The workshop covers the same time commitment as a standard seminar in the winter semester and therefore counts as a full seminar.

A maximum of 25 participants may register for the workshop.

On ‘Anti-Bias Education and Training’:

[Bias: skewed, crooked, inclination/tendency, preference; non-biased: impartial]

“Anti-bias is an active/empowering approach to challenging prejudices, stereotypes, bias and the ‘-isms’. In a society where institutional structures produce and perpetuate (hetero-)sexism, racism, etc., it is not enough simply to be an observer and remain unbiased (and it is also highly unlikely). It is essential that every individual intervenes to challenge and counteract personal and institutional patterns of behaviour.”

(quoted/translated from Louise Deman Sparks 1998)

This seminar, which will take place as a block seminar with the participation of two anti-bias trainers from South Africa, focuses on familiarising participants with the content and methods of anti-bias training. The approaches to anti-bias education developed in South Africa were modelled on (and supported by) US strategies. The background to this was – at the latest since the first democratic elections in 1994, but also in the years prior to that – that within many grassroots organisations (NGOs) that, in order to overcome structures of social segregation, new educational approaches needed to be developed and put into practice across society at large.

The aim of anti-bias training is to engage with issues of power and discrimination, and to unlearn oppressive and discriminatory forms of communication and interaction. However, the focus is not on a single form of discrimination (as is the case, for example, with anti-racism training); rather, the emphasis is specifically on the interplay between different forms of discrimination and oppression. Great importance is attached to reflecting on and processing one’s own experiences.

This block seminar is closely linked to the seminar by Nitsch/Scheller: ‘Habitus and Gender’, but can also be attended independently. It is primarily intended for students taking Women’s and Gender Studies as a minor subject at Master’s level.

The trainers, Ms Beryl Hermanus and Ms Welekazi Dlova, are from Cape Town, South Africa, where they work for the NGO ‘ELRU’ (Early Learning Resource Unit), specialising in adult education, professional development for teachers and educators, and anti-bias education and training.

The seminar will be conducted mainly in English.

Advance registration is required:

in person, by telephone or by email at the ZFG – Centre for Women’s and Gender Studies Office, Ms Gebauer, Room A11 0-004 between 9 am and 12 noon, Tel. 798-4316,

Supplementary seminar for professionals

“Anti-Bias Education and Training” for professionals

Time:
Friday 22 November, 3.00 pm – 6.00 pm
Saturday 23 November, 10.00 am – 7.00 pm
Sunday 24 November, 10.00 am – 3.00 pm

Venue:
University of Oldenburg, A4-4-411 (Please note: room changes are possible!)

Registration and information:
;
Tel.: 0441-2179981

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