This is a teach-in on teach-ins. Led by educators who practice horizontal and non-hierarchical modes of education, this workshop will use Paolo Freire’s own pedagogy as a framework to examine his seminal text Pedagogy of the Oppressed.

This offering grew out of our observations that in many organizing spaces, knowledge is treated as something to be conveyed in a top-down approach. We wish to encourage people to challenge this hierarchical approach to knowledge wherever it appears (especially in this media-saturated world), and to believe in the power of our own minds. We also hope that the workshop will empower participants to trust their own sense of critical thinking so that they can better navigate situations of injustice and build their capacity to organize autonomously.

We will examine texts and work within the traditions of Paolo Freire, bell hooks, Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed, and others; we will fundamentally address and deconstruct the role of hierarchy in learning spaces, and in any dialogue that occurs in a capitalist and oppressive structure. This workshop is helpful for anyone who is planning on facilitating learning or discussion spaces—something that is critical for any movement building.