Live Q&A: Mary Evelyn Tucker on THOMAS BERRY: A BIOGRAPHY
Click for this Resource!CELEBRATING THOMAS BERRY’S TEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY
In celebration of the 10-year anniversary of Thomas Berry’s passing (June 1, 2009) and publication of THOMAS BERRY: A BIOGRAPHY, Jennifer Morgan interviews author and pre-eminent Thomas Berry scholar Mary Evelyn Tucker. Click on “Link to Resources” above to watch the interview that took place on May 23, 2019.
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See information below about Thomas Berry and Mary Evelyn Tucker.
http://thomasberry.org/life-
http://Journeyoftheuniverse.org
http://fore.yale.edu
https://www.coursera.org/
Thomas Berry (1914–2009) was one of the twentieth century’s most prescient and profound thinkers. As a cultural historian, he sought a broader perspective on humanity’s relationship to the earth in order to respond to the ecological and social challenges of our times. This first biography of Berry illuminates his remarkable vision and its continuing relevance for achieving transformative social change and environmental renewal.
Berry began his studies in Western history and religions and then expanded to include Asian and indigenous religions, which he taught at Fordham University, Barnard College, and Columbia University. Drawing on his explorations of history, he came to see the evolutionary process as a story that could help restore the continuity of humans with the natural world. Berry urged humans to recognize their place on a planet with complex ecosystems in a vast, evolving universe. He sought to replace the modern alienation from nature with a sense of intimacy and responsibility. Berry called for new forms of ecological education, law, and spirituality, as well as the creation of resilient agricultural systems, bioregions, and ecocities. At a time of growing environmental crisis, this biography shows the ongoing significance of Berry’s conception of human interdependence with the earth as part of the unfolding journey of the universe.
- Used by people who call the work: Journey of the Universe, The New Story
- Applies a deep time evolutionary perspective to: Agriculture, Art, Biology and Earth Systems Science, Current Issues, Ecology/Sustainability, Education, Government, Law, Religion/Spirituality, Science, Social Justice
- Learning Stages: Adult Education, Higher Education, Lifelong, Secondary 9 - 12
- Type: Video
- Keywords: Thomas Berry, Brian Swimme, Mary Evelyn Tucker
- Link to Resource: Click here
- Posted By: Jennifer Morgan
- Date Added: May 30, 2019
Dear Mary Evelyn, we can’t thank you enough for your interview on the eve of Thomas Berry’s tenth anniversary and release date of the new biography, so insightful about his life and huge significance for today. With deep gratitude, Jennifer
Jennifer, Thanks very much for organizing this great discussion with Mary Evelyn. It was wonderful to hear from her and see the broad range of participants from various parts of world. You are doing e doing great work.l.
Thanks Mike! The work of Thomas Berry is so deep that it would take several lifetimes to plumb the depths, and having Mary Evelyn help us to focus in on her work was helpful beyond words. So great to have you participate. The experience really opened my eyes to what’s possible with the webinar format so we’ll do much more. What kinds of webinars would you like to see Mike?
Fantastic interview with Mary Evelyn!!
Both of you gave us excellent, from-the-heart presentations. And, today’s follow up email is so good to have, to listen to and watch again.
Mary Evelyn Tucker provided clarity concerning Berry’s perspective on the contributions of Maria Montessori. In terms of our approach to Montessori integrative learning, I would say that Berry’s Great Work and Montessori’s cosmic task are so closely related that one can hardly make a distinction. Phil Gang, The Institute for Educational Studies (TIES), http://www.ties-edu.org
Bravo on this Mary Evelyn Tucker interview. More soon!
Joyce Rouse (AKA Earth Mama)
http://www.earthmama.org
Dear Jennifer, It was so wonderful tuning in to listen to you and Mary Evelyn. Your questions were so good, and your fielding of the questions coming in and sending them to home plate (forgive the baseball image) (where did that come from?)—it was a great Q and A and I felt totally inspired once again, and energized! Thanks so much for doing that…a great idea / inspiration / celebration of Thomas. Let’s allow ourselves to be filled with amazement that among all the people in the world, we are blessed to have “been there” to meet and be befriended… Read more »
Dear Mary Evelyn and Jennifer, Your conversation…..really a revelatory excursion into the numinous territory of one of the greatest minds, hearts, and spirits in the history of humanity……whose gift with words, deeply fermented in the crucible of patient, intellectual and emotional engagement with ALL domains of knowledge, being, and feeling…..of a ‘communion of subjects’……and a dedication to the Great Context/Story/Understanding/Being. The joy of connecting internationally….globally……easily……spontaneously…..is one of the gifts of the Deep Time Network and the love of learning that Jennifer brings to everything she does. Mary Evelyn, with John, is a mentor’s mentor, an irresistible force of right thinking,… Read more »
Wow! Thank you Sam . . . you always have a way of saying things so smoothly and passionately. So grateful for your comment!
What a fascinating interview! Mary Evelyn Tucker eloquently articulates who Thomas Berry was and why he was—and continues to be—so important. Jennifer Morgan and others on the podcast ask insightful questions. Embracing global historical and cultural perspectives led Thomas Berry to create a new and creative vision about our relationship with the cosmos. Thomas brought the spirituality of cosmology into dialogue with science, which led to the fields of contemporary spirituality and evolutionary spirituality. Some thought–provoking highlights of the Q&A interview for me include that: • We are birthed from cosmic processes. • The microcosm of the human is related… Read more »
Thanks Imogene for summarizing the highlights of this webinar. The experience opened up the possibility for offering many more webinars on the Network. More than ever, it’s so crucial to connect across the globe inside a deeptime perspective of our past and future, and intimate interconnection. With thanks!!!
My brain is full of new possibilities for sharing the work of Thomas Berry after watching this video the first time. I know I will revisit it when needed to tease out the threads of so many rich ideas touched upon here! When I speak of Berry, I generally mean it as a shortened version of saying “Berry,Teilhard de Chardin, Indigenous, Confucianism and all the wisdom sources included in the brilliant synthesis of the Universe Story work that Berry, Tucker, Swimme and so many others have added to and unpacked for the rest of us”. Great interview and wonderful questions… Read more »