wolf theory
20-27 October
“The cook fed us meats of many kinds. I joined my belly to the belly of the next girl. It was pink and we opened our beaks for meat. It was wet and we licked the dictionary off each other’s faces.”
wolf theory is an invitation to think through human and non human relations from the perspective of disability justice, using Bhanu Kapil’s research-poetry text Humanimal: A Project for Future Children as a guide map for our work.
Humanimal details the lives and deaths of Kamala and Amala, two girls found living with wolves in Bengal, India, in 1920. Kapil’s text raises questions of who is killable, how language renders one more or less human, and how might we imagine and speak a subject position that is not just ‘us,’ but us enfolded into all our humananimalplant relations, across time and space. These questions could lead into some other texts – Animacies by Mel Y. Chen, Authoring Autism by Melanie Yergeau, and other offerings you might bring. The plan is to do theory as embodied and relational practice, and non-academic texts as theory. It is also to imagine when language is exhausted or when naming is not desirable, then how might we ask for and get what we need. What strategies of relational meaning-making might we make up?
Framing this within the context of disability justice is to locate a place to work from, and to see this kind of thinking-together and thinking-with as action work that is vital for radical liberation movements. It is also to recognize that we might all exist in a field of relation to the normative idea of a productive functioning body per capitalism, rather than as disabled or not-disabled (notwithstanding 1. the importance of recognizing that some of us move around easier in the world, because our needs are seen as normative, and that 2. naming can be necessary for survival). Disability Justice – A Working Draft by Patty Berne is a good primer, a short text searchable online, if you’d like to know more or want a place to start.
The week will be open for us to plan together, including co-creating access, reading, moving, eating and watching things, making medicine from the garden harvest, picking apples, harvesting roots, and going on field trips if we like, to the sea or the nature reserve.
The space of Massia is unfortunately not fully accessible, but we would do all possible to make the alterations and additions that can make this space function for those who would like to attend. Food needs can be co-planned, a scent-free environment is possible, there are plenty of beds and bedrooms, a car that can be used for grocery runs or otherwise, and common space and sleeping space can be made cat-free/cat-reduced – (two cats live in the building). The public transportation to Massiaru is not wheelchair accessible, and as of now, there isn’t any support for ASL or folks with limited vision. There are six steps to get into the building, and the kitchens are located up a full flight of stairs. Both floors have bedrooms, bathrooms and work spaces. In and around Massia, there is quiet and calm, our daily schedule need not be full or hectic, and everyone is always welcome to opt out of activities.
Cooking is collective and food costs would be 7-8e/day. Massia is an independent self-organized space; to stay you must become a member for 12 euros (valid for 12 months). Accommodation costs 10 euro/night per person, if staying more than 4 nights. If staying under 5 nights the price is 11 euro/night per person. If you’d like to join please send an email with your dates and access questions to: infomassia@gmail.com. Be welcome to join for the whole time or just a few days, come early, or stay on after the session. For more detailed info about Massia, including how to get here, please go to www.massia.ee.
This meeting is convened by Eshan Rafi, a queernonbinary poc performanceartist, with the input and support of Elliott Cennetoglu, Raphaële Frigon, Hagere Selam ‘shimby’ Zegeye-Gebrehiwot, Paula Vool <3.