Our identities are an inheritance, a rooting, a movement, and an emergence.

"We never quite know who we are... because we are always making and re-making ourselves...but we know some of our inheritances." ~ M. Jacquie Alexander

In this course, we look at the ways that identity labels can both help and hinder our explorations of the dynamic multiplicity within our own being. We examine the kinds of rigid stories that are written onto our own flesh by systems and relations of power. We consider the un-languaged stories written into our cells and memories in our ancestral connections. And we ask how our interconnection with one another requires we know ourselves-as-in-becoming-beings.

Along the way, we critique how racial hierarchies, patriarchy, antisemitism, and ethno-nationalisms force us into binaries of identity and seek to rupture our inter-dependent relationships with one another. As we do this deeper, expansive identity work, we come to realize a fuller vision for coalition-based social movements that sees difference within and across identities as a strength, not a hindrance, to collective liberation.

The Journey of the Course

*Bulk pricing for Feminist Leadership Training for organizations or *$1997 as part of The Mentor-Scholar Program for private study with Dr. George.

  • 17 scholarly audio lectures (6.5 hours total, 20–40 minutes each) distill concepts from key texts of intersectional feminist and queer theory, guiding you in the historical contexts, the current scholarly debates, and the contemporary applications of intersectional theory.

  • Audio lectures empower your readings of the landmark writings of Adrienne Rich, Ella Shohat, Kimberlé Crenshaw, Jasbir Puar, AnaLouise Keating, Brittney Cooper, Barbara Smith, Trinh T. Minh-ha, Minnie Bruce Pratt, Leila Ahmed, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Daniel Boyarin, among other scholars.

  • A 75-Page Contemplative Writing Journal guides the personal identity exploration of this course, integrating the theory into trauma-informed creative learning.

  • The self-study curriculum is paired with Mentor-Scholar trainings with Dr. George. Mentees receive customized support for their study, either in a 1:1 or small group format, from November-June.

Who would benefit from this learning?

This course is for anyone, of all genders, who is in a position of educational leadership that would be supported by a grounding in intersectional feminist studies across many fields. Those wanting tools for engaging intersections of patriarchy, racism, and antisemitism will especially benefit.

It is a path of study for those who believe that challenging assumed binaries and either/or thinking helps us move toward a fuller sense of who we are, a better understanding of complex histories, and a greater connection with one another.

The course is for those who want to connect the inner work of integration to the outer work of collective change and healing. The path of that healing takes courage, as we will be tending to the pieces of ourselves sliced, fragmented, and fractured by dominant, binary systems. The journey of the course also unleashes creativity, helping us trust our creative process within learning as a source of transformation, love, and vision.

The Offerings

  • Learn the original scholarship on intersectionality—as well as the debates within Women's Studies on how to apply the methodology.

  • Support your understanding on intersectionality with texts on identity from diverse lineages—including Black, Chicanx/Latinx, postcolonial, Jewish and Arab feminisms.

  • Understand how to analyze both racism and structural antisemitism through studying how feminist foremothers worked to dismantle all oppression.

  • Gain an in-depth toolkit for teaching on race, gender, sexuality, class, religion, and colonialism in a way that foregrounds how feminist foremothers built coalitions across identities.

  • Be guided in a process that nurtures your creativity through contemplative writing practices on identity and ancestral knowledge.

FAQ

  • Tell me about all the reading!

    This IS a reading-based, grad-level experience of encountering an inspiring body of work in feminist/queer Black studies, ethnic studies, and Jewish cultural studies histories. When possible the course lectures always link to free resources (such as talks by scholars) in case you cannot access or purchase the books, or in case you need another way to learn the material that fits into the nooks of a busy life. That being said, we teach you contemplative practices to enjoy your reading as a transformational, soul-nourishing encounter with feminist and queer traditions we consider quite sacred.

  • Do I need to be able to access a university research base?

    University library access helps for reading a handful of the articles in this course. That said, it is not absolutely required. JSTOR also has a free service this year to support access to scholarly articles, and you can still get a lot from this course without being able to access the handful of articles behind a university paywall.

  • What is the course tuition?

    The core self-study curriculum for 1-year of access is $1997. For the live training components, rates vary for trainings, depending on whether the Mentorship is 1:1 support or done in a small group or cohort.

  • What is your scholarship policy?

    Sliding scale tuition is offered for historically marginalized institutions.

  • Who can register for this course?

    This course is offered within The Mentor-Scholar Program for individuals or Feminist Leadership Training for Organizations.

What is it like to learn intersectional feminist scholarship?

  • Ryan Aiello, High School Principal

    "Kimberly's work continues to resonate and impact our institution today-- more than three years after her visit. Her knowledge of the material is surpassed only by her ability to seamlessly connect with faculty and staff of all different experience levels, making the content readily accessible no matter one's background. In turn, the PD experience extends far beyond the course or training itself, as teachers develop a robust toolkit that they can then share within their departments, divisions, and courses. Our school is forever grateful for her invaluable contributions to our continued evolution and growth in the areas of equity and inclusion."

  • Ellen McCormick, High School Religious Studies Teacher

    "I feel invigorated, excited, creative, challenged, grateful, inspired, and truly at home in my career. And when I reflect on why that it is, it is in large part because of you! Your Intersectionality class came at the most important time in my life - a time when the biggest changes of my adult life were upon me... The last two school years I spent learning from and with you about my place in the world, the language to describe my world, and the knowledge I needed to begin to make sense of my surroundings, education/beliefs, and experiences continues to bring me such richness and abundance in my classroom."

  • Amber Johnson, Dean of Students

    "Clarity and connectedness is what I have gained through taking Kimberly’s intersectionality classes. I have spent a good deal of my life piecing together a fragmented history, and relying on my intuition and meditative knowing to guide me. I am so blessed for Kimberly’s intelligent and thoughtful guidance, she applies her teachings with compassion, warmth and honesty, unjudging and transparent…Kimberly is truly in her element. She is more than a teacher, she is family, a friend, a sister."

Why take a feminist theory course on identity?

Many people now know the term "intersectionality." It is a transformational theory of identity from Black feminism. But what most people don't know is that it is also a theory of power and building coalitions, and it was produced in the context of many diverse feminist lineages on identity, power, and movement work.

Feminist foremothers in the 1970s and 1980s had to create this in-depth knowledge. They were organizing social movements on behalf of "women"—but "women" is one of the most layered, diverse words imaginable. 

There is no one woman's experiences.

There are women of many different experiences: women of cis and trans experience; women who colonize and who are colonized; women who own other people's labor and those whose labor is owned by them; women who benefit from whiteness and women who are targeted by racism; women who are targeted by antisemitism but still benefit from whiteness within the racial hierarchies of colonial histories, etc.

And thus, even as feminist foremothers organized for women's rights, they had to come into rich, spacious understanding of layered identity and difference— in order to practice a feminism of collective liberation.

Explore Our Curriculum