Hi ECOFEMers: I regulalrly receive announcements from Schumacher Coillege about their programs related to ecology and environmental studies. Many of teh instructors have been mentioned on list over teh years, so I tend to forward the information in case subscribers wish to take up this opportunity. The message below is one such update about Schumacher's courses. Best wishes, Stefanie Rixecker ECOFEM Coordinator ------- Forwarded message follows ------- Date sent: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 16:34:49 +0000 From: jane <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Ecology and the Sacred To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dear Stephanie, Schumacher College is an international centre for ecological studies based in the heart of rural Devon, UK. The College runs short residential courses on a range of themes including ecological economics, holistic science, and the links between philosophy, psychology and ecology. In March 2001, our Programme Director, also the editor of RESURGENCE Magazine, Satish Kumar, will be teaching alongside Stephanie Kaza and Rosemary Radford Reuther on a three week course : ECOLOGY AND THE SACRED, which I thought might be of particular interest to you and possibly some of your colleagues/students. Please find enclosed a full course description together with details of our website and contact e-mail and postal address for further information. On the website, you will also find some articles written by Satish. Finally, I would be very grateful if you could forward this e-mail on to any of your friends or colleagues who might be interested. Many thanks, With best wishes, Jane MacNamee Schumacher College ECOLOGY & THE SACRED Satish Kumar, Stephanie Kaza & Rosemary Radford Ruether March 4-23, 2001 Often, environmentalism becomes purely a utilitarian phenomenon. We approach the environment as something "out there", to be managed and used. Increasingly, however, some environmentalists and religious believers are articulating a shared reverence for life and all it depends upon, a process which is having profound effects on their respective realms of activity. How could a sense of the sacred affect our understanding of the current environmental and social situation? And conversely, what are the implications of an ecological world view for traditional religious concepts and activities? This course explores these questions, focusing primarily on the Eastern religions of Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism and on Christian liberation theology. It asks to what extent these Eastern traditions can be seen as truly ecological, and discusses the significance of modern "green Buddhist" adaptations of traditional practices. In Christianity, similar challenges to orthodoxy are being made, and the course considers how theological concepts such as creation and redemption are being challenged from a feminist and ecological perspective to create a liberation theology. Satish Kumar trained as a Jain monk in India, and is now Programme Director at Schumacher College and editor of Resurgence magazine. He is author of No Destination and has written many articles on the links between ecology and spirituality. Stephanie Kaza is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont and a long-time practitioner of Soto Zen Buddhism. Her books include The Attentive Heart: Conversations with Trees and Dharma Rain: Sources of Buddhist Environmentalism (co-editor). Rosemary Radford Ruether is a Catholic feminist theologian teaching at Garrett Theological Seminary. She is author of many books including Gaia and God: An Ecofeminist Theology of Earth Healing and Women Healing Earth: Third World Women on Feminism, Religion and Ecology. Masters Level Credits Available Course fees All of our three-week courses in this programme cost £1,450. This covers tuition, residential accommodation, food and field trips. The Self and the World, a two-week course, costs £1,000. The one-week retreat costs £300. These fees do not represent the full costs, and they are kept at this low level by substantial financial support from The Dartington Hall Trust and other grantors. If you can afford to pay more for your course, your donation will be gratefully received and used to subsidise those who have difficulty finding the fees. Bursaries and scholarships On each of our courses (but not on the MSc in Holistic Science) a limited number of bursaries and scholarships, funded by educational charities and the College itself, are available to suitable applicants. Please contact us or visit our website for further details of the financial assistance opportunities available. Applications for financial assistance should be made at least two months before the start of a course. This enables us to assess all applicants at the same time and allocate funds in the fairest possible manner. Most Schumacher College courses feature talks by Staff Ecologist Stephan Harding, Coordinator of Holistic Science Brian Goodwin, and Programme Director Satish Kumar. Course participants People aged from 20 to over 80 come to the College from all over the world. Many are at a turning point in their lives and, as well as having a clear academic interest, may be asking fundamental questions about the state of the world and their role in it. Participants need to be fluent in English in order to attend the courses. Continuing professional development Many participants use the courses as a unique opportunity to continue their professional development in an interdisciplinary group. Practising health workers, organisational consultants, educators, scientists, theologians and economists are among those who have particularly benefited from attending courses at Schumacher College. Learning Dynamic In order to create the most fruitful interaction during the courses, we usually have, in addition to the guest teachers, a facilitator and an Academic Course Tutor. The Academic Tutor provides support to people developing projects for masters level accreditation; the facilitator helps the group to find ways to work with the process of learning. Whatever the focus of study, each course aims to bring together people who wish to: * explore issues of sustainability, diversity, equity and wholeness. * interweave meditation, reflection, shared work, study, field trips and community life. * take an active part in the self-organising processes that enhance individual and group learning. Accreditation Where stated in the course descriptions, Schumacher College offers Masters Level Credits in partnership with The University of Plymouth. Schumacher College also offers a one-year taught MSc in Holistic Science. For more information For further details of Schumacher College and its courses, please contact: Janice Young, The Administrator, Schumacher College, The Old Postern, Dartington, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EA, UK Tel: 0-1803 865934; Fax: 0-1803 866899. From outside the UK, replace the first 0 with the appropriate international dialling code. Email: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Web: http://www.gn.apc.org/schumachercollege/ On the Schumacher College website you can find the full text of the prospectus, current course programme, and application form. Additional material such as student profiles, articles of related interest, scholarship details, and book-ordering information is also available. -- Schumacher College is an international centre for ecological studies that welcomes course participants from all over the world. The College runs short courses on ecological issues and a one-year MSc in Holistic Science. Schumacher College, The Old Postern, Dartington, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EA, UK Tel: +44 (0)1803 865934; Fax: +44 (0)1803 866899; Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.gn.apc.org/schumachercollege/ If you are on our email or postal mailing list, you will be sent course programme updates biannually, and occasional scholarship or news announcements. We undertake not to sell or rent our mailing list to any other organisation. If at any time you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please let us know. SCHUMACHER COLLEGE IS A DEPARTMENT OF THE DARTINGTON HALL TRUST, A REGISTERED EDUCATIONAL CHARITY ------- End of forwarded message ------- ************************************ Dr. Stefanie S. Rixecker, Senior Lecturer Environmental Management & Design Division Lincoln University, Canterbury PO Box 84 Aotearoa New Zealand E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fax: 64-03-325-3841 ************************************