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Why coyuntural analysis?
Coyuntural comes from the Spanish word "coyuntura" which means the intersection of various social forces and their effect upon a particular moment in history. Conyuntural analysis was developed in Latin America by theorists and activists influenced by the work of Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci. By using this process we are committing to engage in an ongoing study of the social and economic forces impacting the lives of the people we work with.

Because coyuntural analysis only looks at what is happening right now at this particular moment, it needs to be engaged in regularly. A group can learn a few exercises and then repeat them as circumstances and social forces change and interact differently. This is a way to make the abstract concepts in economic theory very concrete for people in your group and it is a way to take these concrete circumstances and look for openings for action.

Coyuntural analysis dictates that all of our teaching staff, governors, administrative staff, participating artists, committee members, volunteers and participants develop a self analysis that locates themselves within structures of resistance and domination. This is not an easy task as it requires everyone involved to honestly interrogate his/her own relationship to class, race, gender, sex, and national entitlement. We all discover that we can be both oppressor and oppressed. We discover that we can all be marginalized and someone who marginalizes others.

We were greatly helped in our initial study and implementation of Coyuntural by the work of The Praxis Project, a former program of the midwest branch of the American Friends Service Committee. 

Insight Arts 6934 N Glenwood Ave #2C, Chicago IL 60626 | info@insightartsliberation.org | 773.338.5933