Integrating Holistic Resilience
A Masters Program for Change Makers
(Pending final approval from the Higher Learning Commission)June 1, 2013
Overview
This program aims to give students the skills and tools they need to understand and facilitate implementation of deep sustainability in communities of any kind. Deep sustainability includes going beyond efficiency and substitution when necessary to radically re-design systems from the ground up. It means integrating all of the community components of resilience – the ability to adapt to disturbances – into a dynamic, holistic framework that is self-reinforcing.
Salient Features
All new courses, available only to Masters students.
Cohort system (students going through a set sequence of courses together as a unit)
allows for deeper study of advanced topics and increased bonding for teamwork.
Flexible scheduling allows for courses to last from a few days to six weeks or more.
Student driven projects integrated into the course themes will provide powerful
opportunities for students to apply their knowledge right away.
A unique learning environment that recognizes the value of various approaches to change
has been designed to enable opportunity for every student to thrive.
Year One
Students will all go through the first year as a cohort taking an integrated sequence of courses. Dr. David Fisher will oversee the group through the first year. Other MUM Sustainable Living instructors and distinguished visiting experts will cover the topics listed below in courses of variable length. A cohort system allows us to schedule classes independently from the standard MUM block system.
In the first year, approximately half of the time will be spent in working with professors and experts in the classroom or on field trips. The rest of the time will be spent on semester- or year-long local projects co-designed and run by students mentored by faculty and the Project Coordinator.
Year Two
Beginning in the second year students will have the option to work in the field gaining valuable knowledge and experience specific to their unique interests, or do research oriented work on sustainability. Fieldwork opportunities will be presented to students, or
students may design their own project. All work will be guided by a mentor and students will be expected to produce a report or thesis of publishable quality. Students may make arrangements for a third year of work if necessary.
Possible second-year projects include:
Working overseas in sustainable community development with the U.S. Peace Corps or other sustainable community organization
Designing and implementing a community project here in the U.S Starting a change-making campaign
Conducting academic research in a particular area of sustainable living
A special note about approaches to change
As mentioned above, this program is designed to support and actively encourage both “transformers” and “revolutionaries.” We recognize that everyone utilizes both strategies at different times, but that people generally resonate more with one than the other.
Transformers recognize the value of existing structures and strive to work at high levels within existing organizations and structures, creating change from within. They enjoy tinkering with the complex puzzles that are existing structures. They are energized by the challenge of learning to move within the system in order to be in a position to make true change.
Revolutionaries tend to push boundaries and deeply question existing human systems. They feel that trying to fix what they see as unsustainable organizations is often a waste of time and prefer to spend their energy imagining new realities and designing creative solutions to implement them.
Outcomes for the student
As a graduate of the Masters in Sustainable Living Program, I am:
emotionally intelligent culturally sensitive resilient
able to use transdisciplinary concepts to find creative solutions aware of my biases / judgments / assumptions / personal narrative more in touch with my intuition
physically healthier and more fit I know how to:
advise groups/communities about sustainable food, water, energy, and building systems see and use holistic frameworks
identify, design, manage, and measure an effective project act as a sustainable project consultant
facilitate group processes communicate clearly lead a team effectively I can solve X problems by:
identifying barriers to change transitioning to deep sustainability I have these pocket tools:
Transcendental Meditation and (optional) the TM Sidhis program Advanced Ecological Design
Systems Thinking
Organizational Design (holacracy, consensus, hierarchy) Integral Theory / Spiral Dynamics
Clean Talk
Conflict Resolution
Kamana basic naturalist training A systematic approach to:
* Integrated community development * Project development
Coursework
All new, more advanced courses than those in the current undergraduate Sustainable Living program at MUM; available to SL Masters students only (except for the Consciousness and Sustainability seminar, which is open to all students whose schedule allows them to take it).
First Year Course Schedule (Fall entry only)
(Regular and semester-long courses will be taken simultaneously except Fall 8C -9D) Fall
Block Regular courses Credits Instructor
8C-9A 33 Lesson SCI 3 David Fisher
9B-D Nature, Indigenous Wisdom, and the Self 3 David Fisher
10A-11B Advanced Ecological Design Implementation 4.5 Appachandra Thimmaiah 11C-12D Conceptual Maps for Change-Makers 4.5 Emmuel Schachinger
Semester-long courses
10A-12D Community Sustainability Project 4 David Fisher (oversight) Spring
Regular courses Credits
1CD Construction of Unified Chart 1 CBE Specialist
2A-D Advanced Foundations of Sustainability 3 Travis Cox 3A-D Facilitating Holistic Community Development 3 Anna Bruen1 4A-D Transformative Entrepreneurship 3 Stuart Valentine 5A-D Holistic Social Justice and Ethics 3 Travis Cox
6AB Cultural Competence2 2 Tom Morgan
Semester-long courses
2A-5D Consciousness and Sustainability Seminar 1 CBE Specialist
2A-5D Community Sustainability Project 4 David Fisher (oversight)
1
Availability not yet fully confirmed
2
May be included as one week of Block 5
Summary Course Descriptions
Science of Creative Intelligence – 33 Lesson SCI
In the Science of Creative Intelligence, you will study the structure of the field of pure
intelligence, from which all fields of knowledge arise. Only from this most fundamental level can knowledge be unified. This course examines how the creative intelligence displayed in every grain of creation arises in a systematic and sequential fashion from within this one basic universal field.
Nature, Indigenous Wisdom and the Self
In this course you will build relationships with one other, learn field tested naturalist skills, and explore connections between nature and consciousness from an indigenous perspective. You will explore local nature through direct experience, using the Kamana Naturalist Training Program, and gain a solid foundation of nature awareness as they prepare to design local sustainability projects.
Advanced Ecological Design Implementation
The practical applications of ecological design extend beyond organic farms to entire
communities. Building on prior knowledge of this discipline, you will explore how advanced design principles can be used to meet the food, energy, water, housing and cultural needs of communities. The majority of this course is field work: you will practice and implement ecological design in the community of Fairfield emphasizing food systems, biomimicry, and resilience.
Conceptual Models for Change Makers
The map is not the territory, but maps aid in making decisions about how to get where you want to go. This especially the case for change makers in the complex global environment. In creating change towards holistically resilient communities, you will be exposed to, learn the language of, and practice application of leadership and team-building in relation to tools such as integral theory, complexity theory, spiral dynamics, systems thinking, clean talk, and polarity management.
Consciousness and Sustainability Seminar
This weekly hour-long session integrates the vital element of consciousness into the fabric of sustainability. Featuring presentations by SL faculty and graduate students, other MUM faculty, visiting faculty, and guest speakers, it will foster dynamic discussion on an area only just
beginning to be acknowledged by other graduate sustainability programs and the sustainability movement in general.
Community Sustainability Project
This semester-long course makes up approximately half of the program’s first year activities. You will form teams which will design and implement specific projects in Fairfield in
cooperation with the city’s Sustainability Coordinator. Teams will apply the skills, knowledge, and tools they learn in the classroom to real-world situations that will have lasting and beneficial impact. Their performance will be evaluated by team members, other teams in the cohort, the Sustainability Coordinator, and the course coordinator.
Advanced Foundations of Sustainability
This course asks profound questions such as: What is the relationship of sustainability to consciousness? Is sustainability a moral ideal? What are the possible roles of technology, business, science, art and spirituality in our quest to achieve sustainability? Deep sustainability, a transdisicplinary approach being developed at MUM, also explores assumptions of our cultures and draws motivation from the source of our humanity while applying it to food systems, water issues, green energy, natural building, and healthy communities.
Facilitating Holistic Community Development
You will learn how to create ecologically, economically, and socially sustainable communities in this course. In addition, you will learn strategies for sustainable community development, focusing on achieving locally identified goals using locally appropriate solutions. Through studying the connections between community needs (e.g., health, education, energy, food, arts, culture, government, economy, and the built environment), you will learn how to maintain a “big picture” perspective as they focus on specific challenges.
Transformative Entrepreneurship
Truly transformative business uses a synthesis of economical, social, and ecological tools to create responsible, scalable, sustainable solutions. You will focus on creating sustainability through entrepreneurship. They learn about the various business classifications (for profit, not for profit, cooperative) and when each one is appropriate. They study business model
prototyping, project proposal writing, and fundraising. If you are interested in consultancy you will gain the basic business tools you need to get started.
Holistic Social Justice and Ethics
In a truly sustainable community, the rights of people are considered alongside the rights of the environment. You will explore social justice as a movement based on the concepts of universal rights and equity for all of the natural world, including humanity. You will look at perspectives on social justice from modern to indigenous and how the rights of all life are manifested at every level of society. You will consider various holistic ethical and moral viewpoints on social justice and the study of holistic social justice advocacy.
Cultural Competence
The ability to relate to any culture is an important skill for community development workers and sustainability consultants. Here, culture is defined as the customs and norms practiced by a family, a town, an organization, or a country. Bu understanding how cultures influence individual and collective decision making, community development workers will be better equipped to carry out their work, including building the basic trust and relationship that are vital for sustainable projects.
Construction of a Unified Field Chart
During this course you will construct a Unified Field Chart for your particular area of interest in sustainable living, based on your own experience in the classroom as well as its application to the city of Fairfield. Beginning with the most abstract, fundamental bases of knowledge and proceeding through more and more elaborated anc concrete manifestations of community and global sustainability, this exercise will allow you to not only see and own various elements of sustainable living, but also the wholeness of it at a glance.
Field Work and Thesis Preparation
In this second year course, you may work full time with groups of people seeking to make their community, business, or other kinds of organizations more sustainable. You may also fulfill this requirement by completing two years in the U.S. Peace Corps, or by conducting research in an area of sustainability that interests you. In every case, you will write a final report or thesis of publishable quality.
Entrance Requirements
General MUM: same as for undergraduates
http://www.mum.edu/default.aspx?RelID=625022&issearch=checklist Sustainable Living:
BA or BS in sustainability / environmental studies, or equivalent. For students who have a BA or BS in some other field: one year of Sustainable Living including the six core courses, an internship, and an SL elective
Interview: To be conducted in person or via online view chat. This will include an oral exam in which applicants will be tested on their knowledge of key people, concepts, and technologies in the field of sustainability, applying critical thinking skills to answer the questions. In addition, there will be questions related to the applicant’s resume and personal statement.
