Workshops

Practices of refusal and hope

“Practices of Refusal and Hope” (academic edition) is a three-part online mini-course tailored to the experiences of academics who move through an academic career in a marginalized identity and/or devote their work to inclusion and anti-oppression efforts.

Caring for your well-being and honoring your values, while keeping up with the current demands of an academic career can sometimes feel impossible amidst the pressure to perform, exclusionary environments, and the multiple overlapping crises underlying our lives.

In this course, we will engage with technologies of resistance put forth by queer and BIPOC thinkers, such as José Esteban Muñoz, Tricia Hersey, K. Wayne Yang, Devon Price, and others. Taking their wisdom as a starting point, in a small group of 5-8 people, you will imagine new and strengthen your existing practices of sustainable resistance within academia. Through individual and group reflection, you will have the space to apply these ideas to your own unique situation, see how others do it, and get creative about how you can “make way out of no way” (Tricia Hersey, Rest Is Resistance).

The course consists of three sessions: Refusal, Alignment, and Hope. Each session will include a short presentation, journaling prompts, individual reflection, and community discussion. What do you have to refuse? What can you refuse safely and sustainably at this moment? What you can dream up into being? Reflecting on these questions, you will continue carving out an alternative academic existence that resists grind culture and neoliberalization of self.

Olga Panteleeva (she/they) is a queer, crip, immigrant neurodivergent ex-academic turned therapist. In 2022 Olga graduated from the University of Michigan with an MSW in clinical social work. Before that, Olga had a career in academic humanities (musicology), writing and teaching about intersections of art and oppression at the University of California, Berkeley, Utrecht University, Princeton University, and University of Michigan.

Logistics

Accessibility:

Since this is a small group course, we will tailor it as much as possible to the specific accessibility needs of the participants. Please fill in the accessibility field in the registration form. We will have a 10-15 minute break halfway into each session. Please bring whatever crafts and/or fidgets that help you process and focus.

Dates: The course will be offered on a rolling basis. The new dates will be announced once enough people have signed through the interest form below

Time: 7-9 pm CET (1-3pm ET, 12-2pm CT, 10am-12pm PT). Please note that the course times are set in Central European Time.

If you would like to participate in the course please fill out the same form and I will be in touch once the group is full.

Sliding scale

Please consult the green bottle system if you unsure which tier to choose.

Solidarity spot: €15 per session (€45 for the course)

Regular price: €50 per session (€150 for the course)

Community support contribution: €85 per session (€255 for the course): this will help sponsor more solidarity spots in the future

Group application

It is possible to request this course to be taught to an existing group of academics (between 5 and 10 people), who already know each other and align on important social justice topics. If you would like to self-organize such a group, please fill in the interest form below and choose the option “Academic edition for a preexisting group.” The total price for the course is €1000, you can divide it between participants in any way you like.