Women,Gender,Sexuality Studies 295W - S-EmbodiedFeminism/Justice

This course will explore how somatic healing practices are changing social justice movements and challenging the neoliberal wellness industry. Counter to individual wellness models, feminist concepts of radical self-care are integral to collective liberation. Challenging the limitations of rationalism and mind-body dualism, we will begin to understand knowledge as generated through the body, including intuition, ancestral memory, and the dreamtime. Theoretical frameworks for the course include: Embodiment Studies, Critical Mindfulness Studies, Indigenous Epistemologies, and Black Feminist Thought. The following concepts will be explored: healing justice, embodied feminism, liberatory mindfulness, intergenerational trauma, decolonization, and cultural appropriation. Readings will include: Audre Lorde, adrienne maree brown, bell hooks, Octavia Butler, Tricia Hersey, Robin Wall Kimmerer and Joanna Macy. The course will integrate an Embodiment Lab where we will engage with somatic practices and contemplative pedagogy.