critical consciousness

In the second chapter of Contemporary Issues in Art Education, an essay entitled "Narratives Empowering Teachers and Students: Educational and Cultural Practice," Barakett and Saccá discuss the topics of oppression and silence. A variety of individual experiences are presented in the individuals' own words, quoted from research interviews.

Barakett and Saccá touch upon the idea of critical consciousness, which can be explained in this way:

"Coined by Brazilian educator Paulo Freire in the 1960s, the term "critical consciousness" was at first applied mainly in the field of adult education. Translated from the Portuguese word conscientizadora, critical consciousness was defined by Dr. Freire as a state of in-depth understanding about the world and resulting freedom from oppression."

(This definition comes from this website. I also looked at this one.)

The essential conflict inherent in a situation of power imbalance was well-described in this essay as "the dilemma is between [the individual's] own well-being and the way our society functions." I found this to be an apt and elegant explanation of a complex problem. I think it connects both on a descriptive level as well as a restrictive level: a person may encounter difficulty because society does not function in a way that benefits their well-being (for example, when "Nathalie" states that "they see your colour before they see anything else"), but a person may also recognize what they could do to benefit their well-being and choose not to pursue it because they understand that it will place them in jeopardy with the way that society functions (when "Roxanne" talks about wanting to "fight" against injustice, but that it will get in the way of her success - that "people will start passing me and I'd still be fighting over this").

The quotes from each individual included in the essay mostly revolve around times that they felt marginalized, helpless, or powerless because of race or, in one instance, blindness. What stood out to me was the idea of combating these feelings of isolation and oppression through the use of storytelling.

This resonates strongly with me. I believe that we are people who thrive on stories, who share and understand the past through stories, who use stories to draw connections between the familiar and the unfamiliar. I really appreciated the essay's view that storytelling has the power to end silence and open minds as well as empower the storyteller to overcome obstacles. I feel that if you are unheard, if you feel your story is not shared by anyone, then you are forced to accept the story that is written for you.

All of this connects strongly to the central ideas of my blog: of working against gender stereotypes and exploring the social constructs of femininity. Women (and men) who feel marginalized or oppressed by social constructs of their gender identity I think often find relief in the arts - by telling their stories verbally or visually - and the availability of these stories for all to experience can only make our society stronger as a whole.