IPM 542 Cosmology and Western Civilization
 

INSTRUCTOR:  Lawrence L. Edwards, Ph. D,  Jean L. Edwards, M.A.

REQUIRED TEXTS: 
Swimme, Brian, and Berry, Thomas. The Universe Story, Harper San Francisco, 1994.
Swimme, Brian. The Universe is a Green Dragon, Bear & Co., 1988.
Berry, Thomas. The Dream of the Earth, Sierra Books, 1988.
Berry, Thomas. The Great Work, Bell Tower, 1999.
Quinn, Daniel. Ishmael, Bantam, 1995.                    

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course will cover the history of the Universe from its initial flaring forth almost fourteen billion years ago, through the emergence and evolution of Earth life, and the evolution of human self-reflective awareness. Implicit in this story is a vision of an emerging era of Earth as sacred community. Central to this exploration will be the consideration of an extended personal and cultural identity, simultaneously part of and integral with the whole Earth.

INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES: 
Interactive lectures, small group work, personal journal reflections on topics, student presentations, and other dialogical educational practices will form the core instructional mode of teaching-learning.

By the start of class, Monday, January 30, 2006, four of the five assigned texts will be read. The fifth text, The Great Work, will be read after the class meetings.

An 8-10 page (double spaced) paper is due on that Monday, January 30. The paper is a reflection on the assigned texts.

The class meetings will be from January 30 through February 3 from

A final 8-10 page (double spaced) paper will be due by April 1^st. This paper will be an answer to the question, “How has Story affected my life as an educator?”

STUDENT GOALS: 
An understanding of:
- The power of cultural stories;
- The elegance and intimacy of the evolutionary process;
- The fundamental and necessary integrity of the current functioning of Earth.
- The importance for educators to present these processes to their students.

 STUDENT OUTCOMES: 
Upon completion of this course, the student will able to:
- Appreciate the sacredness of the process that led to the present;
- More easily participate in the great turning of our culture from a mechanistic to an ecological worldview.
- Collect and examine how cultural, social, and educational paradigms influence one's personal relationships to Earth.
- Relate to Earth literacy as a teaching/learning process and apply/integrate these concepts in their respective disciplines
- Create opportunities within their teaching environment to explore an ecological worldview.

 SCHEDULE OF ACTIVITIES AND ASSIGNMENTS (see Instructional Techniques above)

GRADING: 
The grading will be based on class participation during the days together and on the two papers. 

EXPECTATIONS:  Students will be present  through the four immersion class days.  Students will participate in small group work within the class and on planned field trips.

SUPPLEMENTAL READING LIST: 

Swimme, Brian. The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos, Orbis, 1999.

Goodenough, Ursula. The Sacred Depths of Nature, Oxford University, 1998.

Richard Dawkins. The Ancestor's Tale, Houghton, Mifflin Co., 2004.

Diamond, Jared, Collapse, Viking, 2005.

Diamond, Jared. Guns, Germs, and Steel, W W Norton & Co., 1997.