Weaving Solidarity

As the semester wraps up, I look back at my experience in GEOG 495 with great appreciation and a sense of accomplishment. I feel a strong sense appreciation for the personal journey this class has evoked in me, and feel accomplished in all I have gained from this experience. Throughout the course I have been encouraged to expand my conceptions of north-south relations, of solidarity work and of my many roles in the inequalities and oppression found throughout the globe. GEOG 495 has encouraged a much deeper and more complex understanding of these things. This has been a really powerful experience for me and has helped to fuel in my a desire to continue this type of work.

I also appreciate the opportunity GEOG 495 offered for me to work with such wonderful and inspiring people on such successful projects. This experience was completely different from anything else I have done at University, and I appreciate that we were able to do this work in a university setting. It was really rewarding to combine theory with practice, and research with active work. This experience stands out as the most insightful and beneficial class of my University career. This is the only class I have taken at UBC in which we have actively practised what is being taught in the classroom. This was a really unique and powerful experience, and taught me more than any other element of my University career has taught me.

I feel really accomplished in the work we have all put into this class and into our events. Together we hosted four extremely successful events, and were involved in several other endeavours. Women Weaving World: Resistance and Sharing across Cultures was amazing because it displayed some of the similarities and differences in the experiences of indigenous weavers from different cultures. It was really interesting to hear from both Celia and Deb Sparrow about their relationship with weaving and the significance it has in their life and culture. I think Women Weaving Worlds: Living Resistance was very successful in displaying the complexity of weaving as a form of art and as a form of resistance and change. The gallery displayed that the weavings have a history and that they are created through a long and complex processes. Slams, Songs and Stiches was a successful way of fund-raising for our final event, and proved to be a unique and great format for processing the materiel we have discussed in class. It was amazing to hear the issues we’ve discussed expressed in song and poem, and to explore issues of solidarity and oppression in a coffee house setting. It was also be a really successful way of sharing the issues we have explored in GEO 495 with the greater community. Finally, Celebrando Solidaridad: Weave got the right… to party was a beautiful way of celebrating the work we have done and the relationships we have made in this class. This event was a real group effort, and it was so amazing to see everyone come together to make it a success. The evening went smoothly and was clearly enjoyed by everyone who attended.

I feel really accomplished by our success in these events. These events, combined with our weekly sales at Rhizone and our participation in several other community events, was a lot of work for a University class to take on in a time span of less than four months. We were all balancing this work with other classes, projects and jobs. Regardless of how busy we were in the other elements of our lives, we came together and were able to create some fantastic events. I am very grateful that I was a part of this experience, and I know this experience will stay with me into the future.