If there is anything I learned this quarter about contemplative exercises, it is that mindfulness is a state of mind itself and once you think about it, you break the concentration. I determined that being led in a practice in a group setting brought me more individual focus, rather than hearing a practice online on my own. For me, mindfulness… Read more »
Arrogance is not an uncommon trait. While it is relatively easy for individuals to adopt a heightened sense of self, I had never before considered how a language could exhibit such arrogance as well. In her chapter “Learning the Grammar of Animacy,” Kimmerer underscores the linguistic connection between English and humanity’s perceived superiority by asserting that “the arrogance of English… Read more »
The life of a 21st century college student seems to move in fast forward. In my first semester as a college student, I have never been so busy and stressed. The constant barrage of homework, tests, and essays added to the ever-constant worry of admission into my major often puts me on edge. In this sort of mindset, it is… Read more »
Over the past few years, I’ve felt surrounded by the world’s grand demise, but didn’t know how to process much of what I was encountering. Eventually I knew I had to get involved in fighting these large-scale injustices. I was too afraid of the idea of being silent, yet too overwhelmed by the idea of committing myself to making change…. Read more »
Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it’s a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from. — Al Franken As humans, we are bound to mess up. Luckily, most of these mistakes help us to grow and learn. As… Read more »
Prior to taking this course, my first instinct in approaching an issue as immense and all-encompassing as the Anthropocene was to look anywhere but inward. I was under the impression that an issue as complex as our changing climate and degrading Earth strictly required stark scientific objectivity. Viewing the Anthropocene through a scientific lens granted the issue irrefutable credibility, and… Read more »
Before participating in this class, I had no idea what the word Anthropocene meant. I had heard of global warming, but was ignorant of the size and seriousness of the issue at hand. I was exposed to a reality that was shocking at best and disturbing at worst. Through the digestion of information learned in class, I began to question… Read more »
On the first day of the course, after being asked to consider my motivation for taking a class on the Anthropocene, I stated my desire to gain new perspectives that would inform the way I approach life. I am pleased to report that this course has completely and utterly satisfied this goal. At first, I hadn’t the faintest idea about… Read more »
Throughout this quarter, my peers and I were invited to complete an action project. This project has three key goals: to create and implement a response to the course material, create an offering to the larger community, and to integrate a reflective component in both inception and implementation. My group’s final product after extensive deliberation is a website about climate… Read more »
The group action project, encouraging us to embrace agency in the Anthropocene, demanded we engage the greater community in some fashion. While free to shape the project as we pleased, we were asked to incorporate contemplative practices into our work. In groups of about four people, we had nearly a month to complete our projects. For the assignment, I worked… Read more »
