Juggling, The Beatles and Intersectionality

Last week I had the privilege of participating in the 1st Religion & Diversity Project's Doctoral Workshop in Ottawa.  Under the direction of Prof. Jim Beckford, nine doctoral students shared their research, discussed theory and plotted dissertation writing.  We learned a lot and had fun.

Today's post however is about a theoretical concept we considered in our workshop: intersectionality as demonstrated by juggling to the Beatles. Hey, I'm serious so pay attention as I badly explain (no laughing or eye-rolling allowed.)  The theory of Intersectionality (pdf) was coined by Kimberle Crenshaw who was exploring how socially constructed categories of race and gender interact.  For instance we can explore what it means to be a women in our society or what it means to be an African-Canadian.  But what happens when these two identities intersect? How is their experience of oppression different from either experience?  It is an important theory in human rights and discrimination studies.

OK, not my usual research area, and I'll have to think about this more.  Prof. Jim used this video to explain the concept; its about juggling but the juggling changes when the music starts.  This I get.  P.S. Turn up your volume and enjoy.