Art, Culture, and Spirit

Description

All human societies and cultures express their relationship to spirit through art. Art is the earliest and most enduring expression of humanity. For community and the individual, art can be a practice of connecting with higher consciousness and with the spirit. In today's global community it is important to understand art of other cultures and by so doing to awaken art within oneself while learning to understand the "other."

All children naturally understand the importance of art and are creating art constantly in their play. All children are artists and all can paint, play, sing, and dance. Children also have an instinctive sense of right and wrong. In the modern, industrial world these natural abilities often become suppressed and lost. Modern educators need to be confident in their own artistic abilities and grounded in their own moral core; they need to be trained in communication across cultures and able to support children's healthy development.

The students in this half-time, interdisciplinary program will immerse themselves in study and practice of art and in cultural experiences that are vastly different from the Western dominant culture by studying Native American, Muslim, Hebrew, and Chinese cultures. Students will make art, study myths and world religions as they have been shaped by cultures and landscapes of the past, and examine cultural and ethical norms. Students will also examine cultural influences and pressures of today's global society and will investigate the importance of preserving and developing cultural, artistic, and ethical traditions. Students will engage in traditional academic study such as reading, writing, and seminars and will also engage in art making, meditation, community events, and the practice of Tai Ji. Students will participate in their community's spiritual practices and will cultivate their own spiritual, meditative, ethical, and artistic life. In addition to classroom study, students will participate in mediation retreats and will go on field trips to explore art and spiritual resources in the community.

In winter quarter students will be able to work on community service projects, in schools, and on Native American reservations. Students will also have the option to travel to China in March of 2011 to study in important Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian centers.  Students who wish to participate in this travel option should register for either 4 credits (just the trip) or 12 credits (8-credit program plus the trip).