- unlearning whiteness

The body has been and continues to be the central stage upon which the logics of colonialism and capitalism have been inscribed. The control of bodies – their time, their movement, their reproduction, and their place in the social hierarchy – was crucial for the accumulation of wealth and the maintenance of power structures and white patriarchal power in the modern world. This is why it seems extremely urgent and important to us to engage with the complex interconnections of race, white privilege, and structural injustice, and to weave these intersections into the field of somatics.  

In this 4-part series, we will use this space to engage with critical studies of whiteness from a somatic perspective. In doing so, we aim to focus on discussing, understanding, and sensing on a physical level the construct and embodiment of whiteness, not to re-center whiteness, but to find pathways toward accountability. The work against racism, or toward a critical whiteness, triggers deep, embodied reactions, which is why it is all the more important to train emotional resilience to better hold these emotional responses and to cushion potential conflict or meet it with care. Our goal is not to remain in guilt and shame, but rather to move into agency, to take responsibility, and to remember that for white and socialized-as-white people, it is equally empowering and encouraging to stand against racism and for social justice. 

In addition to somatic explorations into personal and collective memory, we will engage in multi-layered reflection and exchange. A space of trust will be created as much as possible, allowing for mistakes to be made, uncomfortable questions to be asked, and vulnerability to be embraced, in order to become better accomplices in the fight against racism. 

Regarding the format: The workshop is structured as an interplay between theoretical input, inner reflection and perception, exchange, and somatic practice.