Study abroad options

A number of GLS programs across North America offer study abroad courses that are open to students from other institutions. We’d be happy to post some of these here, so let us know about them, and send pictures when you get back too.

Most recently, Simon Fraser University asked to post their May/June 2010 Scotland course, which sounds very interesting indeed.  Take a look at the course description and contact Stephen Duguid for more information.

Book party in South Bend

Probably the only AGLSP member to sponsor a university press, the IU South Bend program this week will celebrate the publication of the first two books in its On Their Shoulders: Race Relations and Civil Rights in South Bend, Indiana series.

Mocking the academic sentence

What is academic writing? Good question. What is it good for? And what are its strengths and weaknesses?The Writing Program at University of Chicago has a run at the general topic by offering a spoofy academic sentence generator, which will create jargon-laden monsters at the click of a button. Any thoughts about good academic writing, by the way? Leave a comment here?

Promoting your program (21st century style)

The USC MLS program knows how to get the word out about an upcoming course, in 21st century ways. A Twitter announcement links to a Facebook entry which includes a blurb and leads to a fuller events calendar entry that also offers a link to the faculty member’s bio page, and some of those include a dramatic night-sky image of a great city (which relates to the course theme). Questions about the course? Students can use the live email link on the bio page for that.

Seminar skills: Listening

Mastering Peter Bregman’s three steps for good listening might strengthen the work we do in our graduate seminars, since he clearly shows the difference between trying to win arguments and trying to understand something. Check out his brief, lively blog posting and come back here to share your view. Do our programs teach effective listening? Should they?

Dallas for 2010

At the business meeting in Orlando Michele Niese Mrak of Southern Methodist University announced that her program will sponsor the October 2010 annual AGLSP conference in Dallas. More news, travel information, registration, calls for papers, clues about the keynote speakers, etc., to follow.

And the theme:

The Transformation of the City through the Arts and Technology

What Nature Means to Culture: A Conversation with Narcisa Medianu

Prior to presenting her work at the AGLSP Conference in Vancouver, BC, in the fall of 2008, Narcisa Medianu had her piece, “Community Gardens and the Environmental Ethics of Urban Landscapes,” published in Confluence. It combines her work and her interests as it examines the role gardens play in representing nature as well as the argument against viewing cultivated gardens as inherently “natural.” During the conference she took a small group of attendees on a tour of a few community gardens in Vancouver. She was interviewed by Assistant Editor Krista Bailey in August, 2009 after her return from a wilderness camping trip.

Are you a gardener? If so, since when?

I’ve been a gardener for many years. Although I grew up in a big city, our house in Transylvania, Romania had a large garden, where we used to grow vegetables and flowers, along with chickens, rabbits and the occasional piglet.

Are you part of a community garden? How did you become interested in researching and writing about community gardens?

When I moved to Vancouver, in an apartment on the East side, I started missing the garden and looked for opportunities to share my interest in gardening with other people. Fortunately, there are a large number of community gardens in my neighborhood; some have been around for over 25 years, and new ones are sprouting across the neighborhood. The community garden where I go most often has an extensive common area, where work parties are organized at the end of each month. It is a great opportunity to meet people and learn more about organic gardening and environmental ethics.

You discuss the theme of cultivated vs. wild in your piece. How do such relationships help us exist in harmony with each other and with nature? In what ways might such dualistic themes be counterproductive to leading a balanced life?

I don’t believe gardening and wilderness are as opposed to each other as we often tend to believe. The dualism wilderness/civilization has a long history, and is founded on the belief that intervention in nature is inevitably wrong. Wilderness narratives challenge our drive to conquer and transform nature while promoting a sense of guilt associated with the preoccupation for harvesting and beautifying nature.

There is no question: we need to preserve wilderness in order to survive as humans. We need to have a place of retreat, a place to maintain a critical perspective on civilization. But, to the same extent, we need to build a solid ethic that will guide our interactions with our immediate surroundings and help us create a better and more sustainable life in the city, where most of us live. As Michael Pollan points out in his book about gardening (Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education), garden ethics will be necessarily anthropocentric, but the gardener’s conception of self-interest should be broad and enlightened.

How has an interdisciplinary approach helped in your study of community gardens?

I became interested in researching gardens while working on my Master’s degree in Liberal Studies at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. I believe gardens can only be studied with an interdisciplinary approach in mind. The garden is first and foremost a metaphor of our relation with nature, and, as such, it transcends our personal experience. To understand its multiple connotations, we have to follow the paths of philosophy, poetry, and religion, starting with the powerful symbol of the Garden of Eden – the symbol of victory over nature which is wild and void of intrinsic value.

The study of community gardens wouldn’t be complete or useful without emphasizing the need of a transformed environmental ethics based on interdisciplinary approach.

You have a degree in sociology and have worked in that field. How do you connect that discipline to your interdisciplinary work? Do you feel it has biased your approach or given you a firm foundation from which you can expand?

Indeed, my first Master’s degree is in Sociology, and I must say, I found the program in Liberal Studies at SFU equally challenging and rewarding. With age, one’s ways of thinking become set, and keeping one’s mind open to new ideas is challenging. Oftentimes, I was tempted to use the point of view I was most familiar with to argue for or against new ideas, and that can bias one’s approach. Once I was able to let go of the idea that I already know the correct answer, and how to get it, I have enjoyed immensely playing with different perspectives.

Are you working on a follow-up or on related research or pieces of writing?

Unfortunately, I am not currently working on any related research. I have just completed two very different extended essays necessary for my graduation in the Liberal Studies Program. However, I continue to be interested in any social movements that reclaim urban space, asserting “the right to the city” (to quote Henri Lefebvre) through spontaneous manifestations of solidarity (such as urban gardening, Critical Mass, neighborhood festivals, and so on).

2010 Confluence Writing Awards

It’s the second year for the AGLSP’s new writing contest, and we’re continuing the award for critical essays and adding a new award for creative writing, both of which include a $500 prize and publication in Confluence.

Interested in seeing graduate students from your program submit work? The contest rules and information about formats and the January deadline are all available in pdf format. Program faculty and directors can consult the rules for guidance in screening submissions from each campus. Graduate students might want to ask their program faculty how to participate.

One cautionary note: the contest is open to the AGLSP’s full member programs. If your program is still an associate member, the AGLSP board would be pleased to speak with you about taking the next step. Something to consider…

Call for papers: 2010 North Carolina conference

The Graduate Liberal Studies Program of the University of North Carolina Wilmington invites you to submit proposals for the 2010 North Carolina Graduate Liberal Studies Conference to be held on the weekend of April 9 – 10, 2010, the same weekend as Wilmington’s annual Azalea Festival! The event will take place on the beautiful campus of UNCW and will serve as an excellent opportunity for many of you to present a sample of your academic work to an audience of your colleagues as well as members of the community at large.  Currents of Thought: The North Carolina Liberal Studies Conference is open to solid proposals from faculty, students and alumni in any area of liberal studies and the humanities, including but not limited to any relevant cultural, historical, or contemporary issues.  Creative presentations such as short fiction or poetry readings will also be considered, and in such cases, a sample of your written work should be submitted along with your proposal. We will be considering proposals from MALS/GLS programs and other graduate programs in liberal arts, so submit yours today!

Please email a 250 – 300 word proposal along with a list of any multi-media equipment you may require for your presentation to the conference coordinator, Amanda Johnson at glsconference@uncw.edu. The deadline for proposals is February 1, 2010. However, we will begin the reviewing process immediately as they arrive. All proposals should include full name, title of presentation, phone number, email and mailing address. If your proposal is accepted, your conference fee of $50 must be submitted and the proposal will be posted on our website so that those who plan to attend the conference may read it. Conference fee includes Saturday night’s closing dinner.

 

Please submit by February 1, 2010 to: Amanda Johnson, GLS Conference Coordinator at glsconference@uncw.edu

Thank you for your enthusiasm and participation in the 2010 North Carolina Graduate Liberal Studies Conference.  As with our past conferences, we expect this to be an exceptional event and a great opportunity for all who participate. Liberal Studies is an interdisciplinary study and this year’s conference will seek to reflect the broad scope of studies that contribute to the graduate liberal studies.

If you have any questions regarding the conference, do not hesitate to contact Amanda Johnson at the email address above.

Sincerely,
Herbert Berg, Ph.D., Director
Graduate Liberal Studies, University of North Carolina Wilmington

601 S. College Road
Wilmington, NC 28403-5673

AGLSP Conference ‘08: Saturday, in the park…

IU South Bend graduate student Krista Bailey offers the next chapter in her account of the 2008 AGLSP  conference in Vancouver.

Friday was fabulous.

Saturday dawns sunny and lovely. The colors of Vancouver’s west end are vivid with fall foliage and flowers and, of course, water. Blue water in the bay, clear, rock-strewn water features and fountains once again adorn my walk to the conference. Since it was to be lovely all day, I had stuffed my running shoes into my bag with the hopes of running along the famous seawall and through the temperate rain forest of Stanley Park after the sessions and before the reception. This morning I am going to see some community gardens with an interesting and engaging small group of conference attendees, led by the woman who was presenting a session on urban gardens. It was looking like today might trump yesterday, especially since I knew that right away, beginning with the keynote, it was going to be fascinating and intellectually challenging. This is the morning I get to see and hear in person the amazing and influential Carolyn Merchant.

As an undergraduate pursuing what I came to understand later as interdisciplinary study, I was crossing disciplines with my research. The pollen counts I was doing for a biology lab to determine tree species distribution became linked to my anthropological study of Native American medicinal plant uses. Many trees filled their pharmocopia, and I thought that a great way to tie together these two disparate areas of study would be to link them with one final paper to give to both faculty. The anthropologist thought it was great and different and exciting to link the two. He gave me an ‘A’ on the paper. However, the bio guy was less than impressed with the linking of his science to the habits of ancient people. I still carry an incomplete from him.

The other link I was making was between what became my major and minor, biology and women’s studies, respectively. The study of life became linked to the study of life-givers, women. The treatment of the environment was reflected to me in how society treated women. I had begun reading Carolyn Merchant and other feminist authors such as Susan Griffith and Mary Daly. The somewhat poetic and fantastical work of Griffith intrigued me, and the scholarly work of Daly impressed me, but the one that reached me and connected most with my mind was Carolyn Merchant.

Her book The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology, and the Scientific Revolution, opened my eyes and opened new realms of intellectual inquiry for me. It connected parts of my culture that had confounded and frustrated me, and by linking them I was able to make better sense of their conjoined evolutions. Later, in Radical Ecology, she shared ideas for change that reflected the views of philosophy, science, economics and the environmental. For me, it was a call to action and education.

That morning, the conference blurb she had provided about her keynote gave me an almost nervous twinge in my stomach. She wrote that she would be sharing thoughts on an environmental ethic based on partnership and “mutual living interdependence.” As part of this, the summary talked about becoming able to hear Nature’s voice. I was glad to be at a table with Lily Fessenden, who was also excitedly awaiting the words of Merchant.

As she stepped up to the podium, her rosy cheeks and bright eyes made me smile. This was no stuffy lifeless intellectual. This appeared to be a woman who was savoring and enjoying life. She immediately began using her hands as she talked, as I do, and this endeared her to me even more. The best part was the words she shared. She opened with a comment about the importance of the politics of action in respect to environmental ethics. She began explaining her idea of a partnership ethic and how it could help all living things exist more harmoniously. The greatest good for human and nonhuman communities, she said, is in their mutual living interdependence.

A lot has been said and written about interdependence and the “web of life.” However, Merchant’s idea of a partnership ethic is grounded in the idea of relationship. It centers on the concept of equity between human and non-human communities and is guided by a moral consideration for humans and other species. Inherent in this is the inclusion of women, minorities, and nonhuman nature in a code of ethical accountability, with a respect for cultural diversity and biodiversity as a key component. “We want to have a planet that respects the cultures that have emerged around the globe,” she said. “They should be maintained to the greatest extent that we can.” A final guiding concept is that ecologically sound management is consistent with the health of all beings.

These are important goals, she explained, because of the current global situation that includes global ecological crises, climate change, ozone depletion, deforestation, soil erosion, endangered species, and the loss of forests. Last, but not least, is the problem of human population growth. It is imperative to sensibly and inclusively address these issues, she insisted, because, there are “a huge number of people that are going to need the basic resources to have a quality of life.”

What can we do?

Merchant began addressing this age-old question with theory. Historically speaking, she sees the rise of science and technology as a way to overcome the fall from Eden. Society needs a new ethic in order to think about how we use this concept, she explained. Her Partnership Ethic (PE) comes out of the conservation ethic, best explained by George Perkins Marsh, who said that, “man should become a co-worker with Nature in the reconstruction of the fabric of nature.” This new ethic envisions nature and humanity as “co-tenants of the universe,” as articulated by Ian McHenry.

An environmental partnership means that the negotiating table for any development or preservation plans should include business, planners, minorities, and those who speak for nature, giving it a voice and perspective. Through this, Merchant explained, the PE offers the possibility of a healthier, more aesthetically pleasing cultural and natural environment for our own and future generations. There is a whole new field emerging in the field of ecological humanities, she said, that will surely examine and guide the progress of a new ethic and a new relationship between people and the planet.

Her innovative and challenging ideas, presented unapologetically, got me thinking. It also inspired me to begin articulating my own concepts into a realistic way of operating with others and with myself in relation to the natural world. As the Q&A portion concluded, I shared a smile with Lily and exchanged our impressions of awe and respect that we have for Carolyn Merchant. Her work had touched and shaped both our lives. We prepared to move to the next phase of the day, which for us meant heading out to see some of the community gardens of Vancouver. I wondered, are community gardens a partnership between culture and nature or do they simply stand in for wilderness and encourage people in their pursuit of dominion over the natural world? I could see it both ways in my mind, and was eager to experience the gardens and see how it was applied here.

Five of us crammed into a car and drove the five or ten minutes to the gardens. It was a pleasant if slightly cool day, and still somewhat overcast. The absence of rain made it seem nice, and the sun peeking out now and then lifted our spirits out of their conference room doldrums. We spoke of neighborhoods, citizen action, community development and the role these had played in the development of gardens. The ones we were headed to were spearheaded by neighbors seeking to bring the neighborhood together and to create for a way for people to grow and provide for themselves. It was a reclaimed piece of land that had once been a dump, and relics of industry edged the neighborhood. It was an area lucky to be alive at all. Neighbors had successfully kept a highway from cutting through it, and the recreation area next to the gardens, as well as the small stretch of trees which sheltered someone’s tent/home, provided additional ways the neighborhood cared and provided for the people in it.

The gardens were wild, cultivated, creative spaces. While an overall organization, complete with map, identified the features of the garden, the individual plots housed squash vine stick houses, crafty benches, flower and herb gardens, and sculpture. It was clear that the plants, at this end stage of the season, had wildly taken over in spots, but the gentle insinuations of culture and human comfort were tucked throughout. This was a wild place converging with a cultivated space. A few gardeners picked their way through the vines or simply sat under trees in the orchard, but the human element seemed a natural and nearly invisible part of the garden. Relics from its previous use puzzled us, and the insertion of herb beds into these areas was beautiful, useful, and rambling with growth and fragrant life.

This garden had become very popular in the neighborhood, so much so that a second was created in the same large park space. We wandered over towards the patch of trees with the tent. Entering under a willow branch arbor into another garden we found an area that was divided into personal use spaces which were rambling with sculpture, found item art, log benches and area set aside everywhere for people to sit and enjoy and immerse in the landscape. Unable to resist, I sampled one of many nasturtium flowers, enjoying its sharp tang. I felt I had entered almost a fairy world of gardens, and I felt at times incredibly tall and yet dwarfed by plants and their support systems. It seemed to me to be a wonderful example of a partnership with the land. The earth under our feet was rich and dark, and the plants were grown for use but also allowed to grow and create walls, roofs and pools of color in concert with the human placed spaces and trellises.

Visiting these spaces was a great way to pull in the thoughts of the morning and see an example of how people can exist and benefit, and benefit from, the natural world. This concept led to another intriguing discussion and set of moral touch points in regards to how people can or should interact with the natural world.

Sitting at a small cafeteria-style restaurant near the hotel, Rod Nash posited the idea of whether or not people should take care of environmental messes or let them run their course. He has a paper that he is beginning to share on evolutionary theories of human habitation which proposes a new way for people to coexist and utilize the space available on the planet in ways that can be mutually beneficial. For now, though, what to do? For example, what about invasive species and their control? Are they a natural inevitability or a problem introduced by people? Should they be controlled or eradicated by people? We had a lively debate on this and other related issues before the afternoon sessions were due to begin. Since our hostess, Narcisa Medianu, was presenting her paper on the community gardens we had just visited, we wrapped up and headed back to prepare for the afternoon.