This FLC is offered under the auspices of the Faculty Center. The interest in mindfulness and other contemplative practices has spurred a great deal of research and discussion in recent years. It has also resulted in a conversation about how we might use contemplative practices in the classroom to promote social justice.
McGee (2017) argues that, “contemplative education is key to developing socially just classrooms capable of delivering transformative education that works for all”. In this FLC, we will read and discuss current research studies as well as texts such as Beth Berila’s Integrating Mindfulness into Anti-Oppression Pedagogy: Social Justice in Higher Education (2015) and Laura Rendón’s Sentipensante (Sensing/Thinking) Pedagogy: Educating for Wholeness, Social Justice, and Liberation (2014).
During the FLC sessions, we will do a variety of contemplative practices designed to help us create more inclusive, identity-safe student learning communities that have the courage and resilience to deal with issues of social injustice. Some themes include developing the capacity to be vulnerable, self-aware and reflexive; valuing the struggle together; developing compassion, public love and resilience.
