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Department of
Women's
Studies

Peer Power:

Making the Familiar Strange

In the Peer Power program, we talk about making the familiar strange.  Many things in our daily lives escape our notice because they are familiar.  Our eyes are used to seeing the things we typically encounter in a day; our minds are conditioned to register quietly the things that routinely happen.  It is as if the more frequently we are exposed to something, the less likely we are to think critically about that thing.  The more familiar something is, the more invisible it can become in ways that may prevent us from asking questions about it, wondering, “now, why is it like that?”

By making the familiar strange,  Peer Power hopes to bring into focus for younger students the kinds of things surrounding us that can affect one’s ability to develop one’s full potential.   When we make the familiar strange, we are trying to make visible things that familiarity and repeated exposure over time can make invisible.   The goal of the process, of making the familiar strange, is to invite our audiences to think critically about things that can affect their lives and often do so without one’s being consciously aware of how that happens.

What happens when something is strange?  We notice it.  Whatever that thing is, it stands out and calls for our attention.  While we  may not be inclined to pay much attention to what is strange, we’ve learned in Peer Power that making the familiar strange is a crucial step in the process of empowering younger students to become aware of social factors that affect individual lives and choices.  In Peer Power, we make something strange, and then we invite students to talk about it.

Making the familiar strange is not about making judgments, whether something is good or bad, right or wrong.   The only should  in Peer Power’s presentations is  this:  all of us - regardless of our differences - should think about the world around us and our individual participation in it.  This means that making the familiar strange is about acknowledging and accepting responsibility for ourselves and for each other.