[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.10.8″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Theme & Tracks” _builder_version=”3.27.4″ z_index_tablet=”500″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
If there is one word that has kept cropping up during discussions about diversity in recent years, it is empowerment. It remains practically untranslatable in any language other than English, but the idea it conveys,\u00a0placing the word \u201cpower\u201d in the central position<\/strong>, refers to older ideas rooted in activist and philosophical movements from around the world, such as liberation, emancipation, independence, mobilization, and participation.\u00a0<\/p>\n To understand what empowerment really means and what issues and dynamics lie behind a term which is much richer and more complex than one might first think,\u00a0we need to take a look at the genealogy, definitions, evolution and critics of this concept.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Recognizing oneself and being recognized in an active community<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n In her book\u00a0The Empowerment Tradition in American Social\u00a0Work\u00a0<\/em>(1994), social work historian Barbara Simon\u00a0traces the idea of \u200b\u200bempowerment back to the 1890s, and the birth of the \u201cfirst wave\u201d of feminism; and with the huge waves of immigration that followed the end of the American Civil War, the beginnings of what would go on to become the Black Power movement.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Citizens who were excluded from the rest of society began developing ideas about emancipation\u00a0that combined two statements, which they addressed to society as a whole: 1\/ We are a community, and as such, we represent a source of energy that can take action and 2\/ We will use this power to gain access to our rights.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The foundations of empowerment are right there: with strength in numbers and the feeling of belonging to a community,\u00a0<\/span>those who are excluded break out from the isolation they have endured<\/strong>; and through their collective action, driven by leaders they have chosen themselves, are\u00a0<\/span>determined to take control of their lives without waiting for the powers that be to deign to liberate them however they see fit, according to their methods and agenda.<\/strong><\/p>\n This vision is summarized in a famous slogan from the 1960-1970\u2019s women\u2019s liberation movement: \u201cDon\u2019t liberate me, I\u2019m doing it for myself!\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What is empowerment? If there is one word that has kept cropping up during discussions about diversity in recent years, it is empowerment. It remains practically untranslatable in any language other than English, but the idea it conveys,\u00a0placing the word \u201cpower\u201d in the central position, refers to older ideas rooted in activist and philosophical movements […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":555,"featured_media":14452,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Somos el Cambio<\/strong> seeks to engage and develop conference attendees. As a participant, you will be enriched by taking advantage of the various learning opportunities provided through the three tracks:<\/p> More information regarding the 2020 theme and tracks will be added within the coming months.<\/strong><\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[90,96],"tags":[160,151,124,157,163,139,148,166,142,145,136,127,133,106,109,130,154],"class_list":["post-12934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-presentations","category-updates","tag-business","tag-college","tag-community-engagement","tag-conferences","tag-economy","tag-hispanic","tag-immigration","tag-investment","tag-latina","tag-latino","tag-latinx","tag-leadership","tag-service","tag-sl-slc-2020","tag-sl-slc-conference-tracks","tag-sustainability","tag-university"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/slslc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/slslc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/slslc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/slslc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/555"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/slslc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12934"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/slslc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15743,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/slslc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12934\/revisions\/15743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/slslc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/slslc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/slslc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/affiliate.wcu.edu\/slslc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Don\u2019t liberate me, I\u2019m doing it for myself<\/em><\/strong><\/h5>\n