ESP Biography
ALEX KINDEL, Sophomore studying cognition and liberation
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Major: Symbolic Systems College: Not available. Year of Graduation: 2014 |
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Brief Biographical Sketch:
Hey! I'm Alex, a sophomore majoring in Symbolic Systems. I am interested broadly in the cognitive foundations of learning, which I apply to concepts of cultural education and passive knowledge acquisition. I'm also interested in the theory of complex systems, and how systems emerge and self-organize spontaneously, especially with applications to social movements. Right now, I'm applying these interests to study how we learn liberatory ideas, and the effects of liberation on the way we think. I'm also involved with campus activism at Stanford; I organize with Stanford Students for Queer Liberation, and I'm also involved with student government. My big project right now is studying the Occupy Wall Street movement; I'm going to spend my Thanksgiving break in New York City studying the emergence of cohesive rhetoric from a horizontally-organized, "collectivized" system. In short, I'm really passionate about the intersections between scholarship and activism! Past Classes(Look at the class archive for more.)Activism Now! in Splash! Fall 2011
What does it mean to "get involved?" Why do people protest? What do we mean by "social justice?" We will answer these questions by exploring broadly what it means to be an activist. We will share relevant historical experiences of past community organizers, as well as our own experiences with activism at Stanford. Our focus will be on youth activism and community organizing around issues of race, class, gender identity, sexuality, and educational heritage.
Note: we will strive to make this course a safe space for all experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. We hope that anyone who signs up for the course will strive toward the same goal.
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