Consciousness raising (sometimes called awareness raising) is a method of coming to structural knowledge through intimate group discussions. Frequently attributed to popular 1960’s and 70’s feminist movements and associated with the slogan “the personal is political,” the practice of consciousness raising aims at revealing links between individualized, personal experiences and collective, political conditions.
The term “consciousness” used here has roots in the Marxist notion of class struggle and the idea that revolution may be ushered only once the proletariat gains an understanding of itself as a materially constituted class of individuals that face similar conditions of exploitation and share similar political interests. In other words, according to Marx, an awareness or consciousness of one’s collective position in the material organization of social and economic structures is needed to unite individuals as a class which may then make political demands.
As practiced within 1970’s feminist movements, specific instructions for facilitating consciousness raising have been published by the international network of women artists called West-East Bag (WEB).