Auroville: An Intentional, International,
Utopian Community
2009 Exploration Seminar in India
Program Director: Jean Eisele ~ Education Program, UW Bothell
Dates of Instruction: August 25 - September 19, 2009
This seminar gives participants a unique opportunity to explore an international, intentional, utopian community. Located in Tamil Nadu, South India on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, Auroville was founded in 1968 on the teachings of Sri Aurobindo, political contemporary of Gandhi and spiritual leader, and described as “a universal town where men and women of all countries are able to live in peace and progressive harmony, above all creeds, all politics and all nationalities.” Today, Auroville has a population of over 2000 people from more than forty countries. As a meeting-point of different cultures, it is internationally recognized as a model of environmental sustainability as well as an experiment in human unity.
Participants will have an opportunity to explore the many facets of Auroville and will be encouraged to design an individual study focusing on environment, education, socio-economic or political structures, alternative medicine, and/or spirituality. Areas offered by Auroville include leading-edge research and innovations in ecological restoration in such centers as  traditional medicinal plants, renewable energy (solar, wind, methane), water management, afforestation, and organic farming. As an experiment in international living, Auroville continually evolves toward a vision of a place where all human beings of could live freely as citizens of the world. Seminar participants could choose to examine Auroville’s social structures and unique governance and financial systems. Auroville’s educational system, based on ideas of Integral Education, honors the child’s individuality, encourages creativity and independent thought, and values the uniqueness of each human being. Participants could spend time in local schools, working directly with Auroville’s children and their teachers. While there is no official religion recognized or openly practiced in Auroville, it is an intensely spiritual community. Sri Aurobindo taught how to live from our essential being, not from the ego, and called this radical shift “the next step in the evolution of humanity.” Another available focus is alternative healing methodology, including medicinal plants, ayurvedic medicine, non-invasive therapies, homeopathy, and other ways to work in harmony with the body’s own deep wisdom.
Pre-progam requirements
There are no course prerequisites for this seminar, however, prior to the trip students will attend a series of introductory seminars and a weekend retreat designed to offer pertinent information on the history of Auroville and its political, social, and economic structures, Tamil culture, health concerns, financial requirements, and other important awarenesses critical for living, traveling, and working abroad.
 Credit
In taking this Exploration Seminar, you will earn five credits which can count toward your own departmental requirements. Course possibilities include those in the IAS or Education Programs on the UW Bothell campus and those in the CHID, Environmental Science, or Education Programs on the Seattle campus. Students will have a choice between 5 credits of each of the following :
- BEDUC 452: Environmental Education Service Learning
- BEDUC 392 and BEDUC 592 – both Independent Studies
- BEDUC 598 – part of a three-course series of a culminating project
- BES 485: Conservation Biology
- BIS 393: Sustainable Practices
- BIS 392: Water and Sustainability
- BIS 358: Environmental Science Sustainability
- BIS 390: Ecology and Environment
- BCULST 500: Formations in Cultural Studies
- BCUSP 104: Dreaming the Earth: Imagining Nature in Science, Philosophy, and Art
- Participants should check with their advisors to determine how these credits can count towards departmental requirements.
About the Instructors
 Student costs:
- $2,550 Program Fee
- $200 International Programs & Exchanges Fee
- Click here for a Estimated Budget of Student Expenses (for financial aid requests)
- The program fee covers food and lodging in the American and the Tibetan Pavilions. It covers on-site classes by local experts and also additional travel to surrounding sites, temple passes, and the like.
- Your additional costs: round-trip fare to Chennai, health insurance, personal spending money, any visa-related costs for non-US/non-EU passport holders, and some meals. Students who are eligible for Federal Financial Aid may apply their aid to program expenses.
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