The Structure Within: Internalised Oppression and the Possibilities of Transformation

The Structure Within: Internalised Oppression and the Possibilities of Transformation

Wednesday 14 October 2026, 9:00–11:00 am
Sociology Seminar Room, Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge, CB2 3RQ

Join us for a small and informal conversation with Lutgardes Freire, a sociologist associated with the Instituto Paulo Freire and the youngest son of Paulo and Elza Freire, together with Brazilian colleagues Rosana Cebalho Fernandes (MST) and Teresa Ribeiro (Instituto Popular Paulo Freire), who will be in Cambridge as part of the Annual Paulo Freire Dialogue 2026.

Paulo Freire was a Brazilian educator and philosopher and one of the most influential thinkers on oppression, education and social transformation, best known for Pedagogy of the Oppressed. His work asks how people come to understand and internalise oppressive relations, but also how, through conscientização, dialogue and collective praxis, they might become capable of transforming those relations and the world around them.

The conversation will take The Structure Within as its starting point. The project explores internalised oppression: how structures of oppression become part of how we understand ourselves and each other, how we relate to one another, and how they can be reproduced even within spaces and movements committed to social transformation.

At the centre of the conversation will be the question:

If oppression reproduces itself even inside the movements and spaces built to resist it, what does that require of us — not just politically, but personally and relationally?

We will begin by screening a short film from The Structure Within and then invite Lutgardes, Rosana and Teresa to respond from their own experiences and perspectives, bringing contemporary work on internalised oppression into dialogue with Freirean thinking on oppression, conscientização, dialogue and praxis, and with experiences of popular education and social movements in Brazil.

This is intended as a small, informal and participatory conversation rather than a formal seminar. You do not need to prepare anything or be familiar with Freire’s work in advance. We invite you to bring your own questions, experiences and reflections to the discussion.

Places are limited and advance registration is required.

The Structure Within: https://structurewithin.org/en