Through an exploration of the theory and philosophy of social ecology, this seminar will help students develop a holistic and coherent understanding of the principles on which the field is based. Participation is recommended for all students. This lecture series will help students incorporate a new understanding of the relationship between ecology and society into a creative and liberatory political practice. These concepts will be explored through weekly lectures on ecology and society by internationally acclaimed author and social philosopher Murray Bookchin. This lecture series will provide a coherent analysis of issues in social ecology.
Participation is recommended for all students.
For more than three decades, social ecologists have articulated a radical critique of conventional approaches to activism and pointed the way toward a reconstructive vision of an ecological future. This seminar and practicum will explore the evolution and methods of organizing and activism, using case studies of important contemporary movements, from the antinuclear alliances of the 1970s to current campaigns to oppose genetic engineering, the prison industrial complex, and global corporate domination. We will examine many of today's movements and the ways in which a social ecological critique can help them develop in more potent directions. Small groups will look at specific strategies and campaigns, while developing skills in areas such as public speaking, street theater, puppet building, media, and producing literature for activist campaigns. Radical Agriculture Facilitated by Joey Klein Agriculture in the Western Hemisphere is in its final stages of industrialization, and the flaws of this approach to food production are increasingly obvious as the underlying natural systems weaken.