Are you interested in mutual aid, or acts of community care?
UNB students, faculty and staff present “Connections: A Community Panel Series” in collaboration with the Saint John Community Coalition. The panel series focuses on the interconnected and interdependent nature of various systems of oppression. What is a system of oppression, you may ask?
A system of oppression refers to an institution that exercises power through the inclusion of some and the subsequent exclusion of others on the grounds of racial, sexual, religious, and/or class discrimination. Each panel of the series focuses on one of the many material consequences of oppressive systems of power. Namely addiction, homelessness, food insecurity, and lack of accessible healthcare.
The upcoming panel on September 19th focuses on basic needs and discusses the vicious cycle of poverty. The next panel will be held on October 24th to unpack how the policing of gender expression and sexuality in a hyper-normative society impacts us all. The final panel will be held on December 12th, to discuss the climate crisis and how the environment holds us together.
The panelists in the series wear several hats in their personal and professional lives. They have diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. Most of the panelists are scholars from our Faculty of Arts and Business at UNB Saint John. “While academics help contextualize vital research within the field for the audience, we realize the key difference between a lived experience and research experience while navigating various structures of power,” writes student organizer, Sarah Durham. “The goal is to escape rigid academic boundaries and reject technical jargon to engage with a broader community at large which is why the event is being held uptown instead of on campus,” Sarah elaborates. The diverse group of panelists looks beyond academics by engaging with various not-for-profit workers and those involved in healthcare.
The event is free entry for all attendees of all ages. The main goal of the event is to provide a safe space to unpack our own beliefs regarding systematic issues we end up blaming individuals for. “Our major goal is to facilitate these conversations rather than controlling them” the organizer emphasized while discussing the casual nature of the panel series.
The second panel of the series will be held on September 19th at Haven Music Hall, Union Street Uptown Saint John, and feature UNB Saint John professor, Dr. Eric Weissman. Be sure to register for the event beforehand here.
