Utilizing intersubjective collaborative participant-action data collected on the organization of ... more Utilizing intersubjective collaborative participant-action data collected on the organization of an international penal abolition conference, this chapter presents the challenges and successes in striving to attain horizontal leadership dynamics on the part of the organizing committee of the 15th edition of the International Conference on Penal Abolition (ICOPA) in 2014. The theoretical and practical foci mobilized for this study are anti-oppression and decolonization approaches both of which were chosen for their potential in developing strategies to counter unearned privilege deriving from assumptions and practices that are steeped in Eurocentric colonization. In particular, we focus on status and privilege and the corresponding zero-sum and non zero-sum resources that can promote or inhibit non-hierarchical organizing among a group that is composed of professors, students, and community members, and that includes individuals who are survivors of state or social harm. Capturing the elusive nature of oppression and privilege provides an opportunity to heighten awareness around unearned privilege and some of the resulting inequities that manifest in radical organizing. By analyzing the experience of the ICOPA 15 organizing committee, we are able to present ways of addressing such inequities due to oppression and privilege in their intersectional dimensions, including openly discussing leadership processes, practicing reflexivity during or after meetings, and developing mindfulness particularly as it relates to oppression and privilege dynamics. Anti-oppression and decolonization training stand to make a mark on the nature of social dynamics in any group, and is a promising way to deepen our thinking and knowledge on leadership practices.
Drawing on debates observed at the fifteenth edition of the International Conference on Penal Abo... more Drawing on debates observed at the fifteenth edition of the International Conference on Penal Abolition (ICOPA) that took place on Algonquin Territory at the University of Ottawa in June 2014, reflections by ICOPA 15 organizing committee and research group members, and interviews with international conference participants, this qualitative study explores four recurring themes debated within this entity: allyship between reformers and abolitionists; the extent of race analysis in abolitionist conceptualization and strategy, as well as oppressed and privileged positions within ICOPA; the power equilibrium among survivors of state or social harm, activists and academics; and deliberative vitality and decision-making within the organization. The exploration of ICOPA as a loose-knit initiative serves to elicit debate about the challenges of collective praxis in the face of co-optation, multiple oppressions, and unequal power structures shaping radical organizing and contemporary life more broadly.
Utilizing intersubjective collaborative participant-action data collected on the organization of ... more Utilizing intersubjective collaborative participant-action data collected on the organization of an international penal abolition conference, this chapter presents the challenges and successes in striving to attain horizontal leadership dynamics on the part of the organizing committee of the 15th edition of the International Conference on Penal Abolition (ICOPA) in 2014. The theoretical and practical foci mobilized for this study are anti-oppression and decolonization approaches both of which were chosen for their potential in developing strategies to counter unearned privilege deriving from assumptions and practices that are steeped in Eurocentric colonization. In particular, we focus on status and privilege and the corresponding zero-sum and non zero-sum resources that can promote or inhibit non-hierarchical organizing among a group that is composed of professors, students, and community members, and that includes individuals who are survivors of state or social harm. Capturing the elusive nature of oppression and privilege provides an opportunity to heighten awareness around unearned privilege and some of the resulting inequities that manifest in radical organizing. By analyzing the experience of the ICOPA 15 organizing committee, we are able to present ways of addressing such inequities due to oppression and privilege in their intersectional dimensions, including openly discussing leadership processes, practicing reflexivity during or after meetings, and developing mindfulness particularly as it relates to oppression and privilege dynamics. Anti-oppression and decolonization training stand to make a mark on the nature of social dynamics in any group, and is a promising way to deepen our thinking and knowledge on leadership practices.
Drawing on debates observed at the fifteenth edition of the International Conference on Penal Abo... more Drawing on debates observed at the fifteenth edition of the International Conference on Penal Abolition (ICOPA) that took place on Algonquin Territory at the University of Ottawa in June 2014, reflections by ICOPA 15 organizing committee and research group members, and interviews with international conference participants, this qualitative study explores four recurring themes debated within this entity: allyship between reformers and abolitionists; the extent of race analysis in abolitionist conceptualization and strategy, as well as oppressed and privileged positions within ICOPA; the power equilibrium among survivors of state or social harm, activists and academics; and deliberative vitality and decision-making within the organization. The exploration of ICOPA as a loose-knit initiative serves to elicit debate about the challenges of collective praxis in the face of co-optation, multiple oppressions, and unequal power structures shaping radical organizing and contemporary life more broadly.
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The International Conference on Penal Abolition by Adina Ilea
Papers by Adina Ilea