Davies Forum Workshop Reflection

The quote I chose to write on the board during our workshop was “violence can be silent”. I thought this was a very important perspective I had not really thought of before. When Elina Penttinen started the activity, to be completely honest, I was very skeptical. I am not usually the kind of person that enjoys those particular kinds of creative exercises. However, after the first few moments of uncomfortable silence, I really did allow myself to follow Elina’s words of instructions. When we began to draw, images flowed surprisingly quite easily to me. The first set of instructions, conjured up thoughts of huge explosions and graphic human interactions. My first image was of a military soldier, decorated in an array of intricate medals and badges. The second featured a mushroom cloud of an atomic bomb and the last was the skeleton of a destroyed city.

When we got into our smaller groups to discuss our images, Sarai Aharoni pointed out how many of our images depicted the typical media representation of war. Depictions of soldiers, bombs and destruction, although important, do not take into account how violent silence can be. Sarai discussed how not giving people a voice is a type of violence, and I realized how true this was. By excluding certain groups from contributing, like women in peace negotiations, perpetuates a type of violence that many do not attribute to having the same impacts as a bomb, but it does. This really made me think about how, violence is not always ‘in your face’ and detectable. Perhaps, some of the most violent realities in our world are silent, and their silence is what allows them to be so destructive and pervasive.

--Erika 

Reflection on the Davies Workshop

I really enjoyed today’s workshop but wished that I could have stayed longer or been there in the morning. My favorite part was being a part of the drawing exercise on violence and well-being. I noticed as we were sharing our drawings in small groups that my drawings ended up being very personal and emotion based. In a group with Erika and Sarai Aharoni, we noticed that all of our drawings ranged in theme and abstraction. The thing that struck me most was that a lot of the drawings had something to do with balance and time. There is always a time for something—as cheesy as that sounds. There is a time to contemplate, a time for friends and community, a time for working, etc. This exercise reminded me that balance is very important to have in one’s life. Balance, for me, is the ultimate expression of well-being. It is the best way to clear the mind and reorient your life. I think this is why I am intrigued by the idea that anger should be productively channeled, which is something Swati Parashar kept talking about. Anger can be used as a force of good if controlled and understood. Emotions themselves are not bad and can be expressed constructively. Similar to anger, silence can be used as a powerful tool as well. Silence can have as much power as any other method and speak volumes.  

Davies Forum Workshop - Impressions I

(photos via Prof. Doubiago)

Davies Forum Workshop Reflection

I really, really LOVED this workshop! I'll admit I was a little apprehensive at the beginning - it's both exciting and extremely intimidating to meet and maintain a discussion with such intelligent feminist scholars when you only have very basic knowledge about feminism yourself - but after starting off with the drawing exercise, I felt a lot more at ease to discuss my ideas and ultimately saw this workshop as a different learning experience!

I was placed in the group with Elina, who facilitated the drawing exercise. I'm really into introspective activities, so being able to reflect quietly gave me the chance to center myself and my thoughts before launching onto a discussion. I also appreciated sharing our own drawings and ideas in smaller groups before sharing altogether. What I loved the most about this activity was that it was so simple, but apt in demonstrating the complex nature of violence itself - violence cannot be pigeonholed into one single definition. Like everyone's drawings, not one idea of violence was exactly the same, ranging from specific memories to abstract ideas. I definitely feel like drawing our ideas instead of just discussing them shed a different light on the subject that I hadn't thought about before.

All four speakers had so many interesting things to note - Sarai's discussion on Palestine and trying to figure out ways to spread awareness of women's issues was thought-provoking, as was Caron's ideas on "intimate terrorism" - her allusions to Fifty Shades of Grey and Twilight, noting that women falling in love with their captors is often romanticized was eye-opening and definitely something I didn't notice before! I also loved Swati's questions of writing emotions into these political issues, owning up to our own experiences and bringing ourselves into writing - which was then further explained by Elena, acknowledging that often times, scholarly work encourages us to be objective observers, when in reality, we all are defined by our experiences and can never truly be neutral observers and reporters.

I also had the pleasure of having dinner with them too! We went to Zazie's (which was so delicious, oh my goodness, I can't even explain!) and I was able to talk to Caron more and listen to her experiences living and teaching in Scotland - something I was very interested in since I'm looking to study abroad in Europe, namely England, so I was able to get some bits of knowledge for future reference! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to talk with Swati and Elina as much as I would've liked to, but it was definitely an honor to sit and dine at the same table with them that night! All in all, this was an amazing experience - probably one of my favorite college experiences to date! Thanks, Davies!

Davies Forum Workshop

Let me begin by saying that the Davies Forum has provided a wide range of wonderful learning experiences. Having said that, it makes my designation of the Davies Forum Workshop as the best opportunity thus far all the more significant. In addition to our class, the Davies Forum workshop included Sarai Aharoni, Caron Gentry, Swati Parashar, and Elina Penttinen as facilitators. I thought that this wide range of individuals was incredible. Much of the reading that we have done thus far has seemed to agree harmoniously. At the workshop, all of the facilitators appreciated and respected the work of the others, but was also willing to offer different opinions and perspectives. I saw this most of all in the dynamic between Elina Penntinen, who is from Finland and focuses on experiences of joy, and Swati Parashar, who, originally from India, focuses on variations on the access to violence.

The workshop began with introductions and an explanation of what has led us to being interested in women, war, and violence. We quickly delved into discussions regarding privilege, positionality, and authenticity. Although I still struggle with these myself, I think it is important to remember that there is a continuum of violence, and so even if we aren’t “in the war zone,” we still have experience with war and violence. Secondly, there is something to be said for shared humanity. To a certain degree, people all over the world experience emotions like grief, joy, fear, and pride. Lastly, there is something to be said for being an ally, no matter what privilege you have.

The second half of the workshop began with an activity that forced us to meditate before drawing depictions of violence and well-being. I found it interesting how many of us included a wide variety of types of violence. For example, there were scenes of violence done unto one’s self, domestic violence, and the typical war combatant violence. Other important notes included the importance of time to reflect and the importance of community. Finally, we returned to discussions about emotions, and whether one type or another is more important to studying International Relations, which lead to a bit of an argument about the potential for transformation and resilience. Ultimately, I’d have to play PC and say, “Its all important!”

I learned a lot at the Davies Workshop and felt that being invited to the table was empowering. A lot of our reading was reflected in the discussion we had and I was glad to see that a difference of opinions didn’t have to lead to a silencing of opinions.

-Laur

Reflections on Davies Forum Workshop Spring 2013

Though there were several noteworthy topics and issues of "feminist curiosity" discussed, there's a few that I think are particularly worthy of mention. As I'm sure was evident from my comments, I am very interested in the politics of authenticity. When I find myself thinking about this topic, there are more questions than there are answers, such as: What qualifies a person or group of persons to speak on behalf of someone else? What disqualifies someone from speaking on behalf to someone else? What role does allyship play in representation, advocacy, and authenticity? This is precisely the questions Linda Alcoff addresses in her piece, http://www.alcoff.com/content/speaothers.html

Secondly, I'm glad that Caron and I bonded on the issue of guilt, and discovered that its possible to use this guilt that we may feel (because of our privileged background, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, etc.) in constructive ways.

Lastly, though I didn't quite know how to respond, upon reflection I am glad that Sarai challenged my remark on "agency" with "you are never without agency!". Though I'm not sure that I agree, I think it's a good thing that the workshop was a "safe place" in which these perspectives could be voiced.

Lisa

Our Workshop on Storify...

I storified my tweets about the workshop, take a look here: 

... and remember to post your own impressions of the workshop!

Prof. Wibben

Davies Forum "Feminist Perspectives of Studying Women, Violence & War"

TODAY:  9:30am - 4pm in Berman, Fromm Hall

Facilitators include: Sarai Aharoni, Caron Gentry, Swati Parashar, and Elina Penttinen

We've started (and I'm tweeting it @ATRWibben) as much as possible...