8 Wednesdays, starting October 4 and ending November 29 (no class Thanksgiving week)
Journeys of Trauma, Healing, and Forgiveness explores truth telling and story as avenues out of trauma and into healing and empowerment. We come up against the question of forgiveness when facing trauma, engaging in healing, becoming empowered, and developing a language to articulate painful life experiences. What is forgiveness (and what is forgiveness not)? Is forgiveness necessary? And are there limits to forgiveness? Each session will incorporate the Restorative Practice of creating a sacred container of safety and courage through opening and closing rituals (a moment of silence/sharing of a quote, poem, or song, followed by a check-in/-out question). In between classes, there is an (optional) invitation to journal, and access resources or readings.
Everyone sees forgiveness differently, in different contexts, and with different foundational experiences. The environment we will be co-creating is a space of growth and healing—academically, personally, and professionally. Engaging in this course can help prepare participants for the next phase of their life journeys. Facilitators are not the ultimate authority on trauma, forgiveness, or healing, but will guide the discussion as we learn and grow together in community. We will address difficult topics that may not initially feel good, but will end up being like new growth in springtime.
Freedom & Captivity is a collaborative, community based, collective effort to envision alternative ways to address harm other than incarceration. Our collective has curated three community courses taught on Zoom by trained incarcerated facilitators. This is an innovative effort to create community across prison walls.There is no fee, and the facilitators are all compensated by the grant that funded this project.