Fig 2 - available from: Cultural Studies of Science Education
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Source publication
This paper curates four experiential narratives and poetry by the five co-authors that illustrate epistemic and ontic shift from the Modern Western (ModWest) mindset to a holistic, embodied and animistic mindset. Coming from different cultural backgrounds, yet having been systemically influenced by the dominant ModWest views and values, each author...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... Campania emanated self-hood and dignity. At around noon, we landed. Disembarking on Campania's white sand was a revelation and a caution. We were strangers, not necessarily expected or welcome. The first footsteps I saw were wolves.' Hauling my gear to dry sand above the high tide line, I saw wolf scat and prints amidst beach grass and driftwood (Fig. 2). Ravens cawed, announcing our arrival to Campania's stronghold. I sensed a mighty intelligence become alert to our arrival, as I become alert to a new person who enters a room. A hundred meters upland from the waves, the island was quiet, sentient, alive and watchful. Barren mountains loomed behind forest, the fastness seen from ...
Citations
This paper traces Heesoon Bai’s contributions to science education. Over the course of her career, Heesoon has written many scholarly articles that explore the foundational theories relevant to the culture of science education. Drawing from Eastern contemplative traditions, Heesoon aims to repair the separation between subject and object, a dualism that often operates in Western Science. She enjoins an animistic view of the world, where all things are alive and imbued with intrinsic value, and presents a view of education characterized by relational warmth and care. The essay is a compilation of testimonies from students who have worked with Heesoon Bai in the past. We present these accounts as a tribute to an outstanding educator who has made a positive contribution both in the field of science education and to the lives of many students.
Are green goals and eco-sensitivity manifestations of delusional human exceptionalism? In this paper I grapple with the question of why/if humans should/must address environmental issues (both local and global) created or exacerbated by human activity. This question can be framed in terms of (a) whether human activity is as natural as that of other organisms and carries with it similar responsibilities, and (b) whether our activity, natural or not, matters in the very long term. It is a consideration of our responsibilities to ourselves, future generations, other organisms, and the earth itself. The recently published A Book of Ecological Virtues: Living Well in the Anthropocene is explored as it challenges the author of this article to confront these issues and their bearing on his and others’ behaviors and actions vis à vis the earth and its inhabitants.
(Inuktitut translation generously provided by Brenda Amakłak Putulik)
Modern lifestyle that is based on ideologies such as consumerism, individualism and materialism has led to overconsumption, mass extinction and climate change in the world and threatens the wellbeing of every member on this planet. An increasing number of studies indicate that mindfulness practice may address the socio-ecological challenges of sustainability through nurturing a non-dualistic worldview, empathy and compassion. This study adopts a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to explore how the philosophy and practice of mindful consumption and the insight of interbeing might contribute to a more connected and conscious community. We include the first-person narratives from a female British teacher-researcher, who used what she had learned from the Plum Village monastery to develop a mindfulness program for elementary school students, parents and teachers in a Thai public school for the past 11 years. Her story unveils the issues regarding different perspectives of mindfulness among various wisdom traditions, and the challenges in teaching and researching mindfulness practice as a foreign lay practitioner in Thailand. We concluded that embracing polysemia and respecting the existence of every human being, animal, plant and mineral of the whole ecosystem is vital for meaningful transformations at individual and societal level.
