AESS 2017 Draft Conference Session Schedule
Community Building in Sustainability Education
Abstract
The three papers on this panel investigate diverse pathways to community building in sustainability education and practice. Central to each approach is a commitment to relationship building, empathy and integrative education. Banschbach and Larson-Harris report on the results of an interdisciplinary course designed to broaden the scope of ethical reasoning by building empathy across species. Utilizing pedagogies that span the sciences and the humanities, their experience demonstrates a more expansive sense of community that includes non-human species. Goralnik investigates three pedagogies that promote ethical reasoning and “whole student” participation in sustainability problem-solving: contemplative practice, community building, and integration of science, ethics, and holistic experience. Manring investigates autoethnography as a means of community building among environmental researchers and educators to foster resilience and sustain our collective commitment to repairing planetary degradation. Taken together the three papers highlight the central importance of community building in effective sustainability education and professional development. The panel contributes fresh pedagogical approaches and perspectives on integrating information from the humanities, social sciences, and the natural sciences in sustainability education designed to further “Environment, Wellness and Community.”
Primary Contact
Dr. Nancy J Manring, Ohio University
Presenters
Dr. Valerie S. Banschbach, Roanoke College
Title of paper
Building empathy across species: An interdisciplinary approach to teaching ethical reasoning about animals
Dr. Lissy Goralnik, Michigan State University
Title of paper
Whole Student Sustainability Education for Ethics and Action: contemplative practice, community building, and integration
Co-Authors
Dr. Marwood Larson-Harris, Ph.D., Roanoke College
Title of paper
Building empathy across species: An interdisciplinary approach to teaching ethical reasoning about animals