Collaborative Social Challenge Project

For this weeks task we were asked to produce some examples of culture jamming, looking at our chosen SDGs. One of the key SDGs our group is looking to focus on is goal number 3, 'Good-health and well-being'. I want my main focus for this project to be about protesting against the global mental health stigma. This relates to the understanding of mental health as merely an extension of our physical health, something to be ashamed and suppressed. The absence of mental health on the list poses a huge problem. Its absence only adds to its stigma, as an extension of our 'good' physical health. Therefore, the broad nature of goal 3 risks oppressing the action towards universal notions of health. For this task I've found culture jamming an appropriate way to begin to think about how this stigma can be challenged and combatted. Typically, according to Mark Dery, culture jamming, a form of artistic protest, targets the 'status-quo' as a form of anti-capitalist politic...

This weeks class we focused on the second chapter of Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. In talking about the chapter, this weeks conversation was drawn mainly to discussing the complex relationship between oppressed individuals and oppressive systems. Ironically, this got everyone thinking about the traditional education system and the relationship between the student and educator. Freire suggests the educator inhabits the role of oppressor through 'narrative education'. In his words, ' narration (with the teacher as narrator) leads the students to memorise mechanically the narrated content. Worse yet, it turns them into 'containers', into 'receptacles' to be 'filled' by the teacher. The more completely she fills the receptacles, the better a teacher she is. The more meekly the receptacles permit themselves to be filled, the better students they are'.  The concept of narration education got me thinking particularly about secondary scho...

Chapter 1 of Paulo Freire's The Pedagogy of the Oppressed offers a detailed analogy of the oppressed and difficulties navigating oppressors in the quest for liberation. Although Freire's writing is often complex to comprehend, broadly speaking, this chapter examines the position of the oppressed in comparison to the oppressors, showcasing how, often, their relationship is quite ambiguous. This is because, in Freire's view, the oppressed internalise the consciousness of their oppressor, emulating their way of life. His argument is summed up well in this quote:   'One of the gravest obstacles to the achievement of liberation is that oppressive reality absorbs those within it and thereby acts to submerge human beings consciousness.' Building upon this analysis, Freire proceeds to examine the many ways in which the oppressed can achieve liberation. For example, he underpins the importance of action. For the oppressed to participate in the fight for liberation, they hav...

This blog post will introduce my initial understanding of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the distinct link they present between the concepts of Beautiful Trouble and Culture Jamming. Admittedly, before this week, I'd never even come across the SDGs. However, I've soon learnt the term refers towards a collection of 17 broad objectives, proposed by the UN, which propose a call towards universal action, peace and prosperity. Essentially, for the UN, the collection of goals as a whole serve as a blueprint towards sustainable futures on Earth. (Figure 1) The SDGs were introduced in 2015, as well as a 15 year plan to be reached as part of the UNs 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This fact struck more than any I've discovered this week. As it is, the world is far from achieving the optimistic, utopian ideals proposed by the UN.  Figure 1: The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.  However, despite this reality check, I've began to learn th...