Brought to you by the Solidarity Economy Association and the Lumpen Project.

Following on from this process https://www.chavsolidarity.com/post/class-workshop-summer-2019 and 2020 workshops in Brighton and Sheffield.

This workshop aims to:

1. Make space for poor & working class folks to center and articulate their own experiences and knowledge, share with others

2. Support middle class and owning class folks gain recognition and take responsibility for the psychological and material benefits of their class position and take steps towards change

3. Make space to talk and plan for taking action such as collectivising and redistributing financial resources

4. Support the mobilisation of cross-class people working towards radical social change

5. Support a culture of mutual aid and accountability.

Short Description

Class helps shape all aspects of our lives, including how we organise in social justice movements. This two day workshop aims to deconstruct our classed experiences and the ways in which we reproduce the same class system we fight against, in order to create stronger, more egalitarian social justice movements.

Long winded and pretentious description:

The UK class system is complicated and contested. It is embedded within the global class system, at the same time as having its own specific characteristics and compositions. The working class is told to unite and fight, but some segments of this class are given far greater rewards by the capitalist system, whilst others are marginalised and demonised. Whether this is through unemployment, insecure housing and work or immigration status, the impacts can have profound socio-psychological effects on the individuals who experience it.

This workshop will explore the processes of fragmentation and stratification within the non-owning and non-governing classes within the UK. It will emphasise the voices of those with lived experience of prolonged poverty and marginalisation, while also looking at the ways people of all class backgrounds can actively fight against class injustice. Drawing on our personal experiences as class embodied individuals, together we will examine the ways in which our lives are shaped by our class position.

We will be careful not to remove class from its capitalist context. This means emphasising our access to material resources and the ways this affects our lives and social justice politics. Only then will we also look at the ways cultural and social capital affect class. This means looking at the way “what you know” and “who you know” can provide access to education, jobs, service provision, etc.

All of this will be done by drawing from our personal experiences, examining the ways our lives are shaped by our class position. We will also pay attention to the ways class intersects with other parts of our identities, such as gender, race and ability.

While we will introduce some ideas and concepts, please be aware that much of the workshop will require your active participation and willingness to reflect on your own class position with the group. As facilitators, we want to create a safe but challenging environment in which to learn from each others’ knowledge and experiences.

If you want to read some feed back by a participant of a previous workshop you can go here.. https://www.solidarityeconomy.coop/2019/10/coops-class-jellybeans

If you want to read some criticism of the workshop by people who haven't been you can check out the class thread on Urban 75

The first day lunch will be a bring and share, so if you can bring something along please do. On the 2nd day lunch will be provided, please let us know if you have any dietary requirements.

If you're coming from outside of Birmingham and need crash space please let us know.

If you live in Birmingham and think you can provide some crash space, please let us know.

We will have a creche for the weekend, if you're bringing kids please let us know.

In order to let us know email info@chavsolidarity.com