During our time together, we will explore this idea of a fundamental connection between self, community, and place. Our attention to the major practices, beliefs, figures, and stories that are integral to each tradition will help guide our questioning, thinking, learning, and discovery about the ways in which both wilderness and community are concepts and realities at the heart of our human experience. We will explore some of the following questions: What are our obligations to the natural world, and how do those obligations inform–or conflict with–our obligations to one another? What constitutes a sense of place, and what role does this concept play in developing a sustainable and spiritual relationship with the land and the community around us? This class will frequently take us outside and out into the field where we will explore, reflect, observe, connect, and seek to experience the true shape of wilderness and community.  

Cross-listed with English.