485-137 Education in Natural Landscapes

Nil.

This subject engages students with two questions: "What is learning?" and "What is nature?" Learning is often understood as the process whereby a student acquires knowledge. Nature is commonly considered as that which is not artificial or cultural. Working within a philosophical framework of human experience grounded in the work of American philosopher John Dewey and German philosopher Martin Heidegger, this subjct explores the interactions between: (1) student and knowledge, and (2) nature and culture, enabling each to be theorised, shifting the emphasis from a dualistic understanding to a more subtle entanglement between our purposes and the places we dwell within.

This philosophical framework is brought to life in a practical sense through a series of fieldtrips. These fieldtrips have been designed to enable students to undertake particular practices in specific places, providing valuable experiences which can be analysed through the work of Dewey and Heidegger. The practices of ecologist, farmer and bushwalker are separately emphasized during the three diverse fieldtrips offered. The fieldtrips and lectures therefore constitute a coherent whole that is intended to facilitate the development of understanding of the entanglement between our purposes and the places we dwell within.

Note: Participants may be charged an additional fee to cover some fieldwork trip costs.

2 x 1500 word assignments and 2 x 500 word preparatory papers.

Students must purchase the prescribed subject reader.

• Wrathall, M. (2005), How to read Heidegger. London, UK: Granta Books.