Anarchist Classes Starting Wed. at CCSF

These are the first two classes:

THE SPANISH REVOLUTION AND CIVIL WAR
taught by Lawrence Jarach


THE BASICS OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
taught by Sonya Mehta

All classes are wheelchair accesible.
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THE SPANISH REVOLUTION AND CIVIL WAR
Teacher: Lawrence Jarach
Day: Wed
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Class begins Wed. Sep. 21st
next classes Sep. 28th, Oct. 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th
Location: Downtown Campus- 88 4th St., San Francisco ( across from the
Metreon )
Room #: 725
Course Description:
This course will examine the context of the anarchist contribution to the
revolution and civil war that took place in Spain as a result of the
attempted coup d'etat by the military in July 1936. Topics that will be
covered include: the social context of Spain through the 1930s; a history
of anarchist activity in Spain, 1880s-1930s; rivalry with socialists; the
organizational ideas and structures of the CNT and the FAI; the CP,
electoralism, and the Popular Front; the attempted coup (which social
classes were involved and why) and its immediate aftermath; government
anarchists; foreign intervention; militias versus Popular Army; internal
tensions among anti-fascist groups; Mujeres Libres and the women's
question; the May Days in Barcelona, the Friends of Durruti, and the death
of the Revolution; ultimate military defeat; post-war
resistance/suppression.

Recommended readings: Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell (an eyewitness
account of Orwell's experiences as a militia volunteer; his experiences in
Spain led him to write "Animal Farm" and "1984"); The Spanish Civil War by
Antony Beevor (a military historian sympathetic to the anarchists looks at
the various tensions in Spanish culture and fits those into a highly
readable overview of the war years); We! the Anarchists by Stuart Christie
(a detailed critical look at the FAI and its relation to the CNT, with an
excellent history of how each organzation dealt with the revolution and
war).
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THE BASICS OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
Teacher: Sonya Mehta
Day: Thu.
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Class Begins Sept. 22nd
next classes Sep. 29th, Oct. 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th
Location: Downtown Campus- 88 4th St., San Francisco ( across from the
Metreon )
Room #: 319
Course Description:
This six week course will focus on the essentials of community organizing.
We will begin with an overview of WHY organizing is important and also
what PRINCIPLES will guide our organizing work. To keep the course
grounded, students will be asked to either volunteer with an organization
for the duration of the class or create their own campaign or
organization.

All classes will be based on a popular education model, where we believe
knowledge comes from students' lived experience. This also means we will
learn through games, exercises and roleplaying.

Some of the topics will include:

-campaign planning and strategy
-anti oppression/pro equality: who and what are we fighting for?
-facilitation and agendas
-outreach
-campaign strategy and planning
-building alliances
-using the media
-fundraising

Students will be expected to bring an organizing journal with their
impressions and experiences in the field.
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INSTRUCTORS' BIOS:

SONYA MEHTA
Sonya Zehra Mehta is an organizer with Young Workers United, a
workers center for workers in the service sector. She has
facilitated organizing skills workshops for several years. Sonya has also
been a founder of Anarchist People of Color, as well as an organizing
intern with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and even a
tree sitter. Sonya was also a member of Studentes Organizing for Justcie
in the Americas (SOJA) while a student at UC Berkeley. She is excited to
teach this class to new anarchist and anarcho-curious organizers!

LAWRENCE JARACH
Lawrence Jarach has been interested in the Spanish anarchist experience
during the civil war for almost as long as he's been an anarchist. He has
written extensively about the subject in the form of book reviews for the
periodical "Anarchy; A Journal of Desire Armed" where he is co-editor. He
is a founder and co-facilitator of the decade-old anarchist study group at
the Long Haul in Berkeley and co-organizes the annual BASTARD
anarchist theory conferences.



MORE INFO AT anarchistlibrary.org