In this episode with Dr. May Elawar, we discuss postcolonial feminism, epistemic vigilance, how can knowledge liberate rather than oppress, knowledge at the borderlands, going a step beyond identity politics, spiritual activism, being and becoming, interdependence, Gloria Anzaldua and conocimiento, Starhawk's work and vision for humanity, decolonizing the divine, and why liberatory work needs magic and magic needs to be liberatory.

May Elawar, PhD, teaches in the Transformative Inquiry program at CIIS and previously taught in the Women's Spirituality program. May received her PhD in Philosophy and Religion with a concentration in Women's Spirituality from CIIS. She holds an MA in International Relations from the American University in Washington, DC, and a BA in Political Science. She is interested in bridging spirituality/religion with social justice activism. May is Lebanese, and came to the US as an international student. She is particularly interested in exploring alternative and non-western philosophical frameworks to address theories of knowledge, identity, gender, colonialism/postcolonialism, and globalization. May's research and activism has focused greatly on social justice in the Arab and Muslim world, particularly for women. Through her work in the Women's Spirituality Program, May is active with a number of groups in the Bay Area who are involved in exploring transformative practices for healing gender-based violence.

NOTES:

Chandra Talpade Mohanty

Lila Fernandes, Decolonizing the Divine

Gloria Anzaldua

Kwok Pui-lan