Emerson College Library: Teach-in on Sustainability 2023: Session 10: Parables for Change

description

Session 10: Parables for Change

Thursday, March 30, 12:00pm-5:45pm

Presenters:

Amy Vashlishan Murray, Associate Professor in the Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies and Director of Curriculum Administration
Jaime Tanner, Associate Professor in the Marlboro InstitTute for Liberal Arts & Interdisciplinary Studies

Description:

In this first-year interdisciplinary seminar, students explore the ways in which the stories we tell shape our ideas on what is possible in a climate changing world. With paired readings from Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler; All We Can Save, edited by Ayana E, Johnson and Katherine Wilkinson; and other works, students engage with the pressing environmental and social issues of the day and cultivate the courage needed to creatively shape change. Amy Vashlishan Murray and Jaime Tanner lead a discussion on “Three Sisters,” a chapter in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s best-selling 2013 book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants.

Location

SPC Theatre (Little Building)
80 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02116

Sustainable Development Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger

The United Nations explains the purpose of this goal is " creating a world free of hunger by 2030. In 2020, between 720 million and 811 million persons worldwide were suffering from hunger, roughly 161 million more than in 2019. Also in 2020, a staggering 2.4 billion people, or above 30 per cent of the world’s population, were moderately or severely food-insecure, lacking regular access to adequate food. The figure increased by nearly 320 million people in just one year. Globally, 149.2 million children under 5 years of age, or 22.0 per cent, were suffering from stunting (low height for their age) in 2020, a decrease from 24.4 per cent in 2015."

Books and Media @ Emerson

Parable of the Sower (eBook) / Octavia E. Butler.

All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis / edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson & Katharine K. Wilkinson.

Climate Change: a Wicked Problem : Complexity and Uncertainty at the Intersection of Science, Economics, Politics, and Human Behavior / Frank P. Incropera

Emergent Strategy : Shaping Change, Changing Worlds / adrienne maree brown

When My Brother Was an Aztec / Natalie Diaz

Resources Mentioned at the Session

So Be It, See to It: From the Archives of Octavia Butler
The Paris Review shares a few images of Octavia Butler's notes, including one in which she imagines her future career as a writer and then exhorts herself, "So be it! See to it!"
About Robin Wall Kimmerer + Selected Videos
Kimmerer's website provides biographical information, including various honors, and links to a number of videos from talks she has given.
Robin Kimmerer - Three Sisters
Kimmerer reads an excerpt from The Three Sisters, the chapter from her book Braiding Sweetgrass that was used to frame this session's discussion.
Indigenous Knowledges and the Teachings of Plants - after Robin Wall Kimmerer
The above link jumps to a section of this video that summarizes ideas from The Three Sisters chapter of Braiding Sweetgrass, accompanied by an illustration that was shown during the session.
Parable - definition from The Columbia Encyclopedia
"Parable" is a key concept in the course this session was based on. It was defined during the session as "a message embedded in a story."
Gifting My Attention - adrienne maree brown
adrienne maree brown reflects on the idea that "what we give our attention to grows" and how she tries to bring it into practice.
Design in nature : Biomimicry
In this short video Janine Benyus, who coined the term Biomimicry, explains the practice of biomimicry and what can be learned from the genius of nature.
Permaculture (research starter)
An overview of the concept of Permaculture via the Salem Press Encyclopedia.
Polyculture (definition)
Polyculture is one way to describe Three Sisters agriculture, as opposed to monoculture farming.
Patsy Rodenburg - The Second Circle
Rodenburg, a voice coach, describes three circles of energy a person can flow through. This concept was brought up in a discussion of attention and how different methods of focus allow us to understand the world better.
8 Physical and Mental Health Benefits of Silence, Plus How to Get More of It
As mentioned during the discussion on focus and attention, a variety of studies have found health benefits from both silence and meditation.
How Do Quakers Worship?
An attendee mentioned Quaker worship as a different mode in which silence and reflection may lead to insight.
The Invitation by Barry Lopez
Author Barry Lopez reflects on time spent with indigenous people and what he learned about different ways to pay attention to the world around you.
Biomimicry Institute
An organization being researched by students in IN123: Parables of Change. Discussion during the session focused on how these organizations fostered community.
Slow Factory
An organization being researched by students in IN123: Parables of Change. Discussion during the session focused on how these organizations fostered community.
Soulfire Farm
An organization being researched by students in IN123: Parables of Change. Discussion during the session focused on how these organizations fostered community.
Sunrise Movement
An organization being researched by students in IN123: Parables of Change. Discussion during the session focused on how these organizations fostered community.
CREO
An organization being researched by students in IN123: Parables of Change. Discussion during the session focused on how these organizations fostered community.
B Lab
An organization being researched by students in IN123: Parables of Change. Discussion during the session focused on how these organizations fostered community.
You Don’t Have to Be Complicit in Our Culture of Destruction: Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of “Braiding Sweetgrass,” argues for a new way of living. By David Marchese
A recent interview with Robin Wall Kimmerer in the New York Times Magazine. As she suggests at the end of the interview, "if we can reclaim our attention and pay attention to things that really matter, there a revolution starts." Emerson students, faculty, and staff have access to the NYT through the library--follow the link below for instructions.
New York Times Instructions
Instructions for Emerson students, staff, and faculty to create a free NYT account.
Jane Goodall Hopecast: Robin Wall Kimmerer
Robin Wall Kimmerer guests on Jane Goodall's podcast Hopecast to talk about what we can learn from plants.

Teach-in on Sustainability 2023