by Emma Schroth
In the Fall of 2021, I got the chance to participate in the pilot round of “The Socrates Project” at Bard College Berlin. The enrollment included a course that dealt with some of the most important concepts of human behavior and social contexts: “Freedom, Un-Freedom, and Emancipation”. Next to questions like “What is freedom?” or “What can be understood as Enlightenment?” the course also created space for musical interpretations of different kinds of freedom. This allowed participants to approach themes of the course from different angles over a time span of 11 weeks.
One writer whose work we discussed, and I perceived to be essential when talking about phenomena related to freedom is Audre Lorde. Lorde described and identified herself as a black lesbian woman which had a major impact on her special – simple but powerful – style of writing. The intersectional forces of oppression she was confronted with, shaped her not just as a writer and as a civil rights activist, but also as a person, especially as a woman.
Two of her texts were assigned in the course which both opened critical discussions. Her essay The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House, for example claims that, “For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change.”
Not only are the words in the title of the text highly significant, but this short quote describes her view on power in modern society very well. The “genuine change” that Lorde hopes for is a phenomenon or maybe even an illusion that appears far way, distant – perhaps even utopian. From her personal position as a black lesbian poet, it shows clearly that there are no chances or circumstances in which she would have the requirements to make it into what she calls “the Master’s House” – which can be understood as the dominant position in the social hierarchy. Lorde’s perspective in this case clearly states how social constructions and structures are not going to be changed by the same people who created them in the first place. Instead, she calls for the creation of an alliance by all those who do not meet the, so called, ‘norm’ of the western society: “[survival]… is learning how to take our differences and make them strengths.” This certainly shows her genuine belief in the empowering potential of not only tolerating but yet accepting and respecting our differences of whatever kind they may be. Although Lorde is using simple words here, she is managing to make a profound statement based on her point of view.
Another example for the importance of her statements can be found in her essay Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference: “Racism, the belief in the inherent superiority of one race over all others and thereby the right to dominance. Sexism, the belief in the inherent superiority of one sex over the other and thereby the right to dominance. Ageism. Heterosexism. Elitism. Classism.” Ableism or nationalism, to only add a few more – but the list remains endless. What is of particular focus in Lorde’s texts, which I found in both of these excerpts, is that we should not ignore the fact that among human beings there will always be differences in color, age, class, or culture. The crucial point of her argument is the recognition and the acceptance of these differences. That they should never be used as excuses to separate people or divide society. Instead, the diversity of humankind needs to be valued and appreciated as such.
Towards the end of Age, Race, Class, and Sex Lorde states: “Change means growth, and growth can be painful. […] For Black and white, old and young, lesbian and heterosexual women alike, this can mean new paths to our survival.” This quote makes the reader aware that a never-ending fight for your rights can be dragging and exhausting. But it also shows that it will be worthwhile. Standing up for your rights will eventually pay off and actually have an impact on changing human behavior. Furthermore, Lorde’s work shows that people never fight alone and that every little step can lead up to bringing us closer to understanding and engaging our differences.
Lorde as a person and her critical thoughts as a civil rights activist are still important to this day. Her conviction of seeing differences between human beings on many various levels as an enrichment to society and her way of encouraging those differences is still of great value even today. Through Lorde’s statements we can see diversity as a positive and empowering force and embrace our differences as such.
The multiple identities to which she refers, be it based on ability, health, nationality, age, culture and so many more, can have a deep impact on how we, as the people developing and creating the societies we live in, identify ourselves. The ability to see and to reflect on the tension these intersecting identities create is a very important skill in times of globalization. With the world expanding and people’s lives becoming increasingly faster, not losing the individuality that makes everybody so special can be challenging. The fact that Lorde struggled very hard to achieve what she did, and to retain her individuality while fighting for the greater good is remarkable.
Personally, I believe that we all have battles to fight – even today. Nobody can be fully free or emancipated while others are still oppressed. Whether it is the female struggle of equal payment or the barriers you have to overcame when starting to work at a young age. Whether people define you by your skin color or the gender you were born into. But while fighting one kind of discrimination we must try not to become ignorant of the other levels. Regarding this, there are a couple situations through which I can personally relate to Lorde’s struggles.
Although I would describe myself as living a generally privileged life, I often find myself in settings where age and gender rolls play a big role. Many people point out my young age, but at the same time associating the role of women in Germany with raising kids and having a family. These outdated views not only frustrate me personally, but also put pressure on so many women of my age. There are several professions, cultures or stages in life that still allow all these gaps to grow even wider. It is up to us as a growing and developing society to close these gaps and give room to every human being to fully unfold their potential. That is where I find Lorde’s theory to be helpful in addressing those differences and in moving the discussion from a practical field towards a meta level. Which for us means to never stop fighting for our own personal rights and to always aim for higher goals.
For me, all of this demonstrates why programs like “The Socrates Project” are much needed in our society today. Free classes with the opportunity of an open-minded, intellectual, critical, but at the same time nourishing discourse, are one of the best ways to reveal and embrace our differences. The structure of the project introduced me to so many new authors, such as Audre Lorde, who all in their own way tackled the topics freedom, un-freedom, and emancipation. Every author we read, had a different style of bringing his or her thoughts closer to the reader’s mind. Dealing with different authors from different times in different cultures was a mind-opening and fascinating side-effect of the course. It also offered the chance to people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds to engage in constructive and productive discussions. It had a way of making everybody feel welcome and appreciated and in that way creating a comfortable setting to let your mind wander. “The Socrates Project” was not only a great experience and a place to meet new people. It was in fact, a program that allowed me to develop an idea of how to try to close up the divisions that society actively creates, and how differences may be embraced by everybody who is willing to do so.