Pedagogy of Responsibility: Wendell Berry for EcoJustice Education [Kõva köide]

Drawing on the wisdom and exploring the influence of author/conservationist Wendell Berry for the field of EcoJustice Education, at the heart of this book is a fundamental commitment to the recognition that we live together on this planet among all kinds of living creatures in a fragile and essential interdependence. The authors articulate a pedagogy of responsibility as a three-pronged approach that that examines the deep cultural roots of intersecting social and ecological problems, especially as these are perpetuated within educational and other institutions; identifies practices, relationships, beliefs, and traditions that contribute to healthier communities, human and more than human; and calls for the development of imagination, especially a rethinking of the purposes of education generated from a vision of healthy, just, and sustainable communities.

Emphasizing both the critical analytic processes that expose harmful ideologies, structures and patterns, and the qualities contributing to the sorts of responsibility and values (many of these ancient) needed to restore the planet and our communities to healthy balance, this book highlights Berry’s importance as an educational philosopher, and brings his ideas directly to bear on how a pedagogy of responsibility grows out of and contributes to EcoJustice Education. It draws readers into the issues by telling stories that they can relate to and introducing the critical work that Berry offers (in fiction, poetry, critical essays, and storytelling) and at the same time presenting questions and theory that challenge taken for granted perspectives, and open ways of thinking that facilitate a commitment to teaching for democracy and sustainability.