Presented by Joss French, Ph.D. and Kurt Love, Ph.D. at the annual meeting of American Educational Studies Association in Baltimore, MD on November 2, 2013

1. MYTHOLOGIES & SCIENCE FICTION
AS CONTEXTS TO EXPLORE
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES
Joss French, Ph.D.!
Kurt Love, Ph.D.!
Central Connecticut
State University!
!
!
!
Photographs:!
Kimberly Gill!
Sustainable Farm School
Director
American Educational
Studies Association !
Baltimore, Maryland!
November 2, 2013

3. “Expansion”
From the moment we are born,
the world tends to have a
container already built for us
to fit inside: A social security
number, a gender, a race,
a profession or an I.Q. I ponder
if we are more defined by the
container we are in, rather than
what we are inside. Would we
recognize ourselves if we could
expand beyond our bodies?
Would we still be able to exist
if we were authentically
'un-contained'?
Paige Bradley

4. “Myth”
Myths are “stories”
acting as banks that
store cultural values,
origins of thinking,
rituals, and traditions
that might otherwise be
lost.
Myths can help to
question dominant and
privileged mindsets.
http://prezi.com/lsncossgvb3c/nine-worlds/

8. A Question For All You
Tricksters, Avatars & Aliens
Out There
How Do We Transform Our
Present Eco-Social Realities?

9. Where the roots of our domination over each other come
from the same root of domination we feel over the earth. . .

10. Where when our biodiversity is threatened and so is our
cultural diversity . . .

11. Where when dominant elites exploit the earth and
subordinate peoples and beings for their own benefit. . .

12. Where when our very social justice, critical social theories,
and multiculturalism are often anthropocentric (human
over nature) . . .

13. How do we move toward . . .
. . . A Vision

14. and to other Realities . . ?
1. Where eco-racism is eliminated?!
2. Where we “revitalize the commons” to create a
balance between market and non-market aspects of
community life?!
3. Where we end the industrialized nations’ exploitation
and cultural colonization of third-world nations?!
4. Where we ensure that the hubris and ideology of
Western industrial culture does not diminish future
generations’ ways of living and quality of life?!
5. Where we support an “Earth Democracy”--the right of
nature to flourish rather than be contingent upon the
demands of humans
Summary points of ecojustice theory!
from ecojusticeeducation.org

15. How Do We Get There?
. . . to want to (re)imagine sustainable eco-social communities?!
. . . to want to (re)create sustainable eco-social communities?!
. . . to want to expand or become
(un)contained beyond ourselves?

16. Steven: “Do you
SEE Me, Do You
HEAR Me?”

18. Why Was Steven’s
Voice Released?
“[Voice
is
released
when
the
teacher]
utilize[s]
aesthetic
methods
that
instill
trust
with
the
child.
.
.
[The
aesthetic
process
is]
reciprocal
in
that
as
the
student
asserts
his/her
power
and
who
they
are,
the
teacher
displays
to
the
student
how
that
power
of
choice
is
received
and
nurtured.
The
child
begins
to
de@ine
their
self-­‐knowledge
as
their
sense
of
self,
their
imaginative
independent
voice,
is
realized”
(Clark
&
French,
2013,
p.
4)
Clark,
B.
A.
&
French,
J.J.
(May
2014,
in
press).
Hearts
and
minds
without
fear:
Unmasking
the
sacred
in
teacher
preparaHon.
In
B.L.
Reck,
(Ed.)
Center
of
Partnerships
for
Arts-­‐Integrated
Teaching
(Book
Series
Inaugural
Selec<on).
CharloMe,
NC:
InformaHon
Age
Publishing.

19. How Did this Happen?
Seed of Unmasking
Creating a Compassionate Community Where Social
Imagination Thrives With Endless Possibilities

20. Seed Of Unmasking: Hearts & Minds Without Fear
(www.compassionateteaching.com)
!
Clark,
B.
A.
&
French,
J.J.
(May
2014,
in
press).
Hearts
and
minds
without
fear:
Unmasking
the
sacred
in
teacher
preparaHon.
In
B.L.
Reck,
(Ed.)
Center
of
Partnerships
for
Arts-­‐Integrated
Teaching
(Book
Series
Inaugural
Selec<on).
CharloMe,
NC:
InformaHon
Age
Publishing.

21. Seed of Unmasking: Hearts & Minds Without Fear

22. Mask Documentary: Echoes From A
Child’s Soul
Clark, B. (2005). Moral imagination and art: Echoes from a child’s soul (Doctoral
dissertation). University of Hartford, United States--Connecticut. Retrieved May
10, 2012, from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text. (Publication No. AAT 315 7797)

23. Voice & Release
Becomes
!
!
A Vision
Becomes
Reality

24. References
Clark, B. A. & French, J.J. (May 2014, in press). Hearts and minds without fear:
Unmasking the sacred in teacher preparation. In B.L. Reck, (Ed.) Center of Partnerships
for Arts-Integrated Teaching (Book Series Inaugural Selection). Charlotte, NC:
Information Age Publishing.
Hearts and Minds Without Fear:
http://www.compassionateteaching.com
Echoes from a Child’s Soul:
http://vimeo.com/34858804
Echoes Project:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spgeE5p-xeY
Images also from Adbusters magazine:
adbusters.org