Knowledge Exchange: The Commodification of Self-Care
Are Face-Masks Helping Us or Just Hurting Our Wallets?
Location
The Commons : Women's Center
Date & Time
February 21, 2019, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Description
Face-Masks, 10-Step Skin Care Routines, Netflix. What do all of these "self-care" outlets have in common? Is self-care purely self-indulgent or is it a form of resistance?
This Knowledge Exchange explores the exploitative nature of the self-care market, particularly towards women. It explores how self-care has been repackaged in the form of products, redirecting self-care from inner growth & wellness to focusing on outer beauty. We explore the importance of self-care in marginalized & activist communities.
What is a knowledge exchange?
A knowledge exchange is a way for folks from various disciplines, life experiences, and perspectives to come together and share in an equitable dialogue. This is a way for the UMBC community to work as learning collaborators, and learn from each other.
Inspired by the tenets of radical pedagogy that are outlined by scholars such as Paulo Freire and bell hooks, we at the Women’s Center want to create space for learning that blurs the power dynamics of a typical teacher-student relationship and posits, instead, a team of “co-investigators.” We envision an opportunity for professors, students, staff, community members, etc. to all come together to learn from each other and work out problems using their unique knowledge bases.
In our knowledge exchanges we aim to do several things:
- Create a network of lifelong learners and curious co-investigators among all aspects of the UMBC community
- Collaborate on dynamic solutions to complex, multi-faceted problems
- Have fun! No really. A big goal with these knowledge exchanges is to build relationships across campus and make friends with the folks that are gathered together
