:50 - 21:00
Second speaker Inez Blanca: 21:00 - 21:45
Meet-and-mingle + drinks: 21:45 - .....

Introduction to the OtherWise activism lecture series:

During the mass protest just before the COP23 in Bonn last November, the most powerful demand was "power to the people". This environmental movement has a strong emphasis that it is time for people to be heard and challenges world power relations. But not only environmental destruction is rampaging the world, racism, sexism and xenophobia are reasons for the people to claim the streets and question existing structures. Much of the opposition against these depletions, prejudices and forms of discrimination come from local, national and international activist groups, such as feminist, migrant, and decolonization movements.
In specific, the goal of this lecture series is to ‘move’ students and make them familiar to the visible (activist) organizations today, particularly in feminism, environmentalism and post-colonialism. By doing this science and activism come close together by both supporting the education of academic schooled activists as well as by raising awareness. Next to this, we hope to support certain skills that are useful for a more activist attitude in- and outside of the academic world.