This course will draw on the resources created in the Journey of the Universe project. This consists of a film, a book, and a series of 20 interviews with scientists and environmentalists. Journey of the Universe weaves together the discoveries of evolutionary science together with cosmological understandings found in the religious traditions of the world. The authors explore cosmic evolution as a creative process based on connection, interdependence, and emergence. The Journey project also presents an opportunity to investigate the daunting ecological and social challenges of our times.
Required Texts:
- Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker, Journey of the Universe. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011.
- Thomas Berry, “The New Story,” Teilhard Studies #1, American Teilhard Association, Winter 1978. Reprinted in The Dream of the Earth (1988); online at http://www.journeyoftheuniverse.org/storage/Berry–The_New_Story.pdf
- Brian Swimme, Hidden Heart of the Cosmos: Humanity and the New Story. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1996.
Website: Journey of the Universe website www.journeyoftheuniverse.org
Recommended Readings:
- Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry. The Universe Story. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1994.
- Thomas Berry: Selected Writings on the Earth Community. Selected by Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2014.
- Teilhard in the 21st Century. Edited by Arthur Fabel and Donald St John, Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2003.
- Eric Chaisson, The Epic of Evolution. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007.
- Cynthia Brown, Big History: From the Big Bang to the Present. Fort Meyers, FL: New Press, 2012.
- William McNeil, The Human Condition: An Ecological and Historical View. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1980.