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 # ProvDSA Foundational Series
 # Providence DSA Political Education Committee 2021 Foundational Series Syllabus

 Each module in the foundational series has its own page.
 // TODO image

 * [Module 1: Conflict Among Comrades](module-1-conflict.html)
 * [Module 2: Socialism 101](module-2-socialism-101.html)
 * [Module 3: Why the working class?](module-3-working-class.html)
 * [Module 4: Exploitation and Oppression](module-4-exploitation.html)
 * [Module 5: Imperialism and Colonialism](module-5-imperialism.html)
 * [Module 6: Praxis](module-6-praxis.html)
 **Note:** This syllabus only lists “homework” for each class/module. To explore questions that will be discussed during class, or to take a look at alternate readings, explore the Folder for the specific module [here](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1JjC9UJaXxQi6yvPyLS-IuFDkllElmBHP?usp=sharing).

 ## [Module 1: Conflict Among Comrades](module-1-conflict.html) Tuesday, November 2, 6:30-8 PM ET

 Study materials to be reviewed / completed prior to class:

 * [Conflict Style Assessment](https://www.usip.org/public-education/students/conflict-styles-assessment)

 * [Rebel Steps episode “Talk it Out”](https://rebelsteps.com/episodes/s2e5-talk-it-out/) (23 min)

 * [Excerpt](https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2021/02/14/adrienne-maree-brown-on-cancellation-abolition-and-healing/) from Final Straw Radio episode “adrienne maree brown on Cancellation, Abolition and Healing" (First 15 minutes)

 * [“How to Argue with Your Comrades”](https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/05/left-arguments-comrades-democratic-socialism-bernie-sanders) by Hadas Thier, Jacobin (7 min)

 * [Excerpts](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Wzo6r8NtUgrZvnjDXsHzZp-F5jjyz-VZ0v-IvyHGwNs/edit?usp=sharing) from Mutual Aid by Dean Spade (10 min)

 ## [Module 2: Socialism 101](module-2-socialism-101.html) Tuesday, November 9, 6:30-8 PM ET

 Study materials to be reviewed / completed prior to class:

 * Group A: [Last Week Tonight: Evictions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R652nwUcJRA&t=279s) (19 min)

 * Group B: [Last Week Tonight: Meatpacking](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhO1FcjDMV4) (19 min)

 * ["Democratic Socialism Isn't Social Democracy"](https://jacobinmag.com/2018/08/democratic-socialism-social-democracy-nordic-countries) by Michael A. McCarthy, Jacobin (7 min)

 * ["How Capitalism Exploits You"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mI_RMQEulw) by Richard Wolff, Gravel Institute (5 min)

 * ["The Difference Between Socialism, Communism, and Marxism Explained by a Marxist"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyl2DeKT-Vs) by AzureScapegoat (12 min)

 * ["Workshop Talks"](https://www.marxists.org/archive/connolly/1909/talks/shoptlks.htm) by James Connolly (29 min)
 
 ## [Module 3: Why the working class?](module-3-working-class.html) Tuesday, November 16, 6:30-8 PM ET

 Study materials to be reviewed / completed prior to class:

 * [“Why the Working Class?”](https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/03/working-class-capitalism-socialists-strike-power/) by Vivek Chibber (6 min)

 * [Alternative Foundations of Class Analysis, Chapter 1](https://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~wright/found-c1.PDF), by Erik Olin Wright (25 min) **OR** watch [“Who Counts as Working Class?”](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=12AHhpFCDVo) (starting at 40:20)

 ## [Module 4: Exploitation and Oppression](module-4-exploitation.html) Tuesday, November 23, 6:30-8 PM ET

 Study materials to be reviewed / completed prior to class:

 * [What's New About Woke Racial Capitalism (and What Isn't): "Wokewashing" and the Limits of Representation](https://spectrejournal.com/whats-new-about-woke-racial-capitalism-and-what-isnt/), Enzo Rossi & Olúfémi O. Táíwò, Spectre (17 min)

 * [Marxism and Intersectionality: An Interview with Ashley Bohrer](https://salvage.zone/online-exclusive/marxism-and-intersectionality-an-interview-with-ashley-bohrer/), George Souvlis & Ashley Bohrer, Salvage (19 min)

 * [Fuck Mindfulness Workshops](https://spectrejournal.com/fuck-mindfulness-workshops/), Tithi Bhattacharya, Spectre (7 min) **OR** view [some slides from @wokescientist on Insta](https://docs.google.com/document/d/19UK98vQqrj8nRBszmDnsu3qsPRGENG-ZkqYfgyH8ASg/edit?usp=sharing)

 * [Geographies of Racial Capitalism with Ruth Wilson Gilmore – An Antipode Foundation film](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CS627aKrJI), Ruth Wilson Gilmore (first 6 minutes)

 * [What is Racial Capitalism and Why Does It Matter?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--gim7W_jQQ) Robin D.G. Kelley, 10:19-23:00 (~13 min)

 ## [Module 5: Imperialism and Colonialism](module-5-imperialism.html) Tuesday, November 30, 6:30-8 PM ET

 Study materials to be reviewed / completed prior to class:

 * Group A: *Battle of Algiers* - [Excerpt 1](https://drive.google.com/file/d/16inRQOi5eSHn8Kmb4Bhn9agrghDqC6Oq/view?usp=sharing), [Excerpt 2](https://drive.google.com/file/d/17jAp4owH0XfcSNAK23Dh_iR87O7VMjSa/view?usp=sharing)

 * Group B: *The Wind That Shakes the Barley* - [Excerpt](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YuhooDyoJ8lHjN3f2TvmKINWbm4TbRVw/view?usp=sharing)

 * Group C: *Tambien La Lluvia* - [Excerpt 1](https://drive.google.com/file/d/14IW0r882oz6CZTlx8Vs4pY1k3UbGhLpH/view?usp=sharing), [Excerpt 2](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vnEj7TrAePYhBDMzDn936t2v2VO_aJNq/view?usp=sharing)

 * [Excerpt](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i7q9RliFdfo4ikm-ex_6boDOAZqkSbaU/view?usp=sharing) from *The Wretched of the Earth* by Frantz Fanon (pp 1-36, 44-52, 1 hr 12 min) **OR** RED MENACE: The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon [Part 1] (up to 26:27 to cover Chapter 1 reflections)

 * [Excerpt](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V1NFwVIrdZiySn4R4EuOebuO_wpGbzAQ/view?usp=sharing) from *As We Have Always Done* by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (pp 71-83, 18 min)

 * [Excerpt](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iVIJ6h1-ch4-iE4jHmCM6TRze9PEm1Auv70n-zI_6hs/edit?usp=sharing) from *The Red Deal* by The Red Nation (10 min)

 ## [Module 6: Praxis](module-6-praxis.html) Panel Tuesday, December 7, 6:30-8 PM ET

 We’ll talk to socialists engaged in mutual aid, electoral work, and base building (labor and tenant organizing). Please [email](mailto:pvdpolied@riseup.net) any questions you have for our panelists prior to class to kick off discussion!

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 **Objective:**  Prepare members for the inevitability of disagreement and conflict with other members. Establish best practices for working through conflict, including methods for de-escalation, and resources for support from the chapter. As a first module, we also want this session to act as an opportunity to build comradery between attendees who will work together the next several weeks. 

 **Lead Facilitator:** Ben? Jessica? David R?
 **Please complete / read / listen to the following before this class:**

 **Facilitators:**
 * [Conflict Style Assessment](https://www.usip.org/public-education/students/conflict-styles-assessment)

 **Agenda:** Intros + icebreaker, conflict style assessment discussion, breakouts with scenarios, 
 * [Rebel Steps episode “Talk it Out”](https://rebelsteps.com/episodes/s2e5-talk-it-out/) (23 min)

 **Homework:** [Conflict Style Assessment](https://www.usip.org/public-education/students/conflict-styles-assessment)
 * [Excerpt](https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2021/02/14/adrienne-maree-brown-on-cancellation-abolition-and-healing/) from Final Straw Radio episode “adrienne maree brown on Cancellation, Abolition and Healing" (First 15 minutes)

 ## Study Materials
 * [“How to Argue with Your Comrades”](https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/05/left-arguments-comrades-democratic-socialism-bernie-sanders) by Hadas Thier, Jacobin (7 min)

 * [Rebel Steps episode “Talk it Out”](https://rebelsteps.com/episodes/s2e5-talk-it-out/)
 * [Excerpts](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Wzo6r8NtUgrZvnjDXsHzZp-F5jjyz-VZ0v-IvyHGwNs/edit?usp=sharing) from Mutual Aid by Dean Spade (10 min)

 * [Final Straw Radio episode “adrienne maree brown on Cancellation, Abolition and Healing"](https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org/post/2021/02/14/adrienne-maree-brown-on-cancellation-abolition-and-healing/) (the first 15 min of this gets into power differentials, calling out/calling in, transformative justice, etc.)

 * [“How to Argue with Your Comrades” by Hadas Thier](https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/05/left-arguments-comrades-democratic-socialism-bernie-sanders), *Jacobin*

 * [Excerpts from *Mutual Aid* by Dean Spade](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Wzo6r8NtUgrZvnjDXsHzZp-F5jjyz-VZ0v-IvyHGwNs/edit?usp=sharing)
 **Agenda:**

 ## Alternate Materials
 * Intros + icebreaker

 * [Excerpts from Conflict is Not Abuse by Sarah Schulman](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VxdzcuSYdgvC_goTd3k8k0pgY1XAQEEJXQdF6krRms0/edit?usp=sharing)
 * Conflict style assessment discussion

 * “Revolutionary spirit, hard work, personal sacrifice, and the willingness to subordinate individual interests to the political tasks at hand are all crucial qualities for a successful radical movement. So too is the commitment to sink roots among the exploited and oppressed and to struggle within the movement over inequalities of class, race, and gender. And--whether or not they are now in fashion--so are organizations capable of functioning on the basis of well-worked out strategies, unity in action, and a measure of collective discipline.” - Max Elbaum, Revolution in the Air
 * Breakouts with scenarios

 * [“DSA Convention Primer: 2021 Edition” by Andrew Sernatinger](https://newpol.org/dsa-convention-primer-2021-edition/), *New Politics* -- I think this may actually be helpful, as it references slates, caucusing, etc.
 * Report-backs and group discussion

 ## Breakouts

@@ -58,3 +54,11 @@ Questions for general discussion

  3. What are the benefits of checking in with yourself, prior to talking to others to resolve a conflict?

 ## Further Resources

 * [Excerpts from Conflict is Not Abuse by Sarah Schulman](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VxdzcuSYdgvC_goTd3k8k0pgY1XAQEEJXQdF6krRms0/edit?usp=sharing)

 * “Revolutionary spirit, hard work, personal sacrifice, and the willingness to subordinate individual interests to the political tasks at hand are all crucial qualities for a successful radical movement. So too is the commitment to sink roots among the exploited and oppressed and to struggle within the movement over inequalities of class, race, and gender. And--whether or not they are now in fashion--so are organizations capable of functioning on the basis of well-worked out strategies, unity in action, and a measure of collective discipline.” - Max Elbaum, Revolution in the Air

 * [“DSA Convention Primer: 2021 Edition” by Andrew Sernatinger](https://newpol.org/dsa-convention-primer-2021-edition/), *New Politics* -- I think this may actually be helpful, as it references slates, caucusing, etc.

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 **Objective:** To define the parameters of socialism--what is socialism, and what is not socialism?--and define some commonly-heard and commonly-misused terms new socialists will encounter. To distinguish between neoliberal progressivism, social democracy, “compassionate capitalism” and socialism. 

 **Lead Facilitator:** Claire and Jessica
 **Please complete / read / listen to the following before this class:**

 **Facilitators:**

 * Group A: [Last Week Tonight: Evictions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R652nwUcJRA&t=279s) (19 min)

 * Group B: [Last Week Tonight: Meatpacking](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhO1FcjDMV4) (19 min)

 * ["Democratic Socialism Isn't Social Democracy"](https://jacobinmag.com/2018/08/democratic-socialism-social-democracy-nordic-countries) by Michael A. McCarthy, Jacobin (7 min)

 * ["How Capitalism Exploits You"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mI_RMQEulw) by Richard Wolff, Gravel Institute (5 min)

 * ["The Difference Between Socialism, Communism, and Marxism Explained by a Marxist"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyl2DeKT-Vs) by AzureScapegoat (12 min)

 * ["Workshop Talks"](https://www.marxists.org/archive/connolly/1909/talks/shoptlks.htm) by James Connolly (29 min)

 **Agenda:**

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 **Objective:** Building off of our definitions of socialism, this class seeks to explain the centrality of labor and class in the majority of socialist theories of change. To explain what (who) the working class is, and distinctions made by theorists that go deeper than working vs owner class, or between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie.

 **Lead Facilitator:** Dan
 **Please complete / read / listen to the following before this class:**

 **Facilitators:**
 * [“Why the Working Class?”](https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/03/working-class-capitalism-socialists-strike-power/) by Vivek Chibber (6 min)

 * [Alternative Foundations of Class Analysis, Chapter 1](https://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~wright/found-c1.PDF), by Erik Olin Wright (25 min) **OR** watch [“Who Counts as Working Class?”](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=12AHhpFCDVo) (starting at 40:20)

 **Agenda:**

@@ -20,24 +22,6 @@

 * What can an organization like the DSA do to reach more working-class people?

 **Homework:**

 ## Study materials

 * [“Why the Working Class?”](https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/03/working-class-capitalism-socialists-strike-power/) by Vivek Chibber

 * [*Alternative Foundations of Class Analysis*, Chapter 1](https://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~wright/found-c1.PDF), by Erik Olin Wright

 * Optional video: [“Who Counts as Working Class?”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12AHhpFCDVo) (starting at 40:20)

 ## Additional materials

 Class contradiction/breakdown excerpt from [*LeftRoots Vol. 1: Out to Win!*](https://journal.leftroots.net/downloads/out-to-win_eng_fin.pdf) (pp 30-33)

 ## Breakouts

 A check-in (maybe use “What can an organization like the DSA do to reach more working-class people?”)

 ## Questions

 * Why do socialists talk so much about labor and the working class?
@@ -50,3 +34,11 @@ A check-in (maybe use “What can an organization like the DSA do to reach more

 * Is there any relationship between class and culture? How do you see class dynamics affect organizations like the DSA?

 ## Breakouts

 What can an organization like the DSA do to reach more working-class people?

 ## Further Resources

 * Class contradiction/breakdown [excerpt from *LeftRoots Vol. 1: Out to Win!*](https://journal.leftroots.net/downloads/out-to-win_eng_fin.pdf) (pp 30-33)

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 **Objective:** Now that we understand the importance of class when discussing socialism, and how economic exploitation functions, this module turns its attention to the ways that exploitation intersects with identity-based. We examine the intersection through the lens of race, looking at one important theory linking racism and capitalism, while acknowledging that others exist in the socialist milieu, and that a discussion of race both expands beyond what can be covered in one module, and is necessarily different than discussions about other marginalized identities, be they based on gender, ability, sexual orientation, religion, or other matters.

 **Lead Facilitator:** Camille and Ben

 **Facilitators:**

 **Agenda:** 5 min for people to file in, Recap articles (w/ stack to add things) - 10 min, Breakouts w/ pre-offered questions - 15 min, Report backs (focused on 1-2 qs) - 10 min, Group discussion - 15 min, Eval time w/ further readings added in chat - 5 min

 **Homework:** N/A

 ## Study Materials
 **Please complete / read / listen to the following before this class:**

 * [What's New About Woke Racial Capitalism (and What Isn't): "Wokewashing" and the Limits of Representation](https://spectrejournal.com/whats-new-about-woke-racial-capitalism-and-what-isnt/), Enzo Rossi & Olúfémi O. Táíwò, *Spectre* - est’d 17 min read

@@ -22,7 +14,27 @@

 * [What is Racial Capitalism and Why Does It Matter?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--gim7W_jQQ) Robin D.G. Kelley, 10:19-23:00 (~13 min)

 ## Alternate Materials
 **Agenda:**

 * Recap articles with group discussion

 * Breakouts

 * Report-backs and group discussion

 ## Breakout Questions

 Discuss the questions below.

 * What are the differences and similarities between “oppression” and “exploitation,” as these concepts are referenced in these pieces?

 * How are class and identities like race linked, according to these writers?

 * Have you experienced contradictions within a class based on different manifestations of oppression, or differing outlooks on economic inequality within marginalized communities? How might socialists seek to overcome these conflicts and build solidarity?

 * How does a socialist understanding of anti-racism differ from a liberal understanding of non-racism? What might be helpful about employers addressing discrimination based on identity with their employees? What might be problematic?

 ## Further Resources

 * On Racial Capitalism

@@ -76,15 +88,4 @@

  * [On Health, Anti-Fatness and Capitalism](https://redfightback.org/health-antifatness-capitalism/) by Red Fightback

 ## Breakout Questions

 Discuss the questions below.

 * What are the differences and similarities between “oppression” and “exploitation,” as these concepts are referenced in these pieces?

 * How are class and identities like race linked, according to these writers?

 * Have you experienced contradictions within a class based on different manifestations of oppression, or differing outlooks on economic inequality within marginalized communities? How might socialists seek to overcome these conflicts and build solidarity?

 * How does a socialist understanding of anti-racism differ from a liberal understanding of non-racism? What might be helpful about employers addressing discrimination based on identity with their employees? What might be problematic?

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 **Objective:** We have set ground rules and acknowledged that conflict is inevitable in our struggle. We’ve defined, broadly, what we are struggling for, as well as what we are struggling against, and we’ve highlighted both economic exploitation in a discussion of class, and identity-based oppression through a discussion of race. We’ve largely encouraged attendees to think about these topics in the realm of the personal, and their local community. But what happens when capitalism goes global, as it did over the course of the 20th century? The answer, as Lenin discovered in 1916, was colonialism and imperialism.

 **Please complete / read / listen to the following before this class:**

 * Group A: *Battle of Algiers* - [Excerpt 1](https://drive.google.com/file/d/16inRQOi5eSHn8Kmb4Bhn9agrghDqC6Oq/view?usp=sharing), [Excerpt 2](https://drive.google.com/file/d/17jAp4owH0XfcSNAK23Dh_iR87O7VMjSa/view?usp=sharing)

 * Group B: *The Wind That Shakes the Barley* - [Excerpt](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YuhooDyoJ8lHjN3f2TvmKINWbm4TbRVw/view?usp=sharing)

 * Group C: *Tambien La Lluvia* - [Excerpt 1](https://drive.google.com/file/d/14IW0r882oz6CZTlx8Vs4pY1k3UbGhLpH/view?usp=sharing), [Excerpt 2](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vnEj7TrAePYhBDMzDn936t2v2VO_aJNq/view?usp=sharing)

 * [Excerpt](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i7q9RliFdfo4ikm-ex_6boDOAZqkSbaU/view?usp=sharing) from *The Wretched of the Earth* by Frantz Fanon (pp 1-36, 44-52, 1 hr 12 min) **OR** RED MENACE: The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon [Part 1] (up to 26:27 to cover Chapter 1 reflections)

 * [Excerpt](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V1NFwVIrdZiySn4R4EuOebuO_wpGbzAQ/view?usp=sharing) from *As We Have Always Done* by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (pp 71-83, 18 min)

 * [Excerpt](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iVIJ6h1-ch4-iE4jHmCM6TRze9PEm1Auv70n-zI_6hs/edit?usp=sharing) from *The Red Deal* by The Red Nation (10 min)

 **Lead Facilitator:** TBD - ask Nico? Samy? Joel?

 **Facilitators:**

 **Agenda:**

 * Nico’s remarks about Fanon

 * Discussion of readings

 * Breakout to discuss clips

 * Report-back and group discussion

 **Homework:** N/A

 ## Study Materials
@@ -16,47 +38,44 @@

 * Excerpt from [*As We Have Always Done*](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i7q9RliFdfo4ikm-ex_6boDOAZqkSbaU/view?usp=sharing) by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson (pp 71-83)

 * Excerpt from [*The Red Deal*](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iVIJ6h1-ch4-iE4jHmCM6TRze9PEm1Auv70n-zI_6hs/edit?usp=sharing) by The Red Nation

 * [“What is Imperialism?”](https://vimeo.com/545460278) (pw = password) / [Spotify w/ Charisse Burden-Stelly](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2bSBLJ7bOpBxfZbCbXAQgl?si=S61qoS7TQwe5zVlJhpQz-g&dl_branch=1) and Nick Estes on *Red Nation* Starting at 15:18 / 14:45 or 26:55 / 26:18.

 ## Alternate Materials

 * ["The New Imperialist Structure"](https://monthlyreview.org/2019/07/01/the-new-imperialist-structure/) by Samir Amin, *Monthly Review*

 * Excerpt from [*Imperialism*](https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1916/imp-hsc/ch07.htm) by Vladimir I. Lenin (chapter 7, paragraphs 2-5)

 * [“What is Imperialism?”](https://vimeo.com/545460278) (pw = password) / [Spotify w/ Charisse Burden-Stelly](https://open.spotify.com/episode/2bSBLJ7bOpBxfZbCbXAQgl?si=S61qoS7TQwe5zVlJhpQz-g&dl_branch=1) and Nick Estes on *Red Nation* Starting at 15:18 / 14:45 or 26:55 / 26:18.

 * Excerpt from [*The Red Deal*](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iVIJ6h1-ch4-iE4jHmCM6TRze9PEm1Auv70n-zI_6hs/edit?usp=sharing) by The Red Nation

 ## Breakouts

 * [*Battle of Algiers*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_of_Algiers)

 * [*Nausicaä Valley of the Wind*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nausica%C3%A4_of_the_Valley_of_the_Wind_(film))
  * Scene at 31:36 - 34:38: A youth assassinates a police officer and runs away. The police are in pursuit, but guided by the crowd’s shouting from the balconies, they apprehend the wrong criminal. What do you think Fanon would have to say about this scene? Is violence justified in the decolonial endeavor even if innocent, colonized subjects are hurt in the process?

 * [*Salt of the Earth*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_of_the_Earth_(1954_film))
  * Scene at 36:00 - 40:00: The police plant a bomb in the colonized part of Algiers. Watch the scene and think about colonizer vs colonized violence and the reactions to both of them. It is also worth it to think about what Fanon has to say about the Manichean world in which the colonized live. What is the “correct,” if we can use that word at all, response to this atrocity?

 * [*The Wind That Shakes the Barley*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wind_That_Shakes_the_Barley_(film)) - [Excerpts](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WO-N6BFkwotZk3DBywI_x1iQyyVxE0xR/view?usp=sharing)

 * [*Tambien La Lluvia*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1422032/)
  * In the beginning of the clip, the brigade of Irish Republicans that the movie follows learn by watching a silent film, news of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921. At what point does the mood change? Why do you think that is? How does this come into plan in the ensuing discussion among the brigade?

 ## Questions
  * The debate that follows the news among the once-close comrades is indicative of the type of battles Fanon describes throughout the Wretched of the Earth between members of the colonized group. While we don’t have time to read the entire book, we can understand some of his points by looking at the arguments for and against the Treaty.

 * “What is Imperialism?” on Red Nation
    1. What is the primary argument of the pro-Treaty faction against rejecting dominion status under the British Empire? How does this at once acknowledge and disregard the fact that, as Fanon writes to open his book, “decolonization is always a violent event.” Based on Fanon’s quote that “During the period of liberation, however, the colonialist bourgeoisie frantically seeks contact with the colonized ‘elite’,” how do you take the Empire’s threat?

  * How does Professor Estes dispel the claim that Indigenous nations like the Lakota were engaged in “imperialism” when in conflict with other tribes? (Answer may include: accumulation of capital was not the origin of conflict)
    2. A secondary argument, which takes a global view, follows from the above and concerns the effect that an entirely free Ireland would have on British colonialism elsewhere in the world. How does this argument from the pro-Treaty faction contradict their struggle, from a socialist perspective?

  * What are some reasons identified by Professors Estes and Burden-Stelly (that they either argue for or against) for imperialism’s growth out of the capitalist mode of production? (Answer may include: new markets, prevention of rivals accessing new markets, accumulation of capital generally)
    3. Fanon writes that “it’s true there is not one colonized subject who at least once a day does not dream of taking the place of the colonist.” How is this borne out by Cillian Murphy’s character, Damien, pointing out that the workers’ situation would not change under the treaty and Orla Fitzgerald’s character, Sinéad, saying that the loyalist (pro-Britain) Irish citizens who already commit violence against Republicans will now be uniformed and armed?

  * How does Prof Nick Estes link the use of militarized boarding schools for Indigenous children to the genocide of enslaved African people brought to North America? (Answer may include: settlers determining that the divestment of African people from their family was one of their primary methods of genocide and enacting it upon the Indigenous population)

  * How does Professor Burden-Stelly’s discussions on the origins of race generally, and whiteness specifically match up or contradict the discussion of racial capitalism we saw going on between Ruth Wilson Gilmore and Robin D.G. Kelley (Answer may include: she doesn’t care quite as much to engage on the question of “which came first,” but doesn’t necessarily see the “racialized” projects within europe as such, but instead as ethno-nationalism, linking racial capitalism or capitalist racism instead to the construction of whiteness as a shared fulcrum for imperialism among otherwise disparate groups.
 * [*Tambien La Lluvia*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1422032/)

 * *As We Have Always Done*
  * Scene at 33:54 - 37:09: Daniel goes with his daughter to see the set for the film about Columbus where Daniel is playing a native. The filmmaker (Costa) is there and he talks with Daniel a little bit before receiving a phone call. Costa speaks English on the phone. Listen carefully to what he says and pay attention to Daniel’s expressions. Pay attention to Costa’s expression when he speaks with Daniel after getting off the phone. Finally, pay attention to the expression of Belen, Daniel’s daughter, at the end of the scene. Discuss what you observe and keep in mind what it means to be recognized in political, racial, and human terms.

  * How are Simpson’s descriptions of extraction and assimilation in conversation with Naomi Klein related to the neoliberal vision of America as a “melting pot” of culture? What does this say about the American project and its origins? (Answer may include: discussion of appropriation of Indigenous technology to serve extractive purposes, the attempt to divest Native people of their culture. This counters the “melting pot” narrative and reveals its contribution to the capitalist project.)
 Why would Indigenous cultures be naturally disposed to the fight against capitalism, according to Simpson? (AMI: These people lived successfully without capitalism, and capitalist encroachment has devastated both their physical beings, the earth and their culture generally)
  * Scene at 1:01:19 - 1:03:24: The filmmakers need Daniel to finish their film about Christopher Columbus, but Daniel has been thrown in jail for participating in riots regarding the natives’ access to drinking water. Listen to how the filmmakers (colonizers?) talk about him, and listen to what Daniel says as he is released. Discuss.

  * Describe how the Nishnaabeg have recognized what is essentially a “relational” analysis of class within human society with their traditional practices. (Gift-giving and redistribution of wealth were already a practice, and hoarding was seen as an insult to the community because it was recognized that one could not hoard without depriving a fellow community member)
 Why does Simpson warn against fighting settler colonialism through treaties, courts, etc.?
 ## Questions

 * *The Wretched of the Earth*

@@ -68,25 +87,11 @@ How does violence affect the sense of self for colonized peoples?
  * Fanon believes that newly decolonized nations are owed reparations in order to start their economies again. How should we look at this from a socialist point of view? Can decolonized nations ever fully escape from capitalist imperialism?
 Think about the ways in which the colonized forms or fabricates the colonizer and vice versa.

 * *The Red Deal*

  * “The issue is that accumulation-based societies don’t like the answers we come up with because they are not quick technological fixes, they are not easy.” Michi Saagiig Nichnaabeg scholar Leanne Betasamosake Simpson has said. 

  * The Red Deal itself asks: “Why is it easier for some to imagine the end of fossil fuels than settler colonialism?” How can we begin to answer this question as socialists? 

  * “Why is it easier to imagine the end of the world—a zombie apocalypse—than the end of capitalism?” How can we move outside of our comfort zones as socialists to address these difficult, not-quick fixes? What can wins/successes look like for this? Failures? 

  * As socialists, how can we help to dismantle imperialistic/colonialistic actions and thought in our communities without perpetuating this further? What can this look like on a micro level, while accessing people power? (i.e. Nationalize Grid working group, base building with tenant networks)

 * *También La Lluvia*

  * Scene at 33:54 - 37:09: Daniel goes with his daughter to see the set for the film about Columbus where Daniel is playing a native. The filmmaker (Costa) is there and he talks with Daniel a little bit before receiving a phone call. Costa speaks English on the phone. Listen carefully to what he says and pay attention to Daniel’s expressions. Pay attention to Costa’s expression when he speaks with Daniel after getting off the phone. Finally, pay attention to the expression of Belen, Daniel’s daughter, at the end of the scene. Discuss what you observe and keep in mind what it means to be recognized in political, racial, and human terms.

  * Scene at 1:01:19 - 1:03:24: The filmmakers need Daniel to finish their film about Christopher Columbus, but Daniel has been thrown in jail for participating in riots regarding the natives’ access to drinking water. Listen to how the filmmakers (colonizers?) talk about him, and listen to what Daniel says as he is released. Discuss.

 * *Battle of Algiers*
 * *As We Have Always Done*

  * 31:36 - 34:38: A youth assassinates a police officer and runs away. The police are in pursuit, but guided by the crowd’s shouting from the balconies, they apprehend the wrong criminal. What do you think Fanon would have to say about this scene? Is violence justified in the decolonial endeavor even if innocent, colonized subjects are hurt in the process?
  * How are Simpson’s descriptions of extraction and assimilation in conversation with Naomi Klein related to the neoliberal vision of America as a “melting pot” of culture? What does this say about the American project and its origins? (Answer may include: discussion of appropriation of Indigenous technology to serve extractive purposes, the attempt to divest Native people of their culture. This counters the “melting pot” narrative and reveals its contribution to the capitalist project.)
 Why would Indigenous cultures be naturally disposed to the fight against capitalism, according to Simpson? (AMI: These people lived successfully without capitalism, and capitalist encroachment has devastated both their physical beings, the earth and their culture generally)

  * 36:00 - 40:00: The police plant a bomb in the colonized part of Algiers. Watch the scene and think about colonizer vs colonized violence and the reactions to both of them. It is also worth it to think about what Fanon has to say about the Manichean world in which the colonized live. What is the “correct,” if we can use that word at all, response to this atrocity?
  * Describe how the Nishnaabeg have recognized what is essentially a “relational” analysis of class within human society with their traditional practices. (Gift-giving and redistribution of wealth were already a practice, and hoarding was seen as an insult to the community because it was recognized that one could not hoard without depriving a fellow community member)
 Why does Simpson warn against fighting settler colonialism through treaties, courts, etc.?

--- a/markdown/module-6-praxis.md
+++ b/markdown/module-6-praxis.md
@@ -2,23 +2,13 @@

 **Objective:**  Now that we’ve discussed some major tenets of socialism and established a theoretical basis for discussing democracy, equity, and the struggle against exploitation and oppression here and abroad, what can socialists do to work towards socialism? How do socialists view the work they are doing, and why do they do it? We’ll talk to socialists engaged in mutual aid, electoral work, and base building (labor and tenant organizing) to find out. 

 **Lead Facilitator:**

 **Facilitators:** N/A

 **Agenda:**

 **Homework:** N/A - definitions of mutual aid, electoral work, and base-building?

 ## Study Materials

 N/A

 ## Alternate Materials
 * Introductions

 Articles on these tactics?
 * Questions prepared by the Political Education Committee

 Breakouts: TBD
 * Your questions

 Questions for Panelists: TBD
 * Further Q&A and discussion