Journey of the Universe: A Story for Our Times
Yale University via Coursera Specialization
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Overview
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Course 1: Journey of the Universe: The Unfolding of Life
Course 2: Journey of the Universe: Weaving Knowledge and Action
Course 3: The Worldview of Thomas Berry: The Flourishing of the Earth Community
Journey of the Universe: A Story for Our Times is a course series created by senior research scholars at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim. The courses weave the discoveries of the evolutionary sciences together with the humanities such as history, philosophy, art, and religion. The courses in this Specialization draw on the Emmy-award winning film, Journey of the Universe, the book from Yale University Press, and a series of 20 interviews with scientists and environmentalists, titled Journey Conversations.
Each week there will be a brief commentary by Brian Thomas Swimme, co-author of the Journey book.
As part of the Specialization, we investigate the life of Thomas Berry, a historian of world religions known for articulating a “new story” of the universe that explores the implications of the evolutionary sciences and cultural traditions for creating a flourishing future.
The capstone course gives students an opportunity to bring together their learning in a project that explores ways in which the creativity of humans can be more deeply aligned with the creativity of universe and Earth processes.
Syllabus
Course 1: Journey of the Universe: The Unfolding of Life
- Offered by Yale University. Journey of the Universe weaves together the discoveries of the evolutionary sciences together with humanities ... Enroll for free.
Course 2: Journey Conversations: Weaving Knowledge and Action
- Offered by Yale University. Journey of the Universe weaves together the discoveries of the evolutionary sciences together with humanities ... Enroll for free.
Course 3: The Worldview of Thomas Berry: The Flourishing of the Earth Community
- Offered by Yale University. Thomas Berry (1914-2009) was a historian of world religions and an early voice awakening moral sensibilities to ... Enroll for free.
- Offered by Yale University. Journey of the Universe weaves together the discoveries of the evolutionary sciences together with humanities ... Enroll for free.
Course 2: Journey Conversations: Weaving Knowledge and Action
- Offered by Yale University. Journey of the Universe weaves together the discoveries of the evolutionary sciences together with humanities ... Enroll for free.
Course 3: The Worldview of Thomas Berry: The Flourishing of the Earth Community
- Offered by Yale University. Thomas Berry (1914-2009) was a historian of world religions and an early voice awakening moral sensibilities to ... Enroll for free.
Courses
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Journey of the Universe weaves together the discoveries of the evolutionary sciences together with humanities such as history, philosophy, art, and religion. This course draws on the Journey of the Universe Conversations, a series of 20 interviews with scientists and environmentalists. The first 10 interviews are with scientists and historians who deepen our understanding of the evolutionary process of universe, Earth, and humans. The second 10 interviews are with environmentalists, teachers, and artists who explore the connections between the universe story and the practices for a flourishing Earth community.
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Thomas Berry (1914-2009) was a historian of world religions and an early voice awakening moral sensibilities to the environmental crisis. He is known for articulating a “new story” of the universe that explores the implications of the evolutionary sciences and cultural traditions for creating a flourishing future. This course investigates Berry’s life and thought in relation to the Journey of the Universe project. It draws on his books, articles, and recorded lectures to examine such ideas as: the New Story, the Great Work, and the emerging Ecozoic era. The course explores Berry’s insights into cosmology as a context for locating the human in a dynamic unfolding universe and thus participating in the creative work of our times. In particular, we will examine Berry’s reflections on renewal and reform in the areas of ecology, economics, education, spirituality, and the arts. Course Rationale: Thomas Berry was an original, creative, and comprehensive thinker, especially regarding the critical nature of our global environmental crisis. His intellectual importance resides in his response to the ecological crisis by bringing together the humanities and science in an evolutionary narrative. In addition, he articulated the need for the moral participation of the world religions in addressing environmental issues. He came to this realization largely through his study of cosmologies embedded within religious traditions. Sensing the significance of these stories as “functional cosmologies” he explored the widespread influence that these stories transmitted through a tradition, for example, in rituals, ethics, and subsistence practices.
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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.
Taught by
John Grim and Mary Evelyn Tucker