April 30 – May 4, 2012
This course is open for bookings.
‘We know things can’t go on like this, and we can’t imagine them ever really changing.’ Welcome to the paradox of collapsonomics: the study of what happens when systems we grew up taking for granted let us down. Drawing on the inspiration of thinkers such as Ivan Illich, Gandhi and Buckminster Fuller, the course teachers will examine the early 21st century through a number of different lenses and propose strategies for a radically different future. This course aims to develop resilient thinking about what it means to live well in a time of massive social, economic and ecological disruption.
Collapsonomics combines practical lessons from engineering, systems analysis and appropriate technology, with an invitation to cultivate new habits of thinking, drawing on the history and philosophy of other generations that have lived through times of great change. This starts from a blunt acknowledgement of the depth of the mess we are in and the failure of our attempts to take control of this situation, but it is not about doomer scenarios or survivalist fantasies. “The end of the world as we know it,” as the Dark Mountain manifesto puts it, “is not the end of the world, full stop.”
It seems we need a term for big, obvious threats that are sure to emerge – think asteroid impacts – but which few want to face. Handily, students of “collapsonomics” have already coined one: “black elephants.” The New Scientist
From both a technical and cultural perspective, the aim is to become more aware of the amount of headroom we have for adapting to the changes around and ahead of us. Using the techniques of Strategic Critical Infrastructure Mapping, participants will develop realistic models of community-level response to disruption in key systems.
Vinay Gupta and Dougald Hine are co-founders of the Institute for Collapsonomics, a multi-disciplinary research group founded in London in early 2009.
Vinay Gupta
Vinay’s work on infrastructure mapping and conceptual and practical tools for responding to disaster situations has led to collaborations with the Rocky Mountain Institute, the US Department of Defense and the Occupy movement. It is founded on the attempt to integrate the engineering insights of Buckminster Fuller with the philosophy of Gandhi’s Satyagraha. His early training was in computer science and meditation. He belongs to the Indian tradition of the kapalika, or ‘bearers of the skull bowl’, and the Nath Sampradaya, an ancient yogic sect. He is best known as the inventor of the Hexayurt, an open-source shelter design which has become the dwelling of choice for participants in the Burning Man festival.
Dougald Hine
Dougald is a writer, thinker and cultural instigator, known for the creation of a series of agenda-setting organisations. In 2009, he co-founded the The Dark Mountain Project with Paul Kingsnorth, former editor of the Ecologist: a movement of artists, writers and makers seeking a deeper cultural response to an age of global disruption. Sharon Astyk wrote of ‘Uncivilisation: The Dark Mountain Manifesto’, “It may be the most honest attempt at literature we’ve seen.” In 2011, Dougald’s work as the founder of Space Makers Agency — mobilising communities to bring life to underused urban spaces — was highlighted in the Portas Review on the future of local high streets, and led to him featuring as the face of the Observer’s search for Britain’s New Radicals. He is also the co-founder of School of Everything, an online community of 30,000 people dedicated to self-organised learning. He is a guest lecturer in universities, art schools and architecture institutions across Europe. His work takes inspiration from dialogue with thinkers including David Abram, Alastair McIntosh and Anthony McCann, as well as the writings of John Berger and Ivan Illich.
‘Strategic Critical Infrastructure Mapping’- An introduction to Vinay’s tools for mapping and thinking about the systems on which we depend. http://www.scribd.com/doc/16355390/Dealing-in-Security-understanding-vital-services-and-how-they-keep-you-safe--
‘Black Elephants & Skull Jackets’ – A conversation between Dougald and Vinay about the origins of Collapsonomics – http://www.scribd.com/doc/30711287/Dougald-Hine-Black-Elephants-and-Skull-Jackets-A-Conversation-with-Vinay-Gupta
‘The Future We Deserve’ – a collaborative book edited by Vinay – http://thefuturewedeserve.com/
‘Sensing & Knowing’ – Dougald in conversation with David Abram (author of ‘The Spell of the Sensuous’) – http://blip.tv/dougald-hine/sensing-knowing-david-abram-in-conversation-with-dougald-hine-4587734
‘Time to Stop Pretending’ – Vinay’s talk at the Dark Mountain Project’s Uncivilisation festival in 2010 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkQCy-UrLYw
‘The Social Functions of Money’ – Dougald speaking in Dublin, September 2010 – http://vimeo.com/16391918
‘Remember the Future’ – Dougald’s essay on the relationship between past and future – http://dougald.co.uk/writing/dougald_remember_jun11.pdf
‘Do it with Dougald!’ – The Good Times interviews Dougald about his projects – http://goodtimes.thechurchoflondon.com/articles/people-society/dougald-hine-social-entrepreneur/
£750
All course fees include accommodation, food, field trips and all teaching sessions.
For further information about Schumacher College please see About the College
Bursaries
A limited number of bursaries are also available for this course. We are particularly seeking applications from the following groups of people:
• Individuals involved in sustainability and/or education projects in the global South..
• Passionate individuals working with ground breaking initiatives and alternative lifestyles.
• Those in any sector considering a career change or facing redundancy and who are keen to move into the area of sustainability, ecology, environmental responsibility or education.
Click here for more information on how to apply for a bursary.
Click here to access our on-line booking system
click here to find out how to book by fax or mail
To provisionally reserve a place for 5 days, email us your contact details and the name of the course admin@schumachercollege.org.uk
We will hold the place for five working days for reservations – three weeks before a course or earlier. After five days we will automatically offer your place to someone else if we have not received your application.
