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jccohen's picture

giving to 'the world and ourselves'

Uninhibited,

That question about how we position ourselves when we 'give' might in itself act as a kind of lens of continual self-awareness; what if we asked ourselves the question of 'who we think we're giving to' whenever we enter into teaching/learning/volunteering/'service' situations -- might this kind of internal inquiry help us to adjust/revise what, how, with whom we 'give'? 

I'm also struck by the fluidity of 'oppressed/oppressor' that I read as integral to your comment.  That is, 'giving back' seems to suggest that once you're from a given community, that identity is in a sense static, but your revision of the question in terms of 'new knowledge' that you and others will have upon leaving Bryn Mawr illuminates a way to see not only y/ourselves but also others, who are also always 'unfinished' (in Freire's term); so maybe we need to infuse Freire's binary with this other dimension of his/your thinking...  Your thoughts?

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