Course Descriptions

Below are descriptions of each of the courses.  Each course has a lead facilitator and guest faculty.

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SL-G325 Consciousness, Sustainability, and the Dilemmas of the 21st Century
How does a deeply holistic worldview develop?  A deeply holistic worldview is one that sees the world, both in intellectual understanding and in experience, as full of sentience, intelligence, and consciousness. A deeply holistic worldview sees the world as more than the sum of its interrelated parts. With this holism, “life” as an emergent property that is not present in individual parts of living organisms but emerges from the whole. How would this worldview inform leadership, economics, science, governance, religion, healthcare, agriculture, energy use, buildings, organizational and city design? In short, how would a deeply holistic worldview change the way we do and be in the world? We draw on leading thinkers from around the world who are working to integrate holism into their disciplines, as well as ancient approaches to holism to help you decide what you want to do and be in the world.

SL-G326 Hawaiian Studies, World Wisdom, and Deep Sustainability
Deep sustainability connects the ecological, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability with its deeper levels of spirituality and consciousness. This course explores ancient and modern ideas of holism in Hawaiian cultures, as well as other forms of world wisdom including Vedic Sciences. We include an introduction to the effects of colonialism and the adoption of western science and economic models. We look at Hawaiian engineering, agriculture, governance, wayfaring, and cosmology, as well as what it means to be a Hawaiian cultural practitioner today. There is extensive use of field trips and guest speakers, along with hands-on experience in hula, Hawaiian music, cultivation and use of traditional Hawaiian plants, craft, and traditional medicine. Another thread that runs through the course and the entire program is how Hawaiian cultures and world wisdom contribute to leadership in the 21st century.

SL-G327 Sustainable Living: Practical Solutions for Individual and Community Sustainability
Sustainability is an emergent property of the ecological, social, and economic integrity found in healthy, holistic living systems of living, working, and being.  Sustainable living is how we put this into practice in our homes and in our communities. In this course, we explore practical hands on solutions to the sustainability challenges that face humanity today, both at the individual and community scale. Buildings, composting, renewable energy, agriculture, rainwater harvesting, and community organizing initiatives are also included in the course.

 

Integrative Capstone Project
This “bookend” course provides an individualized context for the Hawaii Semester program by integrating individualized and collective learning in a uniquely connective manner. In the opening part of the program, incoming students identify an individualized project that shapes the uniquely connective learning territory of the Hawaii Semester. Throughout the program, students’ experiential learning and research projects support this individualized project. The closing part of the program connects this individual project with a cohort-wide learning. Essential to this course is an openness to evolving personal interests and passions into a uniquely connective life-work that integrates consciousness, community, sustainability, and leadership.  Preparation for this course runs through the entire semester-long program, with this course dedicated to the completion of a project and the exploration of setting life directions informed by the entire program.

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Emerging Leaders in Sustainability Certificate

This 8-week certificate introduces participants to the core elements of the 4-month Hawaii Semester program.  The certificate consists of 4 weeks of distance education, a 16-day immersive Hawaii Experience on Big Island, followed by a capstone portfolio completed through distance education.  Our next certificate program begins in August 2017!