Updated June 30, 2010
Upcoming Events
Webinar:
Contemplative Neuroscience
with Richard J. Davidson
Vilas Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
3:00 - 4:00 pm EDT
Sorry, registration is now closed.
This webinar will provide an introduction to the emerging field of contemplative neuroscience. This emerging field is harnessing the concepts and methods from the modern study of neuroplasticity and applying them to the alterations that might be produced through contemplative practice. While the field is in its infancy, there are several promising findings that have emerged that suggest that the regular practice of certain forms of meditation produces changes in brain function, brain structure and behavior. Collectively, this new corpus of research suggests that qualities like happiness, kindness and equanimity should be regarded as the product of trainable skills that can be enhanced through contemplative practice.
Presenter Bio
Dr. Davidson is a William James and Vilas Research Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Psychology and has been at Wisconsin since 1984.
He has published more than 250 articles, chapters and reviews, and has edited 13 books. Dr. Davidson was the founding co-editor of the new American Psychological Association journal, EMOTION, and is also past-president of the Society for Research in Psychopathology and of the Society for Psychophysiological Research.
In 2000, he was recipient of the most distinguished award for science given by the American Psychological Association – the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award. In 2003 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and in 2004 he was elected to the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2006. In 2006, he was also awarded the first Mani Bhaumik Award by UCLA for advancing the understanding of the brain and conscious mind in healing.
How to Register
Submit the Gotowebinar.com registration form by noon on the day of the webinar (the earlier the better, in order to allow enough time for you to receive the connection instructions). After submitting the form, you will be forwarded to a payment page. If you are a member of the ACMHE, disregard this step (webinars are free for members); if you are not a member, you must submit the $5 payment for your registration to be approved. After your registration has been approved, you will be sent instructions for connecting to the webinar.
If you have any questions regarding registration or connection, please email beth@contemplativemind.org.
Please Note: Technical Concern for Mac OS 10.6.3 users (and possibly others)
At our April webinar, several participants using Mac OS v10.6.3 were unable to connect: after clicking the link above to join the webinar, they were routed to a GotoWebinar F.A.Q. page instead of the actual webinar. We have contacted GoToWebinar to find a solution for this problem, and their suggestion has been for affected users to try a different web browser (ie Firefox instead of Safari) or an entirely different computer. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes and are currently researching new webinar service providers to avoid this problem in the future.
Contemplative Environmental Studies: Pedagogy for Self and Planet
A Summer Institute
August 1-6, 2010
Lama Foundation
San Cristobal, New Mexico
$700 (includes room and board)
Application and Registration available at: http://lamafoundation.org/Summer%2008/DHO.htm
Environmental challenges call into question not simply our technological, economic, and political capabilities, but also our fundamental understandings of who we are as a species and how we fit into the broader, more-than-human world. The Summer Institute aims to launch an effort within higher education to develop tools for teaching and researching environmental dilemmas with this broader sensibility in mind. Through a combination of discussions with distinguished scholars, focused conversation among colleagues, artistic exercises, and regular contemplative practice, participants will collectively fashion the emerging discipline of Contemplative Environmental Studies into a pedagogical tool capable of assisting humanity in addressing environmental dilemmas.
Part workshop and part retreat, the Institute seeks to open doors to our own capabilities as teachers committed to education on a fragile and wild planet.
For more information:
Visit www.acmhe.org/ces.html
View/download a .pdf about this event
6th Annual Summer Session on
Contemplative Curriculum Development
August 8 - 13, 2010
Smith College, Northampton, MA
$775 (includes single-room accommodations and meals on the Smith campus)
Sorry, the application deadline has now passed.
Summer Session Participants will devote the week to rigorous investigation, reflection, writing, and discussion, guided by distinguished scholars and contemplative teachers who have already developed such courses.
There will be sessions on pedagogical issues, including the relation between course content and contemplative practice and the benefits of stabilized attention and other qualities of mind fostered by meditation, as well as on practical issues such as evaluation, grading, instructional techniques, and use of off-site facilities. We will also consider issues such as communicating course intent with colleagues and college administrators. There will be discussions on how contemplative practices in the curriculum are affecting teaching and learning nationwide. Local scholars and contemplative teachers not listed as faculty will visit and engage in the discussions. Each day will also include substantial contemplative practice time, which will introduce participants to practices from a variety of traditions as well as practices that have been adapted successfully for secular classroom settings. The summer session aims to prepare participants to return to their classrooms with a deeper understanding of the practice of contemplative teaching and a fully developed course.
The summer session builds on the work of the Contemplative Practice Fellowship Program. These fellowships seek to restore and renew the critical contribution that contemplative practices can make to the life of teaching and scholarship. At the heart of the program is the belief that pedagogical and intellectual benefits will be discovered by bringing contemplative practice into the academy. While contemplative practices are part of all major religious and spiritual traditions, they have also had a place in intellectual and ethical inquiry, including secular educational environments. Contemplative practices are defined in a variety of ways, but they can be broadly understood as methods to develop concentration, deepen understanding and insight, and cultivate awareness and compassion.
We invite participants from the full range of disciplinary and inter-disciplinary perspectives in the arts, humanities, sciences, humanities-related sciences, and social sciences. We are especially interested in the development of courses in which classroom contemplative practices are related clearly to the content of the course itself. Such content-related contemplative practices can lead to genuine insights and deeper appreciation of the material under study.
Further information on the content of the session can be inferred from the Academic Program's lectures, reports, and publications. You may also find our selection of course syllabi to be a helpful reference.
The Association for Contemplative Mind in Higher Education (ACMHE) Second Annual Conference:
The Contemplative Academy
September 24-26, 2010
Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts
Visit the conference webpage for more information.
The conference will focus on initiatives in contemplative pedagogy taking place in classrooms and institutions of higher education. It will explore how contemplative practices cultivate capacities of attention, equanimity, wisdom, and compassion, which are central to the lives of students and educators.
Contributed papers, poster sessions, and artistic presentations as well as plenary talks and contemplative practice sessions will explore the ways that contemplative practice is serving higher education. As educators integrate these practices into classrooms, studios, and co-curricular initiatives, they are learning how they develop greater mindfulness, open heartedness, and insight.
Attendance and Conference Fees
Attendance is restricted to Association Members. New members may join at the conference attendance rate:
$50 for a one-year faculty membership/$30 for a one-year graduate student, part-time, or retired membership.
Conference Fee: $250 regular/ $190 student, part-time, or retired. The fee includes meals from reception Friday evening through mid-morning break on Sunday.
Call for Papers
The conference welcomes proposals concerning contemplative pedagogy, methodology and epistemology within and across disciplines and through co-curricular initiatives. Submissions of proposals for panel discussions are also invited. Please send a title and an abstract of not more that 200 words for a 30 minute paper or performance along with name, institutional affiliation and 50 – 100 word professional biography to beth@contemplativemind.org by May 1, 2010. Notification of inclusion in the program will be made by June 1, 2010. Late papers will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Retreat for Academics
November 11 – 14, 2010
The Garrison Institute
Garrison, NY
Cost: $600 single room;
$450 double room; $350 double room with scholarship (a limited amount of financial assistance is available)
Educators report that deepening their own contemplative practice leads to more successful teaching and helps them design courses with a contemplative component.
Our retreats offer instruction in a variety of contemplative practices, including contemplative methods adapted for the classroom. These practices cultivate capacities central to teaching and learning--focused attention, kindness and compassion, and contemplative inquiry--and our retreats include discussions about the relationship of the contemplative perspective to teaching, learning, and knowing. Much of the time is spent in silence, including some silent meals. Our retreats are designed to appeal to participants with a wide range of experience in contemplative practice, from beginners to seasoned practitioners.