Reflection 3

Circling into the discussion on Humanity (lives, positionalities, careers, education) - is a complex idea and to tie it to oppression. But what is most challenging is thinking about this in a binary approach - oppressor vs. oppressed - when the systems in place affect all involved in different capacities.

When I began a reply, I was reflecting on a conference presentation at the Chicago Humanities Festival, Beyond the Binary. Themes that were repeated throughout the presentation were Humanity, Community, and Relationships. Each were related to how a two-way thinking approach (binaries) reinforce the systems of oppression and put each of us in conflict with each other. This conflict creates all sorts of trauma in ourselves, communities, and in relationships - creating collective trauma.

The binary thought process then adds to the polarities - the way so many issues are viewed today, IMHO. But to move forward, we seek to have dialogue, meaningful conversations, but these polarities keep us separated, "we want to be in relationship but if you're already are tapping into the relationship as somebody who's made up your mind about my humanity how are we going to have a relationship..."

And they raised a concerns that these conversations are "often guided from a privileged lens right the people who have power like why can't we all be nicer and more civil to each other meet me in the middle I'm like well I can meet you in the middle if you are not coming at me with like pitchforks and trying to like completely erase me right." So when looking at the word Humanity, it can take on many different forms - relating to Freire notion of "Reading the World."

In Teaching to Transgress, Hooks also acknowledges this collective trauma, "There are times when I walk into classrooms overflowing with students who feel terribly wounded in their psyches (many of them see therapists), yet I do not think that they want therapy from me. They do want an education that is healing to the uninformed, unknowing spirit. They do want knowledge that is meaningful" (p. 19). I believe Hooks is referring to engaging in larger conversations including those of Humanity, relating to lived experiences.

In referring to inquiry and conversations, Freire states, " the pursuit of full humanity, however, cannot be carried out in isolation or individualism, but only in fellowship and solidarity; therefore it cannot unfold in the antagonistic relations between oppressors and oppressed" (2003, p. 85).

Resources

• Freire, P. (2003). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum.
• hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to Transgress. Routledge.
• Iantaffi, A., & obot, e. (2019, October 26–November 10). Beyond the binary [Conference presentation]. Chicago Humanities Festival, Chicago, IL, United States. https://www.chicagohumanities.org/events/beyond-binary/