Integrating Mindfulness into Anti-Oppression Pedagogy

Beth Berila is the Director of the Gender & Women’s Studies Program and Professor in the Ethnic, Gender, and Women’s Studies Department at St. Cloud State University, USA.

"In this exciting new edition, Beth Berila revisits the original ground-breaking book with the latest in the field about trauma-sensitive mindfulness, somatics of oppression and white supremacy, and a focus on healing and anti-pathologizing perspectives. New chapters and updated material highlight embodiment and somatics, integrating the body in nuanced ways into the work of social justice education. Berila puts forth a must-read that is eloquent, accessible, and simply necessary in efforts to decolonize and bring equity to educational practice."-Kathryn McIntosh, Associate Professor, Oregon State University, Author of Mindfulness in Multicultural Education: Critical Race Feminist Perspectives "This second edition offers an updated and still timely exploration of the intersection between mindfulness, social justice, and education. One of the book's greatest strengths is its emphasis on the role of embodiment in social justice education. The author highlights the importance of somatic awareness and explores how it can help us develop a deeper connection with our bodies, allowing for a more holistic understanding of our shared work in transforming oppressive social systems." -Rae Johnson, PhD, author of Embodied Social Justice and Embodied Activism"Integrating Mindfulness into Anti-Oppression Pedagogy is essential reading for anybody involved in educating others about oppression, or in anti-oppressive ways. Throughout the book Berila makes a compelling argument that we are unlikely to see real change unless we provide people with the tools to stay with - and process - the feelings that engaging with these subjects brings up - both in the areas where we are oppressed and the areas where we hold privilege. The second edition introduces an invaluable range of somatic, trauma-informed, consensual and shame-sensitive practices, exploring how we might weave them into our teaching. It is my dear hope that this book will be read beyond the college professionals who are its primary readership, by those who train practitioners, and who work in organisational, political, and activist contexts, for example. We urgently need to attend to the process of how we engage people in this vital material, as much as the content of what we cover." -Meg-John Barker, author of Queer: A Graphic History and Life Isn't Binary

• Acknowledgements  Preface  Chapter 1: Mindful Anti-Oppression Pedagogy  Chapter 2: Reconnecting with Our Full Being   Chapter 3: Oppression, Trauma, and Embodied Healing  Chapter 4: Dismantling Privilege: An Embodied (Un)Learning  Chapter 5: Supporting Embodied Transformation  Chapter 6: Critiques and Challenges of Mindful Anti-Oppression Pedagogy  Chapter 7: Co-Creating Better Worlds