Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment

Using examples from the text, discuss the dialectical relationship between oppression and activism. How does oppression give rise to activism, and vice versa?

Citing specific examples, discuss the parallels Collins draws between past and present oppressions, and past and present resistance to oppression.

Discuss the notion of the Black women as Other as it relates to objectification and oppression.

Describe three controlling images of Black women. Who created these images? How do they perpetuate and justify the oppression of Black women? How have these images displayed resilience, adapting to changing cultural circumstances?

Why are self-definition and self-valuation central to resisting oppression? How can Black women foster self-definition and self-valuation?

What is heterosexism? How does it function as a system of power and oppression?

What is Black feminist epistemology? How does it differ from dominant epistemologies? Why are alternative epistemologies threatening to dominant traditions?

Collins names four domains of power: structural, disciplinary, hegemonic, and interpersonal. How do these domains work together to oppress Black women? How have Black women resisted these matrixes of domination?