Inside Higher Ed: Prof. Gómez’s Dreamstorming Technique Helps Educators Envision & Enact Radical Change
In an op-ed for Inside Higher Ed, Prof. Jennifer M. Gómez from BU School of Social Work shares a valuable tool for educators looking to process and change interpersonal, institutional, and systemic oppression: dreamstorming. Her technique, unique from brainstorming and daydreaming, empowers people who feel trapped or powerless into productive thinking and acting.
Excerpt from “Is Academia a Dream Killer?” by Jennifer M. Gómez:
In dreamstorming, we focus our energies beyond strategies of mitigating harm. For instance, in thinking about how to transform the university into a violence- and oppression-free place, brainstorming can lead us to one-off trainings and minute changes to policy. In contrast, dreamstorming points our vision to fundamentally eradicating the interlocking systems of oppression that uphold violence and oppression in higher education and society.
As such, dreamstorming can not only save us from internalizing the violent and discriminatory shackles that bind but also help us strategize ways of destroying the shackles altogether. In breaking free, we can understand ourselves and each other better, thus creating space for effective collaborations in change making. This is vital for our peace and joy within academia now, and it can simultaneously help transform the higher education experience of those coming up behind us.”