Description

Join a . . .

JOURNEY OF THE UNIVERSE Study Group!

Facilitated by Shirley Pevarnik & Ezekiel Fugate

Registration is Closed.

Zoom Meetings on Seven Mondays— 7:00 PM EST:  March 23, 30; April 6, 13, 20, 27; May 4

Journey of the Universe weaves together the discoveries of the evolutionary sciences together with humanities such as history, philosophy, art, and religion. The course draws on the Emmy-award winning film, Journey of the Universe, and the book from Yale University Press.

Journey explores cosmic evolution as a creative process based on connection, interdependence, and emergence. It examines a range of dynamic interactions in the unfolding of galaxies, Earth, life, and human communities. It investigates ways in which we understand evolutionary processes and the implications for humans and our ecological future.

The Journey course, thus, is based on a new integration that is emerging from the dialogue of the sciences and humanities. Journey tells the story of evolution as an epic narrative, rather than as a series of facts separated by scientific disciplines. This changes our perception so that we begin to see ourselves as an integral part of this narrative. By situating ourselves within this story we can better appreciate the complexity and beauty of processes such as self-organizing dynamics, natural selection, emergence, symbiosis, and co-evolution. As we discover these intricate processes of evolution, we awaken to the beauty and complexity of our natural environment at this critical juncture in our planetary history.

How the Study Group Works:

Participants sign up for the JOURNEY OF THE UNIVERSE course on Coursera.  (See registration steps below).  Each week, participants read articles and watch videos on Coursera and meet with the DTN study group in Zoom Meetings on Monday at 7:00 PM EST for seven weeks, beginning March 23.  The first session on March 23rd will introduce participants to the course and how to navigate between the two sites.  Not to worry, we’ll hold your hand!

Who is this for?

• Everyone who wants to delve deeply into the Universe Story and it’s implications for our future.
• Teachers who want to frame their curriculum inside the Story of the Universe.
• Montessori teachers in particular will be interested in how this work compliments the
• Cosmic Education curriculum.

Just in . . . !

Storyteller, rapper, poet, writer and teacher Drew Dellinger, Ph.D., will join the study group on April 27th.  Drew is a teacher who has inspired minds and hearts around the world, performing poetry and keynoting on justice, ecology, cosmology, and compassion. He is also a consultant, publisher, and founder of Planetize the Movement. Drew was a participant, speaking on arts and justice and the new story, in the JOTU Conversations:Weaving Knowledge and Action.

Participants in our Fall Study Group were asked, 

“What did you like about the Study Group?”  Here’s what they said:

I loved the interaction.

Talking to all the people around the United States and the world and hearing their stories and philosophies. The readings and videos were very interesting. I thought a lot about what I read and heard.

Great readings, great cohort.

The deep dive into Thomas Berry’s brilliant, and profound language for integrating ALL the domains of both knowledge and understanding…..the comprehensive view that leaves out…..NOTHING…..in recognition that all our physical, cultural, and spiritual/psychic experiences are inseparable from their relationship with all dimensions of the Universe.

The ability to hear and respond to the perceptions of other individuals who are equally excited and interested in the material!!

I loved the thoroughness of the presenters. I enjoyed the videos and the readings. It was also great getting to know some other people.

Two Registration Steps

1. DTN:  Register for the DTN STUDY GROUP by clicking on ADD TO CART above, then VIEW CART, and follow prompts.
2. COURSERA:  We will use content on the Coursera course Journey of the Universe: The Unfolding of Life.     To audit the Coursera course for free, click here.  Or, you can pay for the Coursera course to get a certificate from Coursera.

Journey of the Universe: The Unfolding of Life

Week 1 (March 23, 2020)
Introductions
Instructions for Navigating the Course and Using Zoom
Brian Swimme Video:  The New Cosmology Via Einstein and Dirac as a Fundamental Copernican Type Turning Point

Week 2: Session 1 on Coursera (March 30, 2020)
Introduction – The Beginning of The Universe
In module two, we explore how humans are part of the larger universe story.

Week 3: Session 2 on Coursera  (April 6, 2020)
The Formation of Galaxies and Stars
This module explores many of the world’s greatest stories and how they begin our journey, a quest to answer life’s most intimate questions like where we come from and why we are here.

Week 4: Session 3 on Coursera  (April 13, 2020)
Our Solar System and Life’s Emergence
Here we look at several milestones in scientific discovery that expanded our knowledge of the solar system.

Week 5: Session 4 on Coursera  (April 20, 2020)
Living and Dying and the Passion of Animals
We now invite you to think about the coevolution of the human with other species within this broad time scale. Completing this module may change the way that you understand what it means to be human.

Week  6: Session 5 on Coursera  (April 27, 2020)
From the Origin of the Human to Becoming a Planetary Presence
In this module, we hope you come to understand the human species to be “planetary” in a way that other species are not.

Week 7: Session 6 on Coursera  (May 4, 2020)
Rethinking Matter and Time Within the Emerging Earth Community
What does it mean to live in cosmological time? How is thinking like this different than your previous understanding of time? What implications does it have for your understanding of yourself and your sense of your relationship to the world around you? This module explores answers to these questions.

Shirley Pevarnik has an MLA in Creation Spirituality from Matthew Fox’s University of Creation Spirituality (UCS)/Naropa. She studied with Brian Swimme at UCS and California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in the Bay Area. She was a good friend to Thomas Berry and Swimme and is a life long student of their work. She has spent years facilitating video discussion groups on Swimme’s work “Canticle to the Cosmos”, “Earth’s Imagination” and most recently “Journey of the Universe.”  She has started many Ecozoic groups and discussion groups on New Cosmology and gives “Active Hope” workshops based on the work of Joanna Macy. She has been blessed to have lived most of her life in the Southwest desert with the sweet scent of creosote and juniper and the beauty of flowering cactus and great horned owls to help soften the anxiety of the challenging world we live in.  A teacher and social worker, she is also a long time social and environmental justice activist. After being arrested many times for Civil Disobedience protesting the state of our world and brooding over why we humans behave the way we do, she was fortunate enough to finally hear Berry and Swimme’s work and the new Universe Story. She realized it was okay to brood and to understand our real crisis was one of story.  This new scientific, cosmic story changed her life as it possibly has or will change yours. She looks forward to sharing the awe, wonder, and hope that radiates from Brian and “The Journey of the Universe” course and study group.