December 10, 2017: Witches & Feminist Energy Transition

In The Caliban and the Witch: the Body and Primitive Accumulation Sylvia Federici writes that “The witch-hunt, then, was a war against women; it was a concerted attempt to degrade them, demonize them, and destroy their social power. At the same…

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December 9, 2017: Power & Sexual Abuse

Headlines today are filled with talk of Donald Trump’s sexual abuses of women. “Women Accusing Donald Trump of Sexual Abuse Call for Congressional Probe” and “Lawmakers Demand Accountability over Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Trump“. Exploitation of women is just one…

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December 8, 2017: Hydro & “Power”

Today Canadians across the country are reading about the approval of the Site C Hydroelectric Dam in B.C. “The project will flood over 12,500 hectares of fertile farmland and sacred Indigenous territory in the Peace River valley.” In an article…

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December 7, 2017: Consumption & Relationships

I shared a meal and a post-meal coffee, and some beautiful chocolates with an old friend today. We spoke about how everyday life in the twenty-first century leaves little time to nurture friendships and leaves us increasingly fragmented as a…

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December 6, 2017: Remembering Montreal

Deep Energy Literacy is grounded in ecofeminism and deep ecology — projects that at times seem at odds, but for me, resonate in important ways. Ecofeminism brings together a range of theories and practices, from feminist theory, feminist political struggle,…

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December 5, 2017: “Change for Climate” Edmonton

There is an interesting new commercial circulating as part of the “Change for Climate” campaign, organized by the City of Edmonton. Check it out here: https://changeforclimate.ca/ As a scholar of media, I couldn’t help but notice that the voice over…

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December 4, 2017: Non-Violence

I’ve been thinking a lot about non-violence of late. I’ve been thinking of Gandhi, inspired by a whole history of women and feminists, who took up the mantle of non-violence. I love this quote in a much longer article by…

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December 3, 2017: Ancestral Care & Memory

Today, we came together as a family to celebrate my parents’ 45 years of marriage. The actual anniversary was yesterday, but today we found time to get together. I think of the care work and love it takes to maintain…

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December 2, 2017: We Are All Treaty People

Today, I worked with an amazing Indigenous colleague and other fantastic feminist community collaborators to lead a new group through a blanket exercise. These women and I, have not had time to talk through what decolonization has to do with…

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December 1, 2017: Caliban & the Witch

Today, the CoLAB gathered for the last time in 2017. We talked through Sylvia Federici’s Caliban and the Witch.  “Indeed, the political lesson that we can learn from The Caliban and the Witch is that capitalism, as a social-economic system, is necessarily committed to…

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November 30, 2017: The Labour of Christmas Parties

Christmas-party season has begun. We spend the evening with like-minded colleagues: celebrating the care work that is done in the community. Taking a moment to care for one another. To acknowledge. Community-building takes a lot of energy and requires a…

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November 29, 2017: Grids & Storage

Grids and Storage. I remember a time when I didn’t used to notice these things. Living in Japan in the late 1990s, I have a distinct memory of a friend — a mature student who’d previously served in the U.S….

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