“OUR HEARTS ARE COLLECTIVELY BREAKING”:

Abstract

This article discusses teaching survivors of violence in an introductory women's studies course and addresses the pedagogical question of whether we are able to promote individual agency and empowerment effectively and, if so, how might we best go about it. Survivors spoke out in their journals and in the classroom about their experiences, shared feelings about empowerment, and assessed the ways and extent to which the course helped them to heal. I found that survivors benefited from being able to talk about their experiences and from being encouraged to place their personal experiences in a broader political context, but that a crucial component was the affirmation, validation, and solidarity they felt with each other in the classroom.