“Raven’s Time: Wildness and Beauty” Online Class

June 11, 2013 by Dawn Wink 10 Comments

Raven, Chimayó, NM, Dawn Wink

Hello dear ones!

I am thrilled to be teaching “Raven’s Time: Wildness and Beauty” online this summer through Story Circle Network. I’ve written and presented quite a bit about these ideas in the past few years, and this is the first time they’ve been offered online.

I love these ideas. I love talking about these ideas. I love the conversations and connections that come from talking about these ideas.

Through readings, poetry, music, photography, and textures, this class is designed for any who want to swim in these ideas, ponder what they might mean, and if you’re a writer or artist, how they might enrich your own life and/or writing. If you are a lover of life and ideas, please join us! My hope is to create an experience rich in ideas, images, and experiences for all. I’d love to share this time together.

Story Circle Network just posted this piece about the class. It is my pleasure to share with you.

Love,

Dawn

Class Title: Raven’s Time: Wildness and Beauty

Instructor: Dawn Wink

Class Term: August 12-September 9, 2013 enroll in this class

This class explores the beauty and wildness of place through the symbolism of natural elements: including ravens, water, skulls, turquoise, textures, beauty, and wildness. This course reveals these dynamics and seeks to bring understanding through wisdom from the landscape and natural elements. Will focus on content and the craft of writing.

Class Description

Rio Grande, near Taos, NM, Dawn Wink

This class explores the beauty and wildness of place (cultural, linguistic, political) through the symbolism of natural elements: including ravens, water, skulls, turquoise, textures, beauty, and wildness. Raven’s Time is grounded in the understandings of beauty as social justice and wildness as freedom. This course reveals these dynamics and seeks to bring understanding through wisdom from the landscape and natural elements. Will focus focus on both content and the writer’s craft, through interactive and engaged writing prompts and activities. At the end of this class, students will be able to: bring improved writing skills to their own writing projects; address how the landscape can inform our understandings about contemporary events (cultural, linguistic, political) with informed and profound understandings; move forward with their own writing projects with renewed energy and craft. Instruction/communication will take place through email and the course shell. All reading materials for the course will be provided by the instructor through the format of the course.

Outline

Throughout this student-centered course, participates are expected to participate fully in all readings and discussions. This is a brief, intensive course and we’ll make the most of it. This course is taught in an interactive, engaged, and critically-reflective perspective. Student participation is essential for all participants to learn not only from the instructor, but also from each other. Students are expected to post in the discussions a minimum of 3 times/week—more is encouraged. Written assignments will include weekly written assignments and a final written portfolio, based on the specific writing goals of the student.

Unit 1: Voice of Life: Reflections on Water, Language, and Story. Flexibility. Destruction. Strength. Nourishment. Gives or takes away life. All are commonalities that language and culture share with water. The power of water underlies all. Agua es vida. This week explores the unique dynamics of language, the intimate relationship of language and culture, and how the properties of water and the southwestern landscape can inform our understandings about language and linguistic human rights.
Veins of Turquoise, photo by R. Weller

Unit 2: Veins of Turquoise: Migration and Immigration This week explores historical and contemporary migration and immigration in the Southwest through the lens of turquoise. For thousands of years, turquoise traveled the vein connecting the Mayans and Aztecs with the people of the Southwest. The Pueblo people say turquoise steals its color from the sky—the stone has been spiritually, economically, and aesthetically significant to indigenous people since A.D. 300. What can we learn from the historic role of turquoise in the Southwest, nepantla pedagogy, and how can this inform our understandings of current immigration policies?
Sugar skull, photo by Wynn Wink-Moran

Unit 3: Skulls and Textures: This week explores the symbolism of skulls and textures of language through historical and contemporary lenses. From Mayan crystal skulls, the skull mountains of the Aztects, the scattered bones of livestock herds, the sugar skulls of Día de los Muertos, to the human skulls of immigrants under the desert sun, we’ll explore how skulls reflect culture. This week also poses questions about the hierarchy of languages around the world, linguistic human rights, and the global role of english. What can we learn from the symbolism of skulls and rich textures of the land to inform our understandings of culture and language?
Unit 4: Wildness and Beauty Altars create a reciprocal relationship with the mystery and the Divine. In this class, we’ll explore living as if the world, its landscape and people, are a living altar. What are the roles of Beauty and Wildness within our living altar—and how do we create and honor these in our lives?

Student Skills, Equipment, and Time Required

Intermediate/Advanced writing and computer skills. All documents submitted in Microsoft Word. Internet and email necessary. Time Commitment: 3 hrs/week

Tuition/Fees for this course

SCN members: $128. Non-SCN members: $160.

Instructor Bio

Dawn Wink is a writer and educator whose work explores the tensions and beauty of language, culture, and place. Her first book, Teaching Passionately: What’s Love Got To Do With It?, co-written with Joan Wink, was published in 2004 by Pearson. Dawn is an Associate Professor at Santa Fe Community College, her essays and articles have appeared in journals and magazines. Dawn started a literary, educational, and artistic blog community, Dewdrops, in 2011. Her novel, Meadowlark, published by Pronghorn Press, will be released in July 2013. Dawn lives with her family in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Visit her website & blog.