At the end of the course, students will be able to know underlying Jewish principles and values regarding the earth, be able to compare the tensions in Jewish thought on the human relationship to nature to those within Ecofeminism, know basic theory and practices of non-violent direct action, be able to apply the above to the crisis of global climate change, contemplate how Judaism needs to evolve to address it, and feel more deeply connected to place.
Week One
- Arthur Green, Radican Judaism: Rethinking God and Tradition, pp. 16-33
- Arthur Waskow, ed., Torah of the Earth:Exploring 4,000 years of Ecology in Jewish
- Thought vol 2, “And the Earth is Filled with the Breath of Life” Waskow, 261-86 David Korten, “A Sacred Story for Our Time” Yes Magazine http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/religion-science-and-spirit-a-sacred-story-forour-time
- Mary Evelyn Tucker and John Grim, Thomas Berry: Selected Writings on the Earth Community, pp. 11-24.
Optional
- Brian Thomas Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker, Journey of the Universe.
Week Two
- Arthur Waskow, ed., Torah of the Earth:Exploring 4,000 years of Ecology in Jewish
- Thought vol 1 , “The Mountain and he Tower: Wilderness and City in Symbols of Babylon and Israel” Evan Eisenberg, pp. 18-54.
- “Nature in the Sources of Judaism” Hava Tirosh-Samuelson https://www.amacad.org/content/publications/pubContent.aspx?d=1294
- Waskow Vol 2, “Judaism and nature:Theological and Moral Issues” Eilon Schwartz pp. 159-73
- Waskow Vol 2, “On The Judaism of Nature” Everett Gendler pp. 174-84
Optional
- Waskow Vol 1, “Ecology in Jewish Law and Theology” Norman Lamm pp. 103-126 and “Nature v. Torah” Jeremy Benstein pp. 180-207
Week Three
- Waskow Vol 1, “ The Earth: is the Lord’s: Judaism and Environmental Ethics”, Jonathan Helfand, pp. 127-140
- Waskow Vol. 1 “ Judaism and the Practice of Stewardship” David Ehrenfeld and Philip J. Bentley, pp. 141-156
- Waskow Vol. 1, “The Rabbis and Expanding Environmental Consciousness”, Fred Dobb pp 157-179.
Week Four
- Roger S. Gottlieb, Political and Spiritual, ‘ Spiritual Deep Ecology and the Left’, pp.23-44
- Chaone Mallory, “What Is Ecofeminist Political Philosophy?Gender, Nature, and the Political” in Environmental Ethics Vol 32, pp. 305-322
- http://www38.homepage.villanova.edu/chaone.mallory/publications/EnvEthF10.pdf Irene Diamond and Gloria Feman Orenstein ed., Reweaving The World: The
- Emergence of Ecofeminism,, “Deep Ecology and Ecofeminism: The Emerging Dialogue”
- Michael E. Zimmerman pp 138-54
- Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, ed. Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth “Listening to
- Natural Law” Chief Oren Lyons pp.5-11
- Vaughan-Lee, “Revelation at Laikipia, Kenya” Chief Tamale Bwoya, “, p 29-33.
Optional
- Gottlieb, ‘Ethics and Trauma: Levinas, Feminism and Deep Ecology’ pp 45-66.
- Diamond and Orenstein ed., “Searching for Common Ground” Judith Plant pp 155- 61.
Week Five
- Vaughn Lee, “Greening of the Self”, Joanna Macy, pp. 143-156.
- Joanna Macy and Molly Brown, Coming Back to Life, pp. 37-62
- Charlene Spretnak, Relational Reality: New Discoveries of Interrelatedness That are Transforming the Modern World.pp. 196-203.
Optional
- Joanna Macy, World as lover world as self: Courage for Global Justice and Ecological Renewal
Week Six
- Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything, pp. 64-95, 128-38, 161-87
- Bill McKibben, “Global Warmings Terrifying New Math” in Rolling Stone, July 19, 2012 http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/global-warmings-terrifying-new-math-20120719
- Philadelphia Magazine, September 29, 2014, “Philadelphia + a Pipeline (or Two) = America’s Next Energy Hub” Patrick Kerkstra http://www.phillymag.com/articles/philadelphia-pipeline-americas-next-energy-hub/
Week Seven
- Klein, pp. 291-296, 303-16, 337-46,
- Eric Utne, “Which Side Are You On” Utne Reader, Winter 2014
- Charles Eisenstein, “Climate Change: The Bigger Picture” Utne Reader Winter 2014 Browse the website www.darkmountain.net
Week Eight
- Selected Writings of MAHATMA GANDHI , The Practice of Satyagraha, pp. 67-78 http://www.mkgandhi.org/ebks/SWMGandhi.pdf
- Lynn Gottlieb, Trail Guide to the Torah of Nonviolence, pp. 89-98, 102-106, 108-119, 122-27, 237-50, 252-61
- Milton R. Konvitz, “”Conscience and Civil Disobedience in the Jewish Tradition”, in The Challenge of Shalom: The Jewish Tradition of Peace and Justice, edited by Murray Polner and Naomi Goodman, pp. 172-85.
- James M Washington, editor, A testament of Hope:The Essential Writings and speeches of Martin Luther King Jr., pp. 5-9, 16-20, 43-53, 293-95 (excerpt from Letter from a Birmingham Jail),
Week Nine
- Peter Ackerman and Jack Duval, A Force More Powerful: A Century of Nonviolent Conflict, pp. 1-9, 305-33.
- Gene Sharp, Waging Nonviolent Struggle: 20th century Practice and 21st Century Potential, 13-23, 361-72, 415-21
- Washington (Writings of MLK), pp. 64-72, 647-53 The Chipko Women’s Movement in India http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipko_movement
Optional
- Ghandi, http://www.mkgandhi.org/ebks/SWMGandhi.pdf “Passive Reistance and Anti-Semitism” pp.85-90
- Martin Buber, Ghandi, the Jews and Zionism: Open Letter to Ghandi Regarding Palestine http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/BuberGandhi.html
Week Ten
- Michael Nagler, The Nonviolence Handbook: A Guide for Practical Action, whole book, 1-84.
Week Eleven
- Macy and Brown, pp. 1-18
- Charles Eisenstein, The More Beautiful World Our hearts Know is Possible, pp.172-79, 219-72
This syllabus pertains to when the course was offered in 2015