Events and Workshops Winter Semester 24/25

Diversitäts- und Antidiskriminierungsbüro der UdK Berlin — 16.10.2024

Dear members of the UdK Berlin,

Once again this semester, we cordially invite you to take part in a wide range of workshops and events on the topics of anti-racism and diversity. Thanks to our cooperation with the International Office, we are offering exciting city tours that will open up new perspectives on Berlin for both international students and all other members of the university.

In addition to events on anti-discrimination and empowerment, a special series of workshops on neurodivergence and neuroqueerness awaits you. There will also be interesting lectures.

Drop by – we look forward to welcoming you in large numbers!

As places are limited, the events are primarily aimed at students. However, some places will also be reserved for employees. Participation in the workshops is only possible after prior registration, and places will be allocated according to the number of registrations received.

Registration for the events at: dib002@intra.udk-berlin.de

City Tours

City tour: Critical museum tour in and around the Humboldt Forum
Date: 19 October from 14:00 to 16:00
Meeting point: The reconstructed Sanchi Gate on Schlossplatz
Language: English

Note: Be at the meeting point 15 minutes before the start of the tour.
The tour also takes place in case of rain; bring an umbrella if necessary.

Content: Discover the fascinating history of the Berlin Palace in a whole new way with our Decolonial Tour! Immerse yourself in history and learn more about the colonial history that is often overlooked or suppressed. Gain new insights into the impact of colonialism on our society today and be inspired by the diversity of perspectives.

Facilitator:Dekoloniale Stadtführung

City tour: Black & Queer Feminism in Berlin
Date: 20 October from 14:00 to 16:00
Meeting point: Königskolonnaden in Heinrich von Kleist Park in Schöneberg
Language: English

Note: Be at the meeting point 15 minutes before the start of the tour.
The tour also takes place in case of rain; bring an umbrella if necessary.

Content: Come on a transformative journey through the inspiring legacy of Black and Queer feminists in Germany, the US and the African continent. Let’s explore and understand Intersectional Feminism together to promote inclusion and break down barriers. Our guided tours also delve into the exciting biographies of activists such as May Ayim, Audre Lorde and Ika Hügel- Marshall. They were Afro-German visionaries who had a lasting impact on the human rights movement in Germany.

Facilitator: Dekoloniale Stadtführung

City tour: What moves the world? – Kreuzberg stories of migration, flight and resistance
Date: 27 October from 14:00 to 16:00
Meeting point: Baumhaus an der Mauer, Mariannenplatz, 10997 Berlin
Language: English

Note: Be at the meeting point 15 minutes before the start of the tour.
The tour also takes place in the rain; bring an umbrella if necessary.

Content: Different people have come to Kreuzberg from the Global South in the past. They have helped to shape Kreuzberg through self-organisation, founded associations, occupied spaces and fought for participation. In this way, they have become an important part of Kreuzberg. Their work has made Kreuzberg what it is and left its mark on the urban space. In an interactive tour, we follow the traces and thus Kreuzberg’s links with the world. We will discuss what effects they have on our lives and actions in the present.

Facilitator:Grenzgänge Berlin

City tour: Feminist struggles in Neukölln, yesterday and today
Date: 2 November from 14:00 to 16:00
Meeting point: Entrance to Volkspark Hasenheide (Hasenheide 101, next to the Sri-Ganesha-Hindu-Temple).
Language: English / German

Note: Be at the meeting point 15 minutes before the start of the tour.
The tour also takes place in the rain; bring an umbrella if necessary.

Content: Which history(ies) and which people are represented in the urban space? Who do we think of when we think of feminist struggles? And from which perspective is history told? What do we find when we scrutinise dominant narratives? Self-organisation, fought-for street names and actions characterise the streets of Neukölln. In this tour, we trace these feminist struggles and their representatives and connect the past with the present.

The tour was created as part of the project Frauen* bewegen Stadt global and was funded by the State Centre for Political Education. It was updated in summer 2023.

Facilitator:Grenzgänge Berlin

Workshop series Neurodivergent and Queer Body-Minds at the UdK

Introductory workshop: Neurodivergence and neuroqueerness
Date: 30. October from 16.00 to 17.30 ONLINE
Language: German

Content: The digital input provides a brief insight into current perspectives on neurodivergence and neuroqueerness and clarifies the most important terms. The focus is on how norm constructions are structured and how we can unlearn these perspectives. In addition, discourses from the neurodivergent community on invisibilities, challenges and potentials will be outlined. This will be followed by a short discussion.

Workshop facilitator: Lovis Diedering (B.A. Theatre Studies and Social and Cultural Anthropology as well as B.A. Social Work) currently works as a social worker in online crisis counselling and as an educational speaker for Autism & Queerness. Lovis Diedering is scientifically and politically engaged with the intersection of autism & queerness, queerfeminist discourses, queer constructions of norms and ableism. Previously, Lovis Diedering worked in theatre pedagogical empowerment formats, diversity training and queer online counselling.

Empowerment Workshop: Neurodivergent at the UdK
Date and place: 31. October from 16.00 to 19.00. Room 4, Hardenbergstraße 33, 10623 Berlin
Language: German

Content: This workshop is aimed at students at the UdK who are neurodivergent or are considering whether they could be neurodivergent (self-diagnosis is sufficient). With the help of theatre pedagogical methods and methods of biographical writing, we will approach norms that you encounter, especially at the UdK, and create space for your thoughts and feelings about them. We will then look at what strengthens you. Alone for you, in joint solidarity and/or within the structures of the UdK. You decide what you want to focus on. Come in clothes you feel comfortable in, tested negative for corona and only without cold symptoms. We will decide together at the beginning when we will wear masks if necessary (masks will be provided). You will receive more detailed information about the programme about a week before the workshop.

Speaker: Lovis Diedering (B.A. Theatre Studies and Social and Cultural Anthropology as well as B.A. Social Work) currently works as a social worker in online crisis counselling and as an educational speaker for Autism & Queerness. Lovis Diedering is scientifically and politically concerned with the intersection of autism and queerness, queerfeminist discourses, queer constructions of norms and ableism. Previously, Lovis Diedering worked in theatre pedagogical empowerment formats, diversity training and queer online counselling.

Awareness Workshop: Neuroqueer
Date and location: 8 November from 16:00 to 19:00. Room 201, Hardenbergstraße 33, 10623 Berlin
Language: German and English

Content: Neuroqueerness gives a name to the intersection of queerness and neurodivergence. Neuroqueerness approaches replace expectations of neuro-, cis- and heteronormativity and offer self-empowering approaches. In the university and community context, they offer important tools for creating spaces of diversity. In this workshop, we will share tools and experiences and work together on how we could apply neuroqueer strategies. We will look at neurodiversity through queer perspectives and positions from disablity studies and the disability justice movement.

Event facilitator: As a trans*non-binary and autistic bodymind, lotti Seebeck is interested in neuroqueer and inclusive artistic practices and has investigated neuroqueerness through performative strategies as a master’s thesis in art in context.

Workshop: Empowering writing for queer people
Date and location: 25. November from 14:00 to 17:00. Aula Raum 201 Hardenbergstraße 33, 10623
Language: English and German

Content: Discover your creative voice in a queer safe space. In this writing workshop, you will process your experiences and emotions through creative writing – and celebrate your queer joy! Whether it’s a short story, a poem or something completely original – here you can try your hand at expressing your queer identity artistically. No previous knowledge is necessary. Write in the language that suits you best and (voluntarily) share your texts in a respectful, empowering group. Intersectionally queer people (BIPOC, with disabilities, Muslim, Jewish, neurodivergent, fat_fat …) are very welcome. Your stories have a place here!

Speaker: Alex Gastel (they/them) is an author and diversity trainer. As a trans*, non-binary and polyamorous person, Alex brings personal perspectives to workshops that create space for diversity and intersectional stories. Her texts have been published in various literary magazines and anthologies.
Instagram: @empowerndes_schreiben

Anti-Discrimination and Empowerment Workshops

Theatre workshop: ‘Body and Territory’ for BPoC and LGBTQIAPN+* people
Date and location: 29. October from 17:00 to 20:00. Room 151, Hardenbergstr. 33, 10623 Berlin
Language: English

Content: The theatre workshop is based on the methodology of the Theatre of the Oppressed, inspired by Bárbara Santos and the ideas of Lorena Cabnal, founder of Community Feminism. It provides a safe space for people of all backgrounds to explore themes of self-love, self-care and sisterhood. Through theatre techniques, including Theatre of the Oppressed, experiences are shared and pathways to social and political change are explored.

A central theme is the connection between the body, territory and self-care. The body is understood as a site of resistance and rebellion, imbued with Cabnal’s words: ‘Bodies are the place where the effects of oppression are felt, but also where the energy of emancipation is rooted.’ The workshop will focus on ethics, solidarity and the exploration of self-care, particularly in relation to the Global South. Participants will be invited to discover new ways of solidarity and reflect on the connection between body and mind as well as social and ecological movements from a global perspective.

Workshop leader: Uriara Maciel was born in Bahia, Brazil, and currently lives in Berlin. She works as an actress and theatre maker with a focus on decolonial and feminist themes. She worked in the Theatre of the Oppressed with Augusto Boal (2006-2009) and since 2007 with Bárbara Santos. In 2017, she directed ‘Preta, Preta, Preta’. She is also committed to the LGBTTQI+ community and develops joint projects in Brazil and Europe. The film ‘Ash Wednesday’, in which she plays the lead role, premiered at the Berlinale in February 2023. She staged the plays ‘TV Las Estrelladas’ (2017) and ‘A not very human story’ (2019) for the collective Kakalaques. She works freelance for Ballhaus Naunynstraße, Kuringa Berlin and other directors.

Workshop: Visual Poetry, Visual Essay – Undocumented, Unlearning, Unrelated
Date and location: 6. November from 16:00 to 18:30. Room 16, Grunewaldstraße 2-5, 10823 Berlin
Language: English
Content: The workshop ‘Visual Poetry, Visual Essay: Undocumented, Unlearning, Unrelated’ offers a space to write poems and essays. It creates a political environment in which participants explore practices of documentation and question how the process changes what is documented and what influence authorship has. The participants collect (un)forgettable (micro)stories and personal experiences. In the first part, the speakers will present their experiences with collectivity as a living archive, followed by contributions from Hyejeong Yun on visual essays and Yan Lin on her artistic practices.

In the second part, participants will write or ‘(un)write’ a letter, followed by a writing game on [(DIS)CONNECTION]. ‘Unlearning’ refers to Ariella Aisha Azoulay’s “Unlearning Imperialism”.

Organised by: Yan Lin and Hyejeong Yun from the Asian Feminist Studio for Art and Research. The Asian Feminist Studio for Art and Research (AFSAR) is a space for archiving contemporary feminist discourse and artistic research. Within AFSAR, SiSalon (Poetry Salon) is a sub-group focussing on collective research in these areas. Through our vibrant online platform, practitioners from different disciplines and fields come together across geographical boundaries to immerse themselves in the art of ‘poetry-making’. This platform is our (non-)virtual community where we come together and share our passion for poetry.

Online workshop: Allyship! Solidarity against racism!
Date: 7 November from 17:00 to 20:00 ONLINE
Who should take part?: This workshop is aimed at white students and employees of the UdK Berlin.
Language: German

Content: This online workshop deals with how members of the white majority society can engage as allies against racism.

These questions will be addressed:
What does it mean to be an Ally?
How do I become an Ally?
Why do I want to be an Ally?
How do I speak and act in the context of racism?
What role does my white identity play in my commitment against racism?

Speakers: Aşkın-Hayat Doğan (he/she) was born in Berlin in 1980 and spent most of his/her childhood in Ankara and Istanbul. He later studied Turkology and Islamic Studies at the Free University of Berlin and works as a diversity and empowerment trainer, sensitivity reader, Turkish-German translator, author and editor.

Rita Zobel (she/her) studied Japanese Studies at the Free University of Berlin. In addition to her research work at the Berlin Social Science Centre, she completed her doctorate in economics at the Humboldt University of Berlin. She has been involved in working with refugees since 2016 and is active as a facilitator and diversity trainer.

Workshop series: ‘Understanding, recognising and naming Anti-Semitism’ and ‘Anti-Semitism in art and culture’
Date and location: 13 November from 14:00 to 18:00. Room 110, Hardenbergstraße 33,10623 Berlin
Language: German

Date and location: 20 November from 14:00 to 18:00. Room 215, Mierendorffstr.30, 10589 Berlin
Language: German

Note: The basic workshop ‘Understanding, recognising and naming Anti-Semitism’ and the workshop ‘Anti-Semitism in art and culture’ build on each other and must be attended together.

Content: Basic workshop: Today’s forms of anti-Semitism often express themselves in a roundabout way: in statements that distort history, in hatred of Israel, in criticism of elites and capitalism or conspiracy theories. Social media and popular culture also play a key role in spreading resentment and stereotypes. It is not always easy to recognise the anti-Semitic core of statements, posts or images. At the same time, debates about which phenomena constitute anti-Semitism are sparked time and again. This is particularly true when dealing with Israel. The question of what is criticism and what is the application of anti-Semitic narratives to the Jewish state is not only regularly debated in Germany. During the workshop, the various current manifestations of anti-Semitism and approaches to defining the phenomenon will be presented. It will also look at the historical development of anti-Semitism and highlight anti-Semitic codes and images in current debates. By working with specific examples, participants will learn to recognise and adequately classify anti-Semitic images and narratives: How do I recognise statements that contain an anti-Semitic core but use a form of ‘diversions communication’, for example? What forms of reformulation of traditional anti-Semitic narratives are there?

Advanced workshop: The interactive workshop offers opportunities for exchange and raises awareness for recognising different forms, characteristics and functions of anti-Semitism. The aim is to develop a self-reflective attitude, to understand the function of anti-Semitism and to take the perspectives of those affected seriously. Participants will be given an overview of the debates on anti-Semitism in the cultural scene. Building on this, a space for exchange will be offered for perspectives for action in the field of art and culture in dealing with anti-Semitism and racism.

Event management: Bildungsstätte Anne Frank

Lectures

Lecture: Art in the #MustFall movements – an African queer perspective
Date and location: 22 November from 10:00 to 12:30.
Language: English

Content: The talk draws on notions of queer heritage-making that argue for the position of diverse and dynamic creative endeavours that destabilise exhibition spaces and cultural space. Inspired by artistic interventions on university campuses in South Africa during the #RhodesMustFall movement and its aftermath, zethu Matebeni and Yvette Mutumba will discuss the possibilities of queer decolonisation efforts within the African landscape. The presentation positions queer art as a necessary caesura of the colonial gaze and offers possibilities for freedom and justice.

Event Management: Prof Dr zethu Matebeni is a professor and member of the National Research Foundation (NRF) South Africa Research Chair in Sexualities, Gender and Queer Studies at the University of Fort Hare. Matebeni is a driving force in African queer studies, which focuses on the intersections of ethnicity, class, gender diversity and sexuality in postcolonial Africa. In collaboration with activists, scholars and artists, she has conducted innovative research and interventions on queer issues, critical ethnicities and decolonisation and has been involved in the #RhodesMustFall movement and #AlternativeInclusivePride, among others. Matebeni’s notable works include the volumes she co-edited ‘Queer in Africa: LGBTQI Identities, Citizenship, and Activism’ (2018), and ‘Beyond the Mountain: Queer Life in “Africa’s Gay Capital”’ (2020).

Dr Yvette Mutumba is co-founder and artistic director of the Contemporary And (C&) platform. Since 2020 she has been curator-at-large at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, was part of the curatorial team of the 10th Berlin Biennale (2018) and visiting professor for Global Discourses at the Academy of Media Arts, Cologne (2017-2018). From 2012 to 2016, she worked as a curator at the Weltkulturen Museum in Frankfurt am Main. Here she co-curated the exhibitions ‘Ware & Wissen – or the stories you wouldn’t tell a stranger’, ‘El Hadji Sy: Paintings, Performance, Politics’ and ‘A Labour of Love’. The latter was nominated for the Global Fine Arts Award. Mutumba studied art history at the Free University of Berlin and completed her doctorate at Birkbeck, University of London. In 2020, she and Julia Grosse were honoured with the ‘European Cultural Manager of the Year’ award.

Installation and panel discussion: Muslim interventions in art
Date and location: 15 January from 17:00 to 20:00. Room 102, Hardenbergstr. 33, 10623 Berlin
Language: English

Content: More information to follow.

Speakers: Ozan Zakariya Keskinkılıç ist Politikwissenschaftler, freier Autor und Lyriker. Er studierte in Wien, Berlin und Cambridge und lehrt und forscht an Berliner Hochschulen u. a. zu (antimuslimischem) Rassismus, Antisemitismus, Orientalismus sowie zu Erinnerung und widerständiger Kunst- und Kulturproduktion. 2024 wurde er als Mitglied in die Berliner Expert:innenkommission gegen antimuslimischen Rassismus berufen. Im vergangenen Jahr erschien sein vielbeachtetes Buch „Muslimaniac. Die Karriere eines Feindbildes“ in einer Neuauflage im Verbrecher Verlag. Neben wissenschaftlichen Texten schreibt Keskinkılıç Kolumnen, Essays, Prosa, Hörstücke und Lyrik. Seine Gedichte werden in diversen Literaturzeitschriften und Anthologien veröffentlicht und in verschiedene Sprachen übersetzt, u.a. Englisch, Italienisch und Kasachisch. 2022 erschien sein Lyrikdebüt „Prinzenbad” im ELIF Verlag. Seine lyrischen Arbeiten wurden als Teil multimedialer Kunstausstellungen im Grassi Museum Leipzig, in der Literaturpassage Wien und zuletzt in der ACUD Galerie in Berlin präsentiert. 2024 wurde er für den Heidelberger Clemens-Brentano Preis und den Dresdner Lyrikpreis nominiert.

Anja Saleh ist eine interdisziplinäre Künstlerin und Dichterin und Autorin von „Soon, The Future Of Memory“, ihrem ersten abendfüllenden Gedichtband, der im Juni 2021 bei Edition Assemblage in Deutschland erscheint. Anja Saleh, die Politik- und Sozialwissenschaften studiert hat, beschäftigt sich in ihrer Forschung und Kunst mit Kunsthandwerk, Erinnerung und Zukunftsstudien. 2018 gründete Anja Saleh das TAVII Studio, ein kulturelles Projekt und ein Fair-Trade-Schmuckgeschäft, das in Zusammenarbeit mit Kunsthandwerkern in Kairo, Ägypten, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso und Berlin, Deutschland, echte Handwerkskunst in den Mittelpunkt stellt.

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Ableism

Adultism

General Equal Treatment Act

Antisemitism

Accessibility

Harassment

Gender Binary

Sex

Cisgender

Dominance Culture

Prison-Industrial Complex

Gender-Expansive

Gender

Gender Transition

Gender Expression

Gender Dysphoria

Gender Identity

Heteronormativity

Hormone Therapy

Institutional Discrimination

Inter*

Intergenerational Trauma

Intersectionality

Islamophobia

Classism

Colonialism

Culturally Argued Racism

Cultural Appropriation

Marginalization

Microaggression

Misogyny

Neurodiversity

Nonbinary

Patriarchy

Pronouns

Racism

Sex-Gender-Difference

Sexism

Sexual Orientation

Social Origin

Social Norm

Socioeconomic Status

Structural Discrimination

Tokenism

White Supremacy

Whiteness

Xenophobia

Abolition

Accountability

Ageism

Agender

BIPoC

Colorism

Critical Diversity Policy (UdK)

Deadnaming

Doing Gender

Misogynoir

Queer

Safer Space

Social Justice

Trans*

Ende

Ableism

Ableism is the discrimination of and social prejudice against people with differing physical and mental abilities and needs. It typically involves a negative assessment of a person’s body and mind due to skills and abilities, based on a supposed biological (physical and/or mental) norm of what an able-bodied, neurotypical person should be. Ableism can intersect with other forms of oppression such as racism and sexism. 

Adultism

Adultism is the discrimination found in everyday life and law based on unequal power relationships between adults, on the one hand, and children, adolescents, and young people on the other. 

General Equal Treatment Act

The General Equal Treatment Act (AGG), enforced since 2006, is the uniform central body of regulations in Germany for the implementation of four European anti-discrimination directives. For the first time, a law was created in Germany that comprehensively regulates protection against discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnicity, gender identification, religion or belief, ability, age, or sexual orientation.

Antisemitism

Antisemitism is a belief system based on hatred/hostility towards or discrimination against Jewish people as a religious or racial group, Jewish institutions or anyone/anything that is perceived Jewish. Antisemitism varies over time and between cultures, with antisemitism intensifying in different historical moments.   

Accessibility

Accessibility names the extent to which a product, service, or environment can be used and accessed by as many people as possible. Inclusive accessibility therefore assesses the needs and desires of all possible people—including those who are neurodivergent or who have varying abilities—and incorporates these into its design and function. Changes to enable those with different abilities to have equal opportunity and participation are often referred to as accommodations.  

Harassment

Harassment is undesired and non-consensual conduct that violates the dignity of another person. Harassment can often create intimidating, hostile, humiliating, or offensive environments, and can be based on someone’s sexual orientation, religion, national origin, disability, age, race, gender, and more. Harassment can take a variety of forms, including verbal, physical, and/or sexual. 

Gender Binary

The gender binary is the classification of gender into two distinct and opposite categories of man/masculine and woman/feminine. This belief system assumes that one’s sex or gender assigned at birth will align with traditional social constructions of masculine and feminine identity, expression, and sexuality. Assignment beyond the gender binary is typically viewed as a deviation of the norm. 

Sex

Sex refers to a person’s biological status and is typically assigned at birth, usually based on external anatomy. Sex is typically categorized as male, female, or intersex. 

Cisgender

Cisgender, or simply cis, refers to people who identify with the gender assigned to them at birth. Cis comes from the Latin prefix which means “on this side of.” 

Dominance Culture

This concept, according to Birgit Rommelspacher, assumes that there is a system of hierarchies, rule and power in which the various racist, sexist, classist, and other forms of governance intertwine. In this interconnectedness, a dominant group maintains power, which is socially negotiated again and again. In a given society, the dominant group achieves their role by being perceived as pertaining to a majority of the population and having a significant presence in societal institutions. 

Prison-Industrial Complex

The prison-industrial complex (PIC) is a term that describes the complex and interrelated dependencies between a government and the various businesses and institutions that benefit from practices of incarceration (such as prisons, jails, detention facilities, and psychiatric hospitals). Based on the term “military-industrial complex,” PIC urges a more comprehensive analysis of how imprisonment is used in a society, noting all the interest groups that prioritize financial gain over keeping people out of prisons. 

Gender-Expansive

Gender-expansive is an adjective that can describe someone with a more flexible and fluid gender identity than might be associated with the typical gender binary. 

Gender

Gender is often defined as a social construct of norms, behaviors, and roles that vary between societies and over time. Gender is often categorized as male, female, or nonbinary. 

Gender Transition

Gender transition is a process a person might take to bring themselves and/or their bodies into alignment with their gender identity. This process is not a singular step nor does it have a definite end. Rather, it can include any, none, or all of the following: telling one’s family and social circles; changing one’s name and pronouns; updating legal documents; medical interventions such as hormone therapy; or surgical intervention, often called gender confirmation surgery. 

Gender Expression

Gender expression is how a person presents gender outwardly, most typically signalled through clothing, voice, behavior, and other perceived characteristics. Society identifies these cues and performances as masculine or feminine, although what is considered masculine or feminine varies over time and between cultures.  

Gender Dysphoria

Gender dysphoria refers to psychological distress that results from the incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity. People of all genders may experience dysphoria at varying levels of intensity, or not at all. 

Gender Identity

Gender identity is one’s own internal sense of self and their gender. Unlike gender expression, gender identity is not externally visible to others. 

Heteronormativity

Heteronormativity is the concept that heterosexuality—romantic and/or sexual attraction between people of the “opposite” gender—is the normative or acceptable sexual orientation in a society. Heteronormativity assumes the gender binary, and therefore involves a belief in the alignment between sexuality, gender identity, gender roles, and biological sex. As a dominant social norm, heteronormativity results in discrimination and oppression against those who do not identify as heterosexual.   

Hormone Therapy

Hormone therapy, sometimes called gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) or hormone replacement therapy (HRT), is the process by which sex hormones or other hormonal medications are administered. These hormone changes can trigger physical changes, called secondary sex characteristics, that can help better align the body with a person’s gender identity.

Institutional Discrimination

Institutional discrimination refers to prejudiced organizational policies and practices within institutions – such as universities, workplaces, and more – such that an individual or groups of individuals who are marginalized are unequally considered and have unequal rights. 

Inter*

Inter*, or intersex, is an umbrella term that can describe people who have differences in reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, or hormones that do not fit typical definitions of male and female. The asterisks (*) emphasizes the plurality of intersex realities and physicalities. 

Intergenerational Trauma

Intergenerational trauma refers to the trauma that is passed from a trauma survivor to their descendent. Due to violent and terrifying events—such as war, ethnic cleansing, political conflict, environmental catastrophe, and more—experienced by previous generations, descendants may experience adverse emotional, physical, and psychological effects. As the original sources of trauma are structured by forms of discrimination such as race and gender, intergenerational trauma also occurs along intersectional axes of oppression. For example, Black communities have brought to light the intergenerational trauma of enslavement. 
Intergenerational trauma is sometimes called historical trauma, multi- or transgenerational trauma, or secondary traumatization. 

Intersectionality

Intersectionality names the interconnected nature of systems of oppression and social categorizations such as race, gender, sexuality, migratory background, and class. Intersectionality emphasizes how individual forms of discrimination do not exist independently of each other, nor can they be considered and addressed independently. Rather, addressing oppression should take into account the cumulative and interconnected axes of multiple forms of discrimination. 

Islamophobia

Islamophobia is a belief system based on hatred/hostility towards or discrimination against Muslim people as a religious or racial group, muslim institutions or anyone/anything that is perceived Muslim. Islamophobia varies over time and between cultures, with Islamophobia intensifying in different historical moments.

Classism

Classism is a term that describes discrimination based on the belief that a person’s social or economic status determines their value in society. Classism, as a form of discrimination and stigmatization, is based on actual or assumed financial means, educational status, and social inclusion. “Inferior” classes in the hierarchy are problematised and stereotyped, and often receive unequal access and rights within society. 

Colonialism

Colonialism is the control and dominance of one power over a dependent area or people. In subjugating another people and land, colonialism entails violently conquering the population, often including mass displacement of people and the systematic exploitation of resources. Beyond material consequences, colonialism also includes processes of forcing the dominant power’s language and cultural values upon the subjugated people, thereby effecting cultural, psychological, and intergenerational trauma. 

Culturally Argued Racism

Culturally argued racism is directed against people based on their presumed cultural or religious background. This form of discrimination can occur regardless of whether they actually practice one culture or religion and how religious they are (e.g. anti-Muslim racism and anti-Semitism). 

Cultural Appropriation

Cultural appropriation is the act of taking on aspects of a marginalized culture by a person or an institution who is outside of that culture, without comprehensive understanding of the context and often lacking respect for the significance of the original. Cultural appropriation, when promoting negative cultural or racial stereotypes, reproduces harm. Acts of cultural appropriation can often reveal power dynamics within a society: for example, a white person who wears a marginalized culture’s traditional dress is praised as fashionable, while a racialized person could be isolated from the dominant group and marked as foreign.  

Marginalization

Marginalization describes any process of displacing minorities to the social fringe. As a rule, marginalised groups are presumed to not correspond to the norm-oriented majority of society and are severely restricted in their ability to behave freely, have equal material access, enjoy public safety, and more.  

Microaggression

Microaggression names individual comments or actions that unconsciously or consciously demonstrate prejudice and enact discrimination against members of marginalized groups. As small, common, and cumulative occurrences, microaggressions can comprise of insults, stereotypes, devaluation, and/or exclusion. Microaggressions often negatively affect the person on the receiving end, affecting their psychological and physical health and wellbeing. 

Misogyny

Misogyny is a term for sexist oppression and contempt for women that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thereby maintaining patriarchal social roles. Misogyny can indicate an attitude held by individuals and a widespread cultural system that often devalues anything perceived as feminine. Misogyny can overlap with other instances of oppression and hate—such as homophobia, trans*-misogyny, and racism. 

Neurodiversity

Neurodiversity is a term that describes the unique ways each person’s brain structures function. The basic assumption of what kind of brain functioning is healthy and acceptable within a norm-oriented majority society is called neurotypical. 

Nonbinary

Nonbinary is a term that can be used by persons who do not describe themselves or their genders as fitting into the binary categories of man or woman. A range of terms are used for these experiences, with nonbinary and genderqueer often used. 

Patriarchy

Patriarchy is a social system whereby cis men dominantly hold positions of privilege both in public and private spheres. In feminist theory, patriarchy can be used to describe the power relationship between genders that favors male dominance, as well as the ideology of male superiority that justifies and enacts oppression against women and all non-normative genders. 

Pronouns

Pronouns, or personal gender pronouns (PGPs), are the set of pronouns that an individual uses to refer to themselves and desires for others to use when referring to them. The list of pronouns is continuously evolving. An individual may have several sets of preferred pronouns, or none. The intention of both asking and using a person’s pronouns correctly is to reduce the negative societal effects for those whose personal pronouns don’t match with the gender identity that’s assumed by a cisnormative society. Using gender-neutral wording and terms to refer to groups of people (such as “folks,” instead of “guys”) are also inclusive steps that resist the gender binary and cis-normativity. 

Racism

Racism is the process by which systems, policies, actions, and attitudes create unequal opportunities and outcomes for people based on race. More than individual or institutional prejudice, racism occurs when this discrimination is accompanied by the power to limit or oppress the rights of people and/or groups. Racism varies over time and between cultures, with racism towards different groups intensifying in different historical moments.   

Sex-Gender-Difference

Sex-gender difference names the distinction between the concept of “sex” as a biological fact and the concept of “gender” as a product of cultural and social processes, such as socially constructed roles, behaviours, expressions and gendered identities.

Sexism

Sexism is the process by which systems, policies, actions, and attitudes create unequal opportunities and outcomes for people based on their attributed or supposed sex and the ideology underlying these phenomena. It is mostly used to name the power relations between dominant and marginalised genders within cisheteronormative patriarchal societies.

Sexual Orientation

Sexual orientation is the term that describes which sex or gender a person feels emotionally, physically, romantically and/or sexually attracted to.

Social Origin

Social origin describes the socio-cultural values and norms into which one is born, including factors such as environment, class, caste, education biography, and more. The values that accompany one’s social origin are constructed, but often have material impact that privileges or under-privileges certain groups and people. For example, someone whose social origin includes living in a Western country, inheriting intergenerational wealth, and having a consistently good education will increase their chances for a high-paying job as an adult. Their social origin must therefore be taken into account, rather than their inherent worthiness for such a job. 

Social Norm

A social norm is a shared belief in the standard of acceptable behaviour by groups, both informal as well as institutionalized into policy or law. Social norms differ over time and between cultures and societies. 

Socioeconomic Status

Socioeconomic status, usually described as low, medium, or high, is a way of describing people based on their education, income, and type of job. The values and norms assigned to each socioeconomic class are socially constructed but have material impact. 

Structural Discrimination

Structural discrimination refers to patterns of behaviour, policies, and attitudes found at the macro-level conditions of society. This discrimination of social groups is based on the nature of the structure of society as a whole. Structural discrimination is distinct from individual forms of discrimination (such as a single racist remark, which is a microaggression), though it often provides the contextual framework to understand why these individual instances occur. 

Tokenism

Tokenism is a superficial or symbolic gesture that includes minority members without significantly changing or addressing the structural discrimination of marginalization. Tokenism is a strategy intended to create the appearance of inclusion and to divert allegations of discrimination by requiring a single person to be representative of a minority. 

White Supremacy

White supremacy names the beliefs and practices that privilege white people as an inherently superior race, built on the exclusion and detriment of other racial and ethnic groups. It can refer to the interconnected social, economic, and political systems that enable white people to enjoy structural advantages over other racial groups both on a collective and individual level. It can also refer to the underlying political ideology that imposes and maintains multiple forms of domination by white people and non-white supporters, from justifying European colonialism to present-day neo-fascisms. 

Whiteness

Whiteness is a socially and politically constructed behaviour that perpetuates an ideology, culture, history, and economy that results in the unequal distribution of power and privilege favoring those socially deemed white. The material benefits of whiteness are gained at the expense of Black, Indigenous, and people of color, who are systematically denied equal access to those material benefits. 
On our blog, white is often written in small italics to mark it as a political category and emphasize the privileges of whiteness which are often not named as such, but rather taken for granted as the invisible norm. 

Xenophobia

Xenophobia names the hostility towards groups or individuals perceived as “outsiders” based on their culture. Xenophobic attitudes are often associated with hostile reception of immigrants or refugees who arrive in societies and communities that are not their homelands. Xenophobic discrimination can result in barriers to equally access socioeconomic opportunities, as well as ethnic, racial, or religious prejudice.

Abolition

Abolition is a term that names officially ending a system, practice, or institution. Rooted in 19th century movements to abolish slavery, present day abolitionism is often invoked to end the practice of policing and military and/or the interconnected carceral systems of prisons, refugee camps, detention centers, and more. For more, see the definition of prison-industrial complex). 

Accountability

Accountability is the obligation and willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions. In the context of social justice, accountability refers to the ways in which individuals and communities hold themselves to their principles and goals, as well as acknowledging the groups to which they are responsible. Accountability often requires a transparent process and continuous self- and collective awareness. 

Ageism

Ageism is discrimination or prejudice based on a person’s age, such as when skills and abilities are questioned and assessed based on one’s older or younger age. 

Agender

Agender is an adjective that can be used by persons who do not identify as any gender.

BIPoC

BIPoC stands for Black, Indigenous and people of color. A term that originated in the U.S., it is a self-designation intended to center the specific experiences of Black, Indigenous, and other racialized groups, who are severely impacted by systemic racial injustice rooted in histories of enslavement and colonialism, and to unite people and groups affected by racism. 

Colorism

Colorism is a term that describes the prejudice or discrimination favoring people with lighter skin tones over those with darker skin tones. This is especially used to describe the nuanced discrimination faced within a racial or ethnic group. 

Critical Diversity Policy (UdK)

The Critical Diversity Policy at UdK is a document whose intention is to emphasize and enforce the idea that differences in values, attitudes, cultural perspective, beliefs, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientation, gender identity, abilities, knowledge and life experiences of each individual in each group of people should be considered and overcome within the university.

Deadnaming

Deadnaming is the act of calling a trans*, nonbinary, or gender-expansive person by their birth name, or an incorrect name, when they have changed their name as part of their gender expression. It is never okay or necessary to use a person’s deadname when they have changed their name, including when describing past events. If you deadname someone, take accountability by apologizing and commit to not doing so in the future. Take steps to know someone’s current name and commit to using it.   

Doing Gender

This sociological term focuses on how people observe, (re-)produce, and make gender relevant in everyday life. Rather than taking gender as an innate quality, the acts of “doing gender” emphasize how gender is a social construct that is prevalent in daily human interaction. 

Misogynoir

Misogynoir is a term, coined by Black feminist Moya Bailey in 2010, that describes the gendered and racial oppression faced by Black cis and transgender women (the latter sometimes referred to as trans*-misogynoir). Taking an intersectional lens, misogynoir examines how anti-Black racism and misogyny combine into a particular form of oppression and discrimination. 

Queer

Queer is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. It Is used for a broad spectrum of non-normative sexual and/or gender identities and politics. 

Safer Space

Safer spaces are intended to be places where marginalized communities can gather and communicate shared experiences, free of bias, conflict, or harm perpetrated by members of a dominant group. Recognizing that there is no such thing as a perfectly safe space for marginalized people under the current systems of our society, the term “safer” indicates the goal of temporary relief, as well as acknowledging the fact that harm can be reproduced even within marginalized communities. 
Examples of safer spaces created in organizations and institutions are queer-only spaces and/or spaces only for Black, Indigenous, and people of color. 

Social Justice

Social justice is a form of activism and political movement that promotes the process of transforming society from an injust and unequal state to one that is just and equitable. Social justice is rooted in the view that everyone deserves equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunities, and the fundamental right to feel psychologically and physically secure. Social justice therefore aims to change governing laws and societal norms that have historically and presently oppressed some groups over others. Social justice is not just the absence of discrimination, but also the presence of deliberate systems and supports that achieve and sustain equity along lines of race, gender, class, ability, religion, and more. 

Trans*

Transgender, or simply trans*, is an adjective that refers to people whose gender identity is different than the sex assigned at birth. Trans comes from the Latin prefix which means “across” or “beyond.” The self-designation is not an identity feature that automatically indicates whether this person identifies with a different gender, no gender or multiple genders. Thus, there are several trans* identities. The asterisks (*) emphasizes the plurality and fluidity of trans identities.