Contemplative Learning and Inquiry across Disciplines

Edited by Olen Gunnlaugson, Edward W. Sarath, Charles Scott, and Heesoon Bai

Subjects: Psychology, Education, Religion, Higher Education, Transpersonal Psychology
Paperback : 9781438452401, 424 pages, July 2015
Hardcover : 9781438452395, 424 pages, August 2014

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Table of contents

An Introduction to Contemplative Learning and Inquiry Across Disciplines
Olen Gunnlaugson, Edward W. Sarath, Charles Scott, and Heesoon Bai
Part I. Contemplative Studies: A New Academic Descipline

1. Contemplative Pedagogy in Higher Education: Toward a More Reflective Academy
Arthur Zajonic, Amherst University
2. A Philosophical Framework for Contemplative Education
Deborah Orr, York University
3. Kindred Spirits in Teaching Contemplative Practice: Distraction, Solitude, and Simplicity
Mara Adelman, Seattle University
4. Contemplation: The Soul’s Way of Knowing
John (Jack) P. Miller, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
5. Fitting in Breath Hunting: Thai and U. S. Perspectives of Contemplative Pedagogy
David Lee Keiser, Monclair State University, and Saratid Sakulkoo, Burapha University

6. A Pedagogy for the New Field of Contemplative Studies
Harold D. Roth, Brown University
Part II. Domain Specific Perspectives
7. Learning about Obligation, Compassion, and Global Justice: The Place of Contemplative Pedagogy
David Khane, University of Alberta

8. History as Dharma: A Contemplative Practice Model for Teaching the Middle East and Africa
Elise G. Young, Westfield State University
9. Paying Attention: Introspection as a Ground of Learning
Daniel Barbezat, Amherst College

10. Integrating Mindfulness Theory and Practice at Lesley University
Nancy W. Waring, Lesley University
11. Information and Contemplation: Exploring Contemplative Approaches to Information Technology
David M. Levy, University of Washington
12. Contemplative Pedagogy: Perspectives from Cognitive and Affective Science
Alfred W. Kaszniak, University of Arizona
Part III. Contemplating Change: Individual and Collective Transformation in Contemplative Education Environments

13. Transformative Pathways: Engaging the Heart in Contemplative Education
Diana Denton, University of Waterloo
14. Contemplating Uncomfortable Emotions: Creating Transformative Spaces for Learning in Higher Education
John Eric Baugher, University of Southern Maine
15. Contemplative Disciplines in Higher Education: Cutting through Academic Materialism
Daniel Vokey, University of British Columbia
16. Transitions: Teaching from the Spaces Between
Richard C. Brown, Naropa University
17. A Call for Wisdom in Higher Education: Contemplative Voices from the Dao-Field
Heeson Bai, Simon Fraser University; Avraham Cohen, City University; Tom Culham, Sean Park, Shahar Rabi, Charles Scott, and Saskia Tait, Simon Fraser University
Part IV. New Frontiers of Contemplative Learning and Instruction
18. Considerations for Collective Leadership: A Threefold Contemplative Curriculum for Engaging the Intersubjective Field of Learning
Olen Gunnlaugson, Université Laval
19. Buberian Dialogue as an Intersubjective Contemplative Praxis
Charles Scott, Simon Fraser University
20. Contemplative Pedagogy and Compassionate Presence
Joanne Gozawa, California Institute of Integral Studies

21. What Next?: Contemplating the Future of Contemplative Education
Edward W. Sarath, University of Michigan
22. An Inquiry into the Field Dynamics of Collective Learning
Chris Bache, Youngstown State University in conversation with Olen Gunnlaugson, Université Laval
Author Biographies
Index

A wide-ranging consideration of the emerging field of contemplative education.

Description

Contemplative approaches to higher education have been gaining in popularity and application across a wide range of disciplines. Spurring conferences, a growing body of literature, and several academic programs or centers, these approaches promise to contribute significantly to higher education in the years to come. This volume provides an overview of the current landscape of contemplative instruction, pedagogy, philosophy, and curriculum from the perspectives of leading researchers and scholar-practitioners. Contributors come from a variety of disciplines, including education, management and leadership studies, humanities, social sciences, the arts, and information science. Drawing on diverse contexts, the essays reveal the applicability of contemplative studies as a watershed field, capable of informing, enriching, and sustaining the many disciplines and instructional contexts that comprise higher education. Chapters discuss the theoretical aspects of the field; the details, experiences, and challenges of contemplative approaches; and the hopes and concerns for the future of this field.

Olen Gunnlaugson is Assistant Professor of Leadership and Organizational Development at Université Laval, Canada, and the coeditor (with Sean Esbjörn-Hargens and Jonathan Reams) of Integral Education: New Directions for Higher Learning, also published by SUNY Press. Edward W. Sarath is Professor of Music and Director of the Program in Creativity and Consciousness Studies at the University of Michigan and the author of Improvisation, Creativity, and Consciousness: Jazz as Integral Template for Music, Education, and Society, also published by SUNY Press. At Simon Fraser University, Canada, Charles Scott teaches Education and Heesoon Bai is Professor of Philosophy of Education. Bai is the coeditor (with Marcia McKenzie, Paul Hart, and Bob Jickling) of Fields of Green: Restorying Culture, Environment and Education.

Reviews

"This volume will educate the simply curious, inspire the deeply committed, and advance the conversation among proponents and skeptics of contemplative inquiry, which is all to the good for the larger discussion of why we teach. " — Teaching Theology and Religion