[URPE] [NYC] Brecht Forum: Freire, Intl. Law, Poverty & Motherhood, Mat Callahan and More

Sun Oct 29 12:26:48 MST 2006

  P L E A S E     F O R W A R D    W I D E L Y

The Brecht Forum
451 West St.  (Betw Bank & Bethune)
New York, NY 10014
(212) 242- 4201
www.brechtforum.org

1,2,3 A,C,E to 14th st.
14A,11,20 buses to Abingdon Square/12th Street
8 bus to Christopher St.
L to 8th Ave @14th st.
F,V to 14th St. B,D to W. 4th
_____________________________________________________________________________
In this email:

10/27 NEUES KABARETT  Shelley Hirsch with Aki Onda
10/28  1-DAY WORKSHOP   Education for Liberation: An Introduction to the 
Paulo Freire Methodology
10/30  Hope Springs Maternal
11/2   The 2006 Elections & the Left
11/4  Mat Callahan & Yvonne Moore --San Francisco's Musical Hero & 
Author with Swiss Vocalist
11/7  International Law at the Breaking Point: The Aftermath of Israel's 
War on Lebanon
_____________________________________________________________________________
Friday, October 27
9:00 pm
NEUES KABARETT 

Shelley Hirsch with Aki Onda

Hirsch will perform improvisations based on such Bernard Hermann 
compositions as Fahrenheit 451, Journey to the Center of the Earth and 
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor. Hirsch's words and free 
associations twist the image of these movies, sometimes in strict 
reference, sometimes in montages called "touching, enveloping, amusing 
and strange." (Squidsear).
Second set with Aki Onda.

Admission: $10
________________________________________________________________________
Saturday, October 28
9:00 am - 6:00 pm
1-DAY WORKSHOP 

Education for Liberation: An Introduction to the Paulo Freire Methodology

Facilitated by Carmelina Cartei & Esperanza Martell

 This is an introductory hands-on workshop in the use of popular 
education techniques based on the complementary approaches to Education 
for Liberation developed by two Brasilian cultural activists: 
philosopher Paulo Freire, author of "Pedagogy of the Oppressed," and 
theater director Augusto Boal, Workers Party (PT) activist and founder 
of the Theater of the Oppressed. In this introduction to the theory of 
the pedagogy of the oppressed and its practical application, 
participants will learn through practice the three basic steps of the 
Freire methodology: 1) to express and see reality as it is experienced 
by the participants; 2) to understand this reality by analyzing it and 
exploring the root causes of problems; and 3) to act in order to change 
this reality. Framed as a power analysis for decolonizing the mind and 
empowering oppressed communities in struggle, the workshop is designed 
for community organizers as well as educators and labor, political and 
solidarity activists in view of helping them actively plan and implement 
effective strategies for social action in their groups and communities.

Sliding scale: $35/$55
______________________________________________________________________
Monday, October 30
7:30 pm
BOOK PARTY/FORUM 

Hope Springs Maternal

Jill Gerson

 Hope Springs Maternal is a book about the young mothers who live in New 
York City's shelters. Through extensive interviews with twenty-four 
young women of color living in temporary shelters who either were 
pregnant or had very young children, Jill Gerson sought to learn about 
the shelter users' background, current living experiences, and 
subjective views of home, family, and parenting. Gerson also employed 
the life history approach to focus on the ways the mothers' individual 
and collective biographies were shaped by both socioeconomic context and 
interpersonal experiences. The interviews reveal that most of the 
mothers had experienced a range of disruptive experiences in childhood 
and adolescence and that their shelter use was closely related to the 
adverse economic realities with which many poor women of color are 
forced to contend. Based on the interview data and life history 
approach, Gerson concludes that the mothers living in shelters had 
engaged in a determined search for a safe haven that could help them 
complete their transition into an adult role and become parents able to 
consider the needs of their children. Their narratives speak to the 
capacity of the individual to use limited social resources as a 
self-righting developmental opportunity. The mothers' transitional 
shelter use often resonated with a normative maturational thrust to 
create opportunities to develop economic and residential security and 
caring interpersonal and family relationships.

 Jill Gerson received a DSW from the CUNY Graduate Center, and a MSW 
from Hunter College School of Social Work. A longtime resident of New 
York City, Dr. Gerson has focused her social work practice on program 
development for under-served youth and families with young children.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
No one turned away
____________________________________________________________________
Thursday, November 2
7:30 pm

 The 2006 Elections & the Left

Maria Bacha, Ron Hayduk & Others TBA. Moderated by Gerald Meyer

 The role of the upcoming elections is contested territory in the 
fragmented U.S. left. Some open questions on this topic include: How 
will the outcome of the election affect the prospects of building the 
left? How can social movements introduce issues beyond the parameters 
set by the two-party monopoly? Should the left support liberal 
candidates? What is the significance of the role of third parties?

 Maria Bacha is a local organizer and board member of the League for 
Young Voters, aka The League of Pissed Off Voters. Ron Hayduk, author of 
Democracy for All: Restoring Immigrant Voting Rights, teaches political 
science at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Moderator Gerald 
Meyer, author of Vito Marcantonio, Radical Politician,1902-1954, is 
currently writing on the American Labor Party.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
No One Turned Away
__________________________________________________________________
Saturday, November 4
7:00 pm
PERFORMANCE 

Mat Callahan & Yvonne Moore --San Francisco's Musical Hero & Author with 
Swiss Vocalist

Musician/author Mat Callahan will be speaking about his new book "The 
Trouble with Music" followed by an acoustic musical performance 
accompanied by Yvonne Moore. He will be performing songs from his new 
release "A Wild Bouquet," a CD which features Les Claypool (Primus), Joe 
Gore (PJ Harvey) and Brain (Tom Waits).
Banjo player Eli Smith will open the show with a set of original 
political songs and old-time country folk tunes. Smith, a New York 
native became interested in older forms of American music as a teenager 
back in the 1990s. Since then he has become an accomplished banjo 
player, guitarist, fiddler and harmonica player. Lately he has explored 
the fusion of these older song forms and styles with contemporary 
original songs, and found that it works great! Eli Smith hosts the 
internet radio show Down Home Radio, available for listening at 
www.DownHomeRadioShow.com .

 Mat Callahan, a musician, composer, producer, and author, was the 
singer/songwriter for the Looters, a band that was instrumental in 
establishing the "world-beat" musical movement on the West coast. The 
Looters started out on Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles label, then 
were signed by Chris Blackwell to Island Records, and went on to win 
awards and acclaim with several independent releases. They were the 
first U.S. rock band to play in post-revolution Nicaragua, and won a 
prestigious Bay Area Music Award "Bammie" for the Best Independent 
Album. Callahan also founded the legendary San Francisco performance 
space and artists' collective Komotion International, a spawning ground 
for groups such as Primus, Consolidated and Disposable Heroes of 
Hiphoprisy (w/Michael Franti & Charlie Hunter). He lives in Switzerland 
with his wife and fellow recording artist Yvonne Moore.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
No OneTurned Away
___________________________________________________________
Tuesday, November 7
7:30 pm

International Law at the Breaking Point: The Aftermath of Israel's War 
on Lebanon

Asli Bali

 Israel's assault on Lebanon raged for 34 days as the international 
community looked on, ending finally with a UN Security Council brokered 
ceasefire. While this ceasefire was long overdue, the terms of the UNSC 
resolution were profoundly biased, possibly laying foundations for 
further conflict. This session will consider the manipulation of the UN 
and the consequences for the deterioration of international law.

 Asli Bali is an international law expert in private practice in New 
York. She is the President of the New York Chapter of the American Arab 
Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC-NY), a board member of ADC National 
and an editorial board member of the Middle East Research & Information 
Project (MERIP). She is currently on leave from her practice this year 
to serve as the Irving S. Ribicoff Fellow at the Yale Law School while 
completing her doctorate.

Suggested donation: $6/$10/$15
No one turned away

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