Educational Journeying and "the Empty Cup": Reconsidering Heart and Loss of Heart in the Anthropocene

• In Event: 69.056 - Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: 69.056-10 - (Re)Considerations and (Re)Configurations of Curriculum in the Contexts of Theory and Culture

Abstract

The language of the heart is often readily deployed in educational contexts. One recalls, for example, Freire’s (1998), Pedagogy of the Heart, Thomas Moore’s (1997) Education of the Heart, and the Dalai Lama’s address to “educate the heart” (www. dalailamacenter.org). This paper explores historical, cultural, and philosophical discussions of the heart, and, specifically, considers the heart’s longstanding imbrication in notions of educational journeying and in symbolic relationships to fullness/emptiness. It subsequently addresses the implications of such discussions in this Anthropocene epoch, when many are experiencing distinct losses of heart and journeying has lost much of its ancient significance. It illustrates how renewed theoretical and methodological attention to journeys of the heart may offer distinct possibilities for socio-political transformation.

Author

• Claudia Eppert, University of Alberta