The paradoxical but very hopeful lesson that we are learning at a planetary scale from the convergence of the ‘space age’, climate change, Covid-19, information technology, and the global economy is that we all belong to one vast interconnected socio-ecological system. Hopeful, too, that we are becoming increasingly aware that our beautiful ‘blue dot’ planet (Carl Sagan) is located at the marvelous Goldilocks range where abundant and varied life is possible. We could call it our cosmic hearth, our home, our earth, heart, art, ear, activating all our common senses in the here and now. Beginning with these insights, we will study how four key bio-historical processes intersect with each other: 1) ecological/ environmental, 2) political/ economic, 3) global/ cultural, and 4) aesthetic/ technological. I will explore with the class my concepts EcoDomics (building, making, architecture) and the aesthetic(s) of the common(s). Two  concepts I envision together as an “art of living and making (in) common(s),” that is, an alternative array of theories and practices that call us to respond to the deeply amoral instrumentalization of the human, non-human, and more-than-human, and invite us to learn how to live in common and how to make and build commons. The aim is to help design and construct worlds of belonging more attuned to life, to develop alternative models of democracy and everyday living, where data are not just tools of surveillance and exploitation for the many and sources of power and super-profits for the very few, but public goods for the benefit of all. Philosophy and Critical Theory (PHCRT) courses focus on developing critical reading and thinking skills, with an emphasis on learning to frame and explore meaningful questions. Students consider multiple perspectives and claims in the process of formulating independent, well-founded opinions.

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