OtherWise Wageningen

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Unlearning toxic masculinity in ourselves and our activism

On Thursday December 19th the Utrecht based 'unlearning toxic masculinity' collective Patriarraakt will give a workshop at the WUR Activist Academy.  While we are often focused on changing others, the world and the future, we've all internalized unhealthy characteristics of the current system that deeply influence our lives and our activism. One of the main areas where there is a gap between the world we long for and our daily reality are gendered relations and the gendered ways in which we operate. Unhealthy aspects of masculinity and patriarchy continue to be present and even celebrated in personal relations, group dynamics and movement culture.

Whether it is toxic heroic and burnout activism being encouraged, acts of (self)care being invisibilized or downplayed, men taking up too much space, normalizing or not addressing transgressive behavior, etc. – from intimate relationships to mass movement culture, unhealthy gendered interactions are unfortunately still too prevalent.

Patriarraakt works to make visible, discuss and change harmful gender dynamics, and proposes that all activists, groups and movements implement such practices as an integral part of their activism. In this way people get the insights and the tools to start creating the world they'd like to see in the here and now so as to make activism safer, more sustainable and more fun for everyone.

We all think of us have internalized some bits of the patriarchy, but to different degrees. We want to encourage everyone to be open and reflecting on themselves - having a brave space to learn, but also being caring with the painful experiences participants might be reminded of. Although we invite everyone to be part of a 'brave space' in which we can be vulnerable, open and learn, we cannot guarantee a safe space for everyone. 

When?  December 19th, 5-8pm

Where?  Dance room, WUR clockhouse (https://maps.app.goo.gl/g9ZZqiBim5MC4HYz7)

We invite you to the  Capita Selecta Course (4ECTS): Building Community: Strengthening our Activism
In Period 3 & 4, 2025

Overview 
In attempts to bring change to a complex system, activists and those who work for alternatives face oppression, exhaustion and isolation. To sustain our efforts, we need to find sources of empowerment and nourishment that allow us to continue doing our work.  
But what keeps us together? What makes us continuously show up for each other?  

We think community is a central notion. Community is another way to understand, organize society, and to live life - an alternative to 'individualistic society'. Communities can support and strengthen the individual by creating relationships that promote collective action and social change, allowing them to deviate from the hegemonic model of capitalist patriarchy.

With this course, we wish to create a brave space to come together in community, hold each other in care, and work on core questions like: 

 • How can the way we live/be more coherent with the world we want to create? 
 • How are our own intimate questions around grief, gratitude, power, meaning, love and sexuality linked with our politics? 
 • How are we perpetuating ourselves the very dynamics we seek to interrupt? 

We believe the success of our social movements relies not only on efficient mobilization and strategy, but also on resilient communities grounded in deep relationships. As adrienne maree brown suggests, “What we practice at the small scale sets the patterns for the whole system.” With this course, we aim to turn ourselves into laboratories of transformation and experiment with inner shifts as seeds of new possibility for the struggles and contexts we're part of.  

In this course, we aim not only to create a shared space for knowledge and experience but also to develop practical tools and frameworks that you can apply within your activist and community groups. 

Find more info under Courses 2024/2025 .

Elective Course: Resistance, Power, and Movements, March - April 2025 (March 14,15,16 - April 4,5,6 - April 24, 2025)

What do 'activism' and 'being an activist' mean in today's political context? What are the different options that citizen groups and (activist) social movements have to organize around the topics they consider urgent? How to organize a sound and constructive movement or action group? What can be learned from the past's social movements and mobilizations? How can theories on social movements, activism and resistance be useful for organizing an impactful action? How to (be)come an agent of change? How to combine activism and academia and/or be an activist scholar? 

These questions are central to the elective course “Resistance, Power and Movements”, a collaboration between OtherWise and the Sociology of Development and Change group.

Register via OSIRIS (use the QR Code or Course Code)

For any questions, write to otherwise@wur.nl.

Hii everyone 🍉
The lino print workshop that took place in June brought to life this beautiful collective print designed and carved by a small group of passionate people in Wageningen.
We are so proud to announce that we started with the printing and distribution of the poster with an aim to raise money for the organization of Musicians Without Borders in Palestine.
You can find more information on how to get your poster and make a donation here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1U8C2ZZvHz33kZA3pmqKn58FgDFtuxBDk5TkP_XdSqgE/edit

Beyond Cutting Ties:
Let's Actually Explore Principles of Collaboration

Join us in this intersectional workshop series, where we'll bring together our diverse movements to explore what a just, sustainable Wageningen University could be like and how we can work together to get there. Over the course of three events, we'll discuss and critique WUR's current collaboration principles and reimagine them for the better.

We'll discuss questions such as: What are the current collaboration principles and what are their shortcomings? Who should we collaborate with as a university? Should we cut ties with the fossil fuel industry? Big Agro? Israeli institutions? What is the effect of cutting ties? How should such decisions be made and how can we implement a better system?

The first event on January 20th will take place from 6:30 PM – 9:30 PM, location TBD.

Staff, students, those outside of WUR, everyone is welcome! No sign up required. Snacks and drinks will be provided.

Join us for a workshop and introduction on spiritual ecology on Saturday November 16!

What is spiritual ecology? It is a framework to navigate our current socio-ecological polycrises, by recognizing the spiritual dimension of the world. To move forward, we must re-examine our attitudes and beliefs about the earth. In this workshop we will explore how spiritual practices offer us a way towards deepening our kinship with the human and the more-than-human world. We also hope to offer a follow-up course on spiritual ecology in 2025.

This event is facilitated by Annick Nevejan and Ania Ektate, and is a collaboration between Spectrum, OtherWise and the Spiritual Ecology foundation of the Netherlands. We will be serving a vegan lunch during the event, as well as coffee and tea during the break times.

Sign up here 🦋 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqzOwSYnO6QQQNol7UZ7t2oCyHsrNFgwGm5Gv8tiEm1X7NRA/viewform

When: September 30, 5.30-8 PM
Where: old library, Clockhouse in Wageningen

Register here: https://forms.gle/miHyjUEtsN9QM7Du6

The social cartography “The house modernity built”, developed by the Gesturing Towards Decolonial Futures Collective (GTDF), was inspired by Audre Lorde's famous insight that  “… the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change.” How do we collectively build alternative modes of existence on a planet facing unprecedented crises?  

''The House Modernity Built'' is a metaphor that invites conversation around the modern/colonial global imaginary in which being is reduced to knowing, profits take precedent over people, the earth is treated as a resource rather than a living relationship, and the shiny promises of states, markets, and Western reason are subsidized by the disavowed harms of impoverishment, genocide, and environmental destruction.

Using the metaphor of a house, we will explore modernities' architecture through a listening meditation, and craft a house that imagines alternative modes of existence in a context where the house appears to be crumbling, and, indeed, has always been a fantasy.