October 10, 2024: CIIS Public Programs: Conversation with Saraliza Anzaldúa On Monsters and the Gifts They Give Us
Join CIIS faculty Saraliza Anzaldúa and Zara Zimbardo for a time-traveling conversation about monsters, their roles, impacts, and compelling contradictions. Which monsters would you like to see accompany us into dystopian futures? What monsters arise that both embody and help grapple with catastrophe in the past and present? What are the key implications and processes of monsterization as a form of othering? What are we confronting that is truly monstrous?
Saraliza and Zara’s conversation is grounded in the foundations of contemporary monster theory and philosophical approaches to the horrific, the uncanny, and the impossible. Their conversation surfaces the many gifts that monsters provide: working through systemic anxiety, testing of moral imagination, dissolving the boundaries of the possible, giving shape to dispersed fear, and questioning what makes us human.
Monsters can be our allies, inviting creative engagement with our collective shadow sides. They turn the familiar into the unfamiliar and return to pose old questions in new structures. Saraliza and Zara’s conversation stirs our imagination of monsters as warning and wonder, rebellion and power, and the far away and the very near.
November 16, 2023: CIIS Public Programs: Conversation with Charlotte María Sáenz Understanding the Zapatista Movement for Liberation and Community Building
“The Zapatista movement emerging from Chiapas, Mexico over the past three decades has impacted people all over the world who struggle to liberate themselves from colonial capitalism and Cis-Heteropatiarchy. Creating autonomous community systems of government, justice, health, and education—together with their first Revolutionary Law of Women—Zapatismo is also a pedagogical political-ethics influenced by Mayan cosmology and its regional expression of (Catholic) Liberation Theology.
Between 2012-2019, several CIIS student-faculty-staff delegations traveled to Chiapas to attend various educational encounters that compose part of what faculty Charlotte María Sáenz calls “Zapatista Seed Pedagogics,” a way to describe the mutual education between Zapatistas and those outside their autonomous territory.
Join Charlotte and CIIS faculty Zara Zimbardo for a conversation exploring the ways the Zapatista movement bridges different worldviews, politics, and geographies to collectively revision and remake “a world in which many worlds fit,” an oft-repeated Zapatista slogan. Growing humility and learning to listen in all our relationships with the human and beyond-human worlds, Charlotte and Zara ask how Zapatista pedagogics can inform ongoing struggles for freedom through our personal and collective daily practices.” Recording here.
July 14, 2021: CIIS Public Programs: Conversation with Amanda Montell On Cults, Language and Social Science
“What makes cults so intriguing and frightening? What makes them powerful? The reason why so many of us binge Manson documentaries by the dozen and fall down rabbit holes researching suburban moms gone QAnon is because we’re looking for a satisfying explanation for what causes people to join—and more importantly, stay in—extreme groups. We secretly want to know: could it happen to me? Author and journalist Amanda Montell’s argument is that, on some level, it already has.
Our culture tends to provide incomplete answers to questions of cult influence, mostly having to do with vague talk of “brainwashing.” But the true answer has nothing to do with mind-control wizardry. In Amanda’s latest book, Cultish, she argues that the key to manufacturing intense ideology, community, and us/them attitudes all comes down to language. In both positive and shadowy ways, cultish language is something we hear—and are influenced by—every single day.
Through juicy storytelling and original research into the curious social science of power, Amanda exposes the verbal elements that make a wide spectrum of communities cultish, revealing how they affect followers of groups as notorious as Heaven’s Gate, but also how they pervade start-ups, Peloton leaderboards, and Instagram feeds. “
Nov 14-15, 2020: Apocalyptic Resilience: An Afro-Indigenous Virtual Adventure by Mycelium Youth Network. Co-presentation with Ra Cristicello: Summoning the Beast in Order to Slay It: Moving Beyond Capitalism.
July 16, 2020: Circadian Life Rhythms presents Anti-Supremacy and Transformation – Where Do We Go From Here? Online conversation with Sophia Aguiñaga, Jeff Leifer and musician Nina Grae.
June 2020 Zara Zimbardo and Patrick Reinsborough: Beyond Apocalypse
What dreams might be taking root through this nightmare? How might works of cli-fi and other apocalyptic narratives help us prepare for our future and face our mounting anxieties?
In this episode, therapist and cultural anthropologist Zara Zimbardo and narrative strategist and climate activist Patrick Reinsborough pose and explore questions like these and more as they deepen, sharpen, and expand upon their previous conversation titled Apocalypse Now.
May 2020: CIIS Public Programs: Conversation with Patrick Reinsborough Apocalypse Now: Imagination and Collective Action at the End of the World
“Global pandemic, climate disruption, massive inequality, rising authoritarianism, looming ecological collapse. We live in a time of tumultuous change, which increasingly challenges and reshapes our existing story frameworks for understanding current events. How do apocalyptic narratives—from film, art, fiction, television, and beyond—function to shape our imaginations, rehearse different futures, and help us navigate profound disruption, denial, and dissolution?
Join CIIS faculty Zara Zimbardo with narrative strategist and climate activist Patrick Reinsborough for a conversation exploring how we think about “the end” and what apocalyptic narratives can tell us about new beginnings.
Zara and Patrick describe versions of the end of the world that get re-played on heavy rotation, and the uncanny relationship between apocalyptic fiction and non-fiction realities. In this context, they explore how the collective nightmare of the COVID-19 pandemic has expanded the dreaming boundaries of what is considered imaginable, possible, and doable.”
December 10, 2019: Marsification & The Psychology of Space Colonization radio conversation with Lily Sloane on Radical Advice BFF.fm
December 10, 2019: CIIS Public Programs: Conversation with Sarah Rose Cavanagh
The Science of Collective Consciousness
“Hivemind is a collective consciousness in which we share consensus thoughts, emotions, and opinions; a phenomenon whereby a group of people function as if with a single mind.
Our views of the world are shaped by the stories told by our self-selected communities. Whether seeking out groups that share our tastes, our faith, our heritage, or other interests, we take comfort in defining ourselves through our social groups. But what happens when we only socialize with our chosen group, to the point that we lose the ability to connect to people who don’t share our passions?
In her latest book, Hivemind: The New Science of Tribalism in Our Divided World, psychologist and emotion regulation specialist Dr. Sarah Rose Cavanagh leaves no stone unturned in her quest to understand how social technology is reshaping the way we socialize. It’s not possible to turn back the clocks, and Dr. Cavanagh argues that there’s no need to; instead, Dr. Cavanagh presents a fully examined and thoughtful call to cut through our online tribalism, dial back our moral panic about screens and mental health, and shore up our sense of community.
Join CIIS professor Zara Zimbardo and Dr. Cavanagh in a conversation on how communities can sync up around shared ideas, how this hive mentality is contributing to today’s polarized times, and how to make sense of the dissonance around us.”
May 11 2019, 10-4: Daylong workshop: Antidotes to White Fragility and Difficult Conversations hosted by White Educators for Racial Justice with the Alameda County Office of Education Integrated Learning Program @ the Junior Center for Art and Science, Oakland.
March 5 2019, 5:30-8:30pm: Antidotes to White Fragility workshop hosted by White Educators for Racial Justice
January 22 2019, 5:30-8:30pm: Difficult Conversations workshop hosted by White Educators for Racial Justice
May 24 2018, 7-9pm: CIIS Public Programs: Conversation with Julia Serano
“Join CIIS school of Consciousness and Social Change professor Zara Zimbardo for a conversation with Bay Area author and activist, Julia Serano about her personal evolution, trans feminism, and activism in the Bay Area.
For over a decade, Julia has been on a mission to make feminist and Queer movements more inclusive. She challenges the idea that trans women cannot be true feminists and works to debunk many of the myths and misconceptions that people have about trans women, femininity, and the subjects of gender and sexism more generally.”
February 22 2018, 7-9pm: CIIS Public Programs: Conversation with Celeste Headlee
Conversations That Matter: We Need to Talk
“Today most of us communicate from behind electronic screens, and studies show that Americans feel less connected and more divided than ever before. The blame for some of this disconnect can be attributed to our political landscape, but the erosion of our conversational skills as a society lies with us as individuals.
According to author and public radio host Celeste Headlee, the only way forward is to start talking to each other. In her new book We Need to Talk – How to Have Conversations that Matter, she shares the strategies that have made her a better conversationalist. Whether you’re struggling to communicate with your child’s teacher at school, a co-worker, or the people you love the most-Celeste offers smart and simple tools that can help us all have conversations that matter.
Join Celeste and CIIS professor Zara Zimbardo as they explore Celeste’s life and work, and pick up some tips about how to have meaningful conversations in your own life.”
February 20-March 13, 2018: Putting Whiteness on the Couch 4 session class with Cynthia Colvin offered at the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California
October 31 2017 10am-noon: Guest on Radical Advice with Lily Sloane
“Radical Advice is a weekly advice show mixed in with socio-political commentary, education about the human psyche, smashing the patriarchy, and lots of resistance (but not the kind therapists complain about).”
September 27 2017: CIIS Public Programs: Conversation with Zoë Quinn
“From trolling, to cyberbullying, to fake news, to threats, online abuse can and does happen to anyone. It’s designed to get someone to hide out of fear, and it can be devastating.
Instead of disappearing, Zoë fought back. She started Crash Override Network, a crisis hotline and advocacy group. After working for years with the biggest names in tech, law, media, and online security, as well as thousands of targets of online abuse, she is armed with a wealth of knowledge, which she has poured into her book CRASH OVERRIDE: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate. CRASH OVERRIDE is part fierce, funny memoir, part bold manifesto, and part field guide for combating online harassment.
Join Zoë for a rare public conversation with Zara Zimbardo about her experience at the center of the Gamergate controversy and her journey to overcome it by working to make the internet a better, safer place for everyone.”
June 11th 2017: Anti-Racist Organizing and Education Panel at summer intensive Linking Protest and Social Transformation: Social Ecology and the Future of Our Movements
The past year has brought disappointment and fear, but also powerful visions of the possible. Last November’s presidential election reinforced the worst of the status quo and brought new levels of racism and neo-fascism to the forefront. In 2017, the repressive excesses of the new presidential administration in the US have triggered an unprecedented and widespread popular uprising, including a resurgence of interest in the potential for rebel cities and towns to overturn regressive national policies. Now is the time to boldly assert our most transformative visions for a free and liberated society, amidst the failure of neoliberalism and the threats posed by resurgent white supremacy, nationalism and misogyny.
June 3rd 2017: The Intersectional Dilemma workshop at the 22nd Annual Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed Conference Breaking the Silence: From Rebellion to Waging Love
Each year, PTO supports a local organizing team to host an annual gathering of hundreds of educators, activists, change makers, actors and non-actors from all over the world. We come together to connect with each other, create solutions and art, and challenge each other to empower our communities and problem-solve in innovative ways.
May 18-19 2017: LAPES (Latin American Philosophy of Education Society) Presentation with Partners for Collaborative Change: Coliberate Process: Hybrid of Theatre and Participatory Action Research
The Coliberate curriculum dynamically combines methods of Popular Education including Participatory Action research and Theatre of the Oppressed. Coliberate brings people together to:
- Define for themselves what problems they face in their community
- Find solutions or steps for addressing the problem through creatively engaging their peers to collect data
- Implement those solutions through strategic and informed actions
- It’s a model of community organizing that builds the capacity of people on the front-line of a problem to take leadership in creating change that works for them
April 18 2017: Interrupting Patterns of White Feminism, SURJ Political Education webinar
In this movement moment when millions of white cis-women* are becoming mobilized and radicalized in opposition to Trump, how can we push the movement to organize beyond white middle class cis-women issues and towards racial justice? What common and historical patterns of white feminism should we make conscious and disrupt — now and for the long haul? Offered by members of the White Noise Collective.
Jan. 10 2017: White Educators for Racial Justice @ Chapter 510 & The Dept. of Make Believe
“Throughline: No one challenged me to examine my privileges, and I didn’t need to challenge them because my privileges worked for me. (Takacs) Solidarity… is not the same thing as empathy. (hooks)
Although this group is open to educators of all identities and racial affiliations, it should be noted that considerable time will be used to address white educators’ racial literacy.”
Dec. 15 2017: CIIS Public Programs: Conversation with Zahra Noorbakhsh
“In today’s political and social climate, being Muslim can be a lot of things but “funny” isn’t typically thought of as one of them. Enter Zahra Noorbakhsh, feminist Muslim satirist and comedian. Zahra has been busting stereotypes and getting laughs for almost a decade now, selling out houses for her shows “All Atheists are Muslim” and “Hijab & Hammerpants.”
She takes the humorous road when it comes to countering Islamophobia. Cohost of the internationally acclaimed podcast, #GoodMuslimBadMuslim, and a contributor to the anthology, Love Inshallah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women, Zahra has stories to tell and eyebrows to raise. Listen in as she talks with Zara Zimbardo about her background, her highs and lows, and doing what she does in today’s climate of fear.”
Dec. 1 2016 BIG IDEAS AT CIIS WITH ZARA ZIMBARDO
What Can We Learn from Zombies?
“In recent years zombies and the zombie apocalypse have loomed large in the collective American imagination. From film and television, to theme parties and marathons, zombies have even been used in counter terrorism training and course curricula from elementary to college levels to teach topics from geography to public health to sociology. As recurrent monsters in the history of capitalism, with origins in New World slavery in Haiti, zombies reflect what is monstrous in an economic system “that seems designed to eat people whole” (Newitz).
As the political unconscious of late-era capitalism, what does this increasingly normalized pop culture obsession point to? What apocalyptic futures are we repeatedly rehearsing, and how do they signal both despair of, and hope for, fundamental change?
This talk examines representations of zombies in popular culture, draws out historical connections and diverse monster theories that help us see how we—in the United States in particular—are processing and making sense of systemic social and environmental horror.”