Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
A Contextual Essay & “Film” submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts in Process Work, Process Work Institute, Portland, OR, 2014
Local notes
http://www.processwork.org/files/Finalprojects/Bernatt_C_January_2014.pdf
Introduction
This project centers on women’s experience of intellectual inferiority, and more
specifically, the experience of intellectual inferiority in Jewish women of Polish working class
ancestry, across four generations of my family. It explores the impact that intellectual inferiority
has on each of us individually, as well as collectively. It shows that the experience of intellectual
inferiority happens when one gender or class within a culture puts down another. It explores,
further, how we sometimes internalize that downing, and end up turning it on ourselves and
limiting our life decisions as a result. When external oppression and social expectations are
coupled with the internalized oppression we experience on the inside, we often give up our life
dreams. We settle for a smaller version of ourselves rather than becoming what we want, or what
we are fully capable of becoming. My aim in this project has been to develop a deeper
understanding of some of the forces at play that amplify the experience of feeling intellectually
inferior, and to begin to think about new ways to tackle this complex. I hope my work helps
women find the inner capacity to celebrate and honor all that they are, and all that they dream of
becoming. This project was born from a strong experience I had during a mid-term exam in
2010, part of my studies for the Masters in Process Work.
Introduction
This project centers on women’s experience of intellectual inferiority, and more
specifically, the experience of intellectual inferiority in Jewish women of Polish working class
ancestry, across four generations of my family. It explores the impact that intellectual inferiority
has on each of us individually, as well as collectively. It shows that the experience of intellectual
inferiority happens when one gender or class within a culture puts down another. It explores,
further, how we sometimes internalize that downing, and end up turning it on ourselves and
limiting our life decisions as a result. When external oppression and social expectations are
coupled with the internalized oppression we experience on the inside, we often give up our life
dreams. We settle for a smaller version of ourselves rather than becoming what we want, or what
we are fully capable of becoming. My aim in this project has been to develop a deeper
understanding of some of the forces at play that amplify the experience of feeling intellectually
inferior, and to begin to think about new ways to tackle this complex. I hope my work helps
women find the inner capacity to celebrate and honor all that they are, and all that they dream of
becoming. This project was born from a strong experience I had during a mid-term exam in
2010, part of my studies for the Masters in Process Work.