Applications for 2014 – 15 have been reopened and will stay open till 21 September (the day before classes start!)
Are
you
- -
active in social
movement struggles but need space to stand back, reflect, recharge?
- -
involved in
community and voluntary activism but feel trapped by the structures?
- -
politically
minded but don’t know how to turn that into an effective and radical practice?
- -
clear that social
change is central to you but unsure how to build a life around it?
- -
interested in
spending a year with your peers and experienced practitioners?
Around
the world today, movements and communities are making history – or trying to. The
need for change is huge and the outcome is still all to play for. We see
apparently-unstoppable movements squashed and apparently-hopeless ideas winning
against all the odds. What makes the difference, and how can our movements find
a way forward and even change the world?
The
Masters in Community Education, Equality and Social Activism (CEESA) at NUI
Maynooth responds to the crisis by helping us learn from each other’s struggles
in dialogue between different movements, different communities, different
generations. The course is not tied to any single movement and participants
come from many different communities and countries. Some are experienced
activists who want to go back to education; others are less experienced people
who are keen to get involved in movements. This mixture of ages, backgrounds,
experiences and questions is an integral part of what makes the course so
rewarding. Together we are building a diverse network of movement activists,
radical educators and campaigners for equality and creating new alliances for
change. See the video at http://tinyurl.com/ceesavideo
The
course team are experienced practitioners and engaged scholars working on
equality, radical education and movement struggles. The course combines social
analysis, bottom-up organising methods and political strategy with a wide range
of pedagogies and a focus on knowledge for change, taking a practical but
radical look at the problems facing movements today. Our small-group classes
run one or two days a week to facilitate participants, over two 12-week terms
followed by work on a project aimed at developing your own movement practice.
Often
we are told that we have to choose between our politics and “real life”. This
course shows how to integrate the two with confidence, practicality, solidarity,
emotional resilience, seeing the bigger picture, taking time out to reflect and
supporting each other for the long haul. Participants go back to their own
movements refreshed, set up new projects, find work in movement organisations,
go on to further education - and bring back what they have learned to their own
struggles.
Closing
date for applications: Sept 21, 2014
