Consciousness raising (sometimes called awareness raising) is a method of\u00a0coming 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\u00a0individualized, personal experiences and collective, political conditions.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0proletariat gains an understanding\u00a0of itself\u00a0as 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\u00a0of one’s collective position in the material organization of social and economic structures is needed to unite individuals as a class\u00a0which may\u00a0then make political demands.<\/p>\n
As practiced within 1970’s feminist movements, specific instructions for\u00a0facilitating consciousness raising have been published by the international network of women artists called West-East Bag (WEB).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Consciousness raising (sometimes called awareness raising) is a method of\u00a0coming 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\u00a0individualized, personal experiences and collective, political conditions. The term “consciousness” used … <\/p>\n