Consciousness Raising 2020

What is Consciousness Raising (CR)?

A consciousness-raising group is a small group process composed of peers for a particular minority group. The purpose of the group process is to examine the sociopolitical structures that create and sustain discrimination and disadvantage. source

Through directed discussions we can move towards a deeper understanding of our realities. Each session, political topics are explored and layers of separation and isolation are lessened as we learn to better support and empathize with one another.

History of Consciousness Raising

The consciousness-raising (CR) group came about in the 1970s in the context of second-wave feminism and gay liberation. Its essential element was the use of group process for the transformation of individual awareness from a personal to a political frame of reference. Specifically, it aims to explore the origin of dissatisfaction and unhappiness that was previously experienced as resulting from a personal flaw to being the result of social oppression. It explicitly linked the broader understanding of societal structure to personal experience. This sort of transformation of awareness has a particular resonance to critical psychology, though its origins are outside of the discipline. source

Consciousness Raising at UBC

We welcome ALL people who have experienced, will experience or are experiencing womanhood, and wish to include students, faculty, staff, etc. These events are open to people from all faculties, no prior or academic knowledge on feminism or social just required.

Historically, consciousness raising would allow those with marginal positions to come together to share and form solidarity. It is important to learn about others experience but it is also important to us as leaders that marginalized groups continue to be able to feel safe sharing their struggles in order to build community with others who share similar experiences. This means you can attend based on your positionality and comfort level with each topic.

Consciousness raising is the method of feminism - we will discover how our lives/experiences have shaped our realities, we will be exploring many topics such as Mothers, Sexuality/Gender, Race, Class, Relationships and more. We provide snacks (vegan/healthy), tea/coffee, juice and a safe/confidential space for all women to engage in difficult, meaningful, expressive discussions about our lives. Across differences and similitudes, we will raise our consciousness collectively. This year we hope to have more specific topics, some may include discussions on care-giving and community, experience with migration, and experience with homophobia in the workplace. We hope to better understand ourselves and our circumstances and to collectively heal from past and ongoing trauma. We will figure out how to do this during the pandemic. Read our COVID-19 statement here.

You can also have the chance to sign up to host a future session about topics that are interesting and personal to you! This semester there will be no formal leader, as we hope to center the voices of those with lived experience. We will be creating a schedule where people can sign up to host a session on the topic of their choice. Contact us here to find out more.