Picture by Eva-Fiore Kovacovsky, Untitled, 2017
During birth, cells are exchanged between mother and the newborn, we recently learnt. 1
What does that mean for our identities and relationships? We grasped the idea of co-evolution and symbiosis as a prerequisite for life on earth. We know we have to find new ways of multi species living on our planet dangerously close to tipping points of irreversibly changing living conditions. What does that mean for our relationships as mothers, fathers, or others? What is our vision of a co-living society ?
In April we initiated our current Reading Club theme ‚Motherness & Otherness’ starting with ideas of ‘Further Feminisms’ by Rebecca Solnit. This month we invite to explore the concept of ‘cooperative breeding’ - Allomothering - especially in the light of our current unstable times. According to Sara Blaffer Hrdy, allomothers, are individuals of either sex who are not the mother. 2
In ‘Between Us and Nature – A Reading Club’ we read texts together related to natural sciences, art, anthropology, postcolonialism, and (post)anthropocene, chosen from a female perspective looking beyond disciplines. At this reading group we will read passages together out loud and share our experiences and thoughts about the nature we live in, what it means to us, and will discuss post-natural conditions or challenges of who we are and where we live.
PLEASE NOTE: IN TERMS OF SUSTAINABILITY WE WILL NOT PRINT OUT THE TEXT.
BRING YOUR COPY ON A DIGITAL DEVICE OF YOUR CHOICE OR PRINTED OUT! :-)
Come and join us with an open mind here:
What: The Reading Club is in English language
Where: Manteuffelstr. 73, 10999 Berlin Zabriskie Buchladen für Kultur und Natur
When: Wednesday May 22, 2019, 19:30 (sharp!)
Who: small group of lovely, people who would like to meet you (rsvp only, not suitable for children)
Why: to read together, be inspired and meet people
Note: Bring your copy of the text as print out or on a digital device
Hosts: Eva-Fiore Kovacovsky, artist, and Sina Ribak, environmental & cultural manager
References:
1 Margaret McFall-Ngai in: Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet - Ghosts and Monsters of the Anthropocene Anna Tsing Heather Swanson Elaine Gan Eds <Nils Bubandt> 2017 University of Minnesota Press.
2 Blaffer Hrdy, S. (2007) Evolutionary Context of Human Development: The Cooperative Breeding Model, p. 41. In: Salmon, C.A. & Shackelford, T.K. (Eds.), Family Relationships - An Evolutionary Perspective, Oxford University Press.
Picture by Eva-Fiore Kovacovsky, Untitled, 2017