Beyond the blood
CLASS FULL
Engaging with european ancestry and folk practices from an anti-fascist perspective.
A lot of us are connecting with ancestral traditions; exploring folklore and folk practices, tracing and healing lineages, connecting with old gods and old ways, and seeking tools and practices for living a life in intimate connection with the animate world. So much beauty has been created through this explosion of interest, resulting in the sharing of stories, practices, rituals, ways of caring for ourselves and each other, and many explorations of old/new ways of being with the land and with the unseen world. For many of us, this ancestral work comes both from a longing and a bodily knowing that things could be very different to how they are right now, and also from wanting to dismantle whiteness, connect to pre-christian and pre capitalist ways of being, and anchor into spiritual practices that are not stolen from other people.
At the same time, white nationalists embrace pagan and “white” european ethnic traditions, creating overlaps between contemporary forms of fascism and ancestral connection. Nazi concepts such as blood and soil, antisemitism, purity, rigid gender roles and eugenics permeate ancestral reconnection discourses as well as herbalism and wellness worlds, birth work, traditional skills communities, history and archeology studies, and at this point, most spiritual and radical subcultures. Over the last few years, and especially since the start of the pandemic, the influence of these groups and ideas has grown immensely.
In this class we will pull these threads apart and explore moving towards anti-fascist, anti-colonial ancestral and animist practices. How has fascism developed in tandem with folklore, connection to the land, and ancestry interests in the past, and how does it relate to what’s happening now? We will consider and trouble concepts of tradition, health, history, identity, purity, nationalism, time, and nature. We will look at norms and frameworks in current folkways and ancestry discourse and consider both where they came from, and what they are creating now.
As fascist influence becomes more widespread in the wellness, spiritual, pagan, animist and ancestral worlds, how do we practice in a way that resists its very logic, and expands our notions of and capacity for kinship, connection, and rooted aliveness in 2022? What does it mean to be alive now, in the midst of this folk revival, this animist awakening, this great remembering, alongside and in concert with ongoing settler colonialism, the profound alienation of late stage capitalism, and a resurgent international fascist movement? This is the work of this class.
This class is for anyone who wants to understand, engage with, recognize some of the ways nationalism, fascism, and white supremacy affect the work of european ancestry and folk practices. You do not need to have any particular ancestry to join.
details
Tuesdays 4pm - 6pm PST
6 weeks starting March 8th
Classes are by zoom, and are a combination of lecture and discussion with occasional small break out groups. Classes will be recorded and available for one week after the live class. There is also an extensive reading and resource list for you to engage with as much or as little as you like
Please note, due to chronic illness flare ups, sometimes individual classes are rescheduled. Refunds are not offered for rescheduled classes. I also sometimes take forever to respond to emails. If this is the kind of thing that stresses you out, you might not like working with me.
BEYOND THE BLOOD: ENGAGING WITH EUROPEAN ANCESTRY AND FOLK PRACTICES FROM AN ANTI FASCIST PERSPECTIVE
$250
Or, two monthly payments of $125
If $250 is completely out of reach right now, I have some sliding scale and trade spots available! You can email me at sophie@sophiemacklin.com to sort it out.