Relational Forms, 155.903
Anousheh Kehar
The course (ABOLITIONARY) MOTIFS introduces the understanding of abolition as “presence,” that is, as practices of reimagining and remaking worlds in which life is centered.
Inspired by abolitionist scholar Mariame Kaba’s question “What can we imagine for ourselves and the world?”, the course encourages reflection on the socio-spatial surroundings to identify patterns that enable life. Starting by becoming familiar with a framework of study “for life to flourish,” we will search for liberatory elements and configurations within collective knowledge. These can be from any aspects of the socio-environment—ranging in scale, theme, and objectives and based on transforming relations for people, plants, and animals. With these, we will collectively develop potential motifs that are thought of as recurring ideas forming compositions in varying formats.