Natural Resources: Mindfulness & the Anthropocene

Studies the history, theories, concepts, cultural constructs, and practice of mindfulness meditation. Denial, anxiety, and helplessness are common reactions to rapidly escalating global socioecological crises; investigates how mindfulness can develop capacity to respond to uncertainty, loss, and change, and explores how contemplative practices can transform external instability into insight and action.

Synchronous online

In this course, we will study mindfulness meditation—a modern, secular system of awareness practice and self-cultivation derived primarily from early Buddhist teachings. Although mindfulness is a buzzword, we’ll go beyond the hype to experience the transformative power these practices can have in our lives and to explore how they can help us face some of humanity’s biggest challenges with grace, creativity, and wisdom. We’ll first focus on developing a personal mindfulness practice. We will then turn our attention to contextualizing modern forms of secular mindfulness by critically examining the cultural constructs and histories that influence the current shape of mindfulness in the West. This component of the class will support you in becoming a discerning practitioner, conversant in topics such as secularization, cultural appropriation, “McMindfulness,” colonization, Buddhist exceptionalism, and the ways race, power, and privilege intersect with mindfulness in the West. As we continue to deepen our experiential and academic grounding in mindfulness practice, we will turn our attention to the rapidly intensifying socioecological challenges of our current times. This era, sometimes called the Anthropocene, is characterized by human-caused global warming, habitat loss, species extinction, and changes to the chemical composition of the biosphere. We will investigate the premise that mindfulness practice can develop our capacity to respond to uncertainty, loss, and change with wisdom and compassion, and we will explore how contemplative practices can transform the external instability we face into a source of liberating insight and wise action. In our learning journey, we will use both traditional academic methods and first person, experiential inquiry. Over the course of the semester, you will explore and analyze a wide variety of literature about mindfulness and the Anthropocene and will gain competence in a variety of mindfulness practices. Learning Outcomes: By the end of the semester, you will be able to do the following: 1. Articulate a nuanced, historically and culturally informed understanding of contemporary mindfulness practice rooted in the study and analysis of relevant literature and your direct, first-person experience. 2. Think critically about mindfulness across a range of cultural values, identity locations, and historical contexts. 3. Define the Anthropocene and its associated challenges. 4. Engage new ways of understanding and responding to the social and ecological disruption of the Anthropocene. 5. Maintain a personal mindfulness practice that supports your well-being and spiritual development.

This is a synchronous online class that includes lectures, discussions, dialogues, guided meditation, small group breakout sessions, and other interactive learning modalities. Optional in-person meetings are available for students in the Burlington area.

Your grade in this class will be based on attendance and participation, reading and practice journals, quizzes, and reflection papers.