#power-over

[thewhimsicalinvestigator]

I will define who you are and then I'll make you believe that's your own definition.

Dr. Robin Smiths definition of "power-over." Quotation derived from Dr. Brown's text, I Thought It Was Just Me: Women Reclaiming Power and Courage in a Culture of Shame.

[wolvensnothere]

Student evaluations of instructors are in part an exercise of power-over. What magic do you use to subvert this power for positive social transformation?

I try to instil in my students an understanding of their both individual and communitarian contributions, and the evaluations are a part of that. All of ours are online, now, so I try to talk to them in such a way that they realise that their words, actions, etc, are heard and considered.For me, personally, I try to actually enact those things which will create a better learning environment (as contrasted with those things that make it easier to be lazy), and help the students learn. Visuals, more audio components, A/V links, etc.The use of powerpoint is still a point of contention between myself and today's students.

[venturadrums-blog1]

But abortion is not truly an issue of right-to-life versus right-to-choice. To maintain the right of every egg and sperm to reproduce blindly is like maintaining the right of every cockroach and flea to populate the world endlessly. The question at stake is actually the right-to-coerce. Only our assumption that some people have the right to exercise the power-over others allows us even to consider taking the choice away from the woman whose self and body and future are at stake.

Starhawk, "Dreaming in the Dark- Magic, Sex, and Politics" 1982