|
Popular Education Conference
On October 3-5, 1975, a 'Popular Education Conference' was held
in Toronto with the participation of a large number of independent
left groups and individuals. Altogether, close to 300 people from
47 groups attended all or part of the conference. Most from the
Toronto area, but some came from as far away as Windsor.
In order to help generalize the experience of that conference, and
to stimulate ongoing discussion of the issues it tried to grapple
with, we are presenting a number of items relating to the conference
here.
The first piece is simply an edited version of the agenda. It is
followed by a fairly lengthy article, both factual and analytical,
by Ashley Chester, a Manitoban recently transplanted to Ontario,
who as a relative outsider is able to present a fairly detached
look at the strengths and weaknesses, not to mention the peculiarities,
of the Toronto left, as evidenced at the conference. After this
comes a few short comments from the Toronto Liberation School collective,
predictably unable to restrain itself from putting in its two cents'
worth. The final piece is another short comment from Steve Izma,
a socialist from Kitchener-Waterloo.
Agenda
October 3rd, 4th, and 5th. St. Paul's Centre, 121 Avenue Rd., Toronto.
Friday, October 3rd
8:00 pm: Panel discussion on "The Formation and Transformation
of Consciousness in Advanced Capitalist Society". This discussion
will probe the means by which consciousness develops in advanced
capitalist societies. Among the issues to be considered is the role
of various social institutions such as the mass media advertising,
and education, and the ways in which people accept, reject, or other-wise
respond to the forces which seek to shape their consciousness.
Followed by a discussion period.
Saturday, October 4th
9:30 a.m;: "Feedback" from the "Watching" Committee.
The watching committee is an innovation adapted from other conferences
whose role is to provide some feedback about the process and political
development of the conference while it is actually occuring. It
is proposed that a dozen or so people be chosen from different parts
of the conference (workshops, planning committee, chair people,
etc.) who would then meet during breaks in the conference to analyze
what is happening, what issues and questions have been raised, etc.,
and briefly present their perceptions to the conference as
a whole. This is not a decision-making body.
9:40 a.m.: Panel discussion on common themes and problems in presenting
political issues in a popular manner; based on the experiences of
a number of groups operating in Toronto. As much as possible, each
of the panelists will address themselves to a set of common questions
based on the particular experience of their group.
Panelists: Toronto Committee to Liberate Southern Africa; Daycare
Organizing Alliance; Women's Press; Brazilian Studies Group.
Followed by a general question/discussion period.
2:00 p.m.: Workshops: Participants to be divided into workshops
to discuss further some of the questions raised in the two previous
panel discussions.
Sunday, October 5th
9:30 a.m.: Feedback from the Watching Committee.
9:40 a.m. Workshops on the "Politics of Communication".
What these workshops will concern themselves with is not only the
communication of politics, but also the closely related question
of the politics of communication. The stress will not be on the
technicalities involved in taking a picture or pasting up a newspaper,
but on the political interrelation between form and content. The
workshops will consider the implications of different answers to
such questions as "Who are we trying to reach?" "What
are we trying to say?" and "How do we say it?" They
will also look at such related questions as "Why use a particular
form of communication rather than others?" "What are the
advantages and disadvantages of a given medium?" "How
do we maximize the advantages and minimize the disadvantages?"
"What presuppositions do we make about the audience or constituency
in choosing a particular medium?" "What effect does this
choice have on our ability to get our message across?" "What
are the constraints or peculiarities of this form?"
Each workshop will be led by a resource person(s) either working
in or familiar with the area under discussion.
The topics:
1. Uses of the Discussion Circle. Sandy Siegel.
The workshop will centre around the question of the role and value
of consciousness-raising educational processes in the Canadian revolutionary
movement. The application of the educational work of Paulo Freire
will be discussed. The workshop will aim at developing an understanding
of the analysis and method such an educational process involves
and a discussion of both how and where it could be applied in revolutionary
struggle in Canada.
2. Art and Posters. Don Carr.
This workshop will attempt to develop a critique of collectively
produced art with an emphasis on the Atelier Populaire of Paris
in May 1968 and the street art and mural movement of North America
and Chile in the late 1960's and early 1970's. There will also be
a brief investigation of the function of poster art in both capitalist
and socialist society. We will also examine the role of the artist
in today's society and the questions: "What can artists do
to bridge the gap between their work and the wide public?"
"What can the media do to interpret contemporary art in less
esoteric terms, to increase its audience?" "How can artists
bring the price of art-work within the reach of low-income people?"
The purpose of the workshop would be to develop interest in starting
an art-producing collective with a social and political direction
which would include people of varied abilities (ie. artists, photographers,
designers, printers, and others who could provide criticism.)
3. Film and Audio-Visual. Film League.
Using the film Forget it Jack as an example, this workshop
will explore questions of the use of film and other audio-visual
media as instruments in the development of political consciousness.
The focus will be on the general problem of placing modern communications
media at the service of the working-class in distinction to the
way in which these media usually serve corporate interests. The
interests which produce, promote, and distribute audio-visual materials
at the present time will also be critically discussed.
4. Journalism. Bob Chodos.
The workshop will deal with the basic techniques of news writing
and presentation, how they are used by the commercial press, and
how they can be used to express alternative points of view. The
concept of objectivity will be examined critically and the biases
inherent in news style will be discussed. Selections of facts, ordering
of material, use of terminology and layout will be examined as propaganda
tools. Reference will be made to articles in the previous week's
issues of the Toronto Sun, Globe and Mail, and Star
by way of illustration.
5. Comic Books as a Popular Education Tool. Exploding
Myths Comic Book Collective.
A discussion of comic books as used for Popular Education with members
of the Exploding Myths Comic Book Collective discussing their experiences
in producing comics on the food and housing industry. These comics
were designed to analyze issues in a form that will have mass appeal
and inspire political action. Discussion to include "How do
you present an analysis of an issue in a visual and entertaining
way?" "How do you distribute analyses to those you want
to reach and how do you go beyond information to action?"
6. Materials for Children. Women's Press.
This workshop will examine such questions as how children of different
ages develop, the uses of fantasy or realism, and how to get past
obstacles such as parents, schools, and television. An attempt will
be made to present information about materials that are available
for use by radical parents, who want their children to be exposed
to alternatives to the surrounding society.
7. Photography. Lynn Murray.
Can photography be an effective tool in doing educational work?
Does photography have anything to say or is it limited to the world
of objects d'art? The workshop will also look at various photographers'
work and discuss their relevance to this society.
8. Theatre. Joyce Penner.
9. Pamphlets. New Hogtown Press.
New Hogtown Press, publishers and distributors of radical pamphlets
in Canada, will discuss their experiences. The discussion will focus
on such issues as why and how pamphlets can be useful, problems
in reaching people you want to reach, and the differences between
various kinds of pamphlets such as historical ones, those oriented
to use in schools or universities, those dealing with immediate
issues, and those dealing with more general issues.
10. Music. David de Launay.
This workshop will try to develop a perspective on how to see all
music in a political context. It will be led by David de Launay,
a professional musician working in Toronto. Much of the initial
presentation will be done through recorded examples. Starting from
these examples our discussion and debate can be kept concrete and
centered on how to view music politically. Even more important,
we will deal with how music is and can be used as a political force
or tool.
2:00 p.m.: Feedback from the Watching Committee.
2:10 p.m.: Final plenary on the role of the left. In this session
an attempt will be made to bring together some of the previous discussions.
Hopefully this should include strategic formulations as well as
specific proposals for inter-group co-operation, joint projects,
and other possibilities. A key question should be what the left
in Toronto can most effectively do at this time.
5:00 p.m.: Adjourn.
Note: The conference planning committee has suggested a number of
general questions which they propose as a basis of discussion throughout
the conference. These are:
How do we move from a critique of a particular aspect of capitalism
to a critique of the system as a whole, in our popular education?
How do we best build on people's impulse for resistance rather than
further strengthen the feelings of powerlessness, cynicism, and
apathy generated by the system?
How does popular education fit into a larger political strategy?
Published in Volume 1, Number 1 of The
Red Menace, February 1976.
See also:
Looking
at the Conference - By Ashley Chester.
Our
Two Cents' Worth -
Comments from the Toronto Liberation School Collective.
Popular
Education Conference (2) - Steve
Izma's view.
(CX5115)
Connexions
Links - Connexions
Directory A-Z Index - Connexions
Library
Periodicals
& Broadcasters Online - Volunteer
Opportunities - Publicity
& media relations resources
Connexions
Phone: 416-964-5735
E-mail: 
www.connexions.org
|