Contemplative Social History: Cotton and Culture

January 20 to February 26 Tuesdays at 5 pm EST on Zoom

Contemplative Social History: Cotton and Culture begins with cultivating greater openness to kindness to self and others. Each class begins with meditation. We will read selections from Sebene Selassie’s book You Belong: A Call for Connection and from Smile at Fear: Awakening the True Heart of Bravery by Chogyam Trungpa. Together we will explore cotton as a catalyst for the emergence of a global textile industry and its inter-generational impact.

By 1865 75% of the worlds cotton was grown and picked by enslaved African labor in the United States. What inter-generational impacts do we inherit from this transformative time in history? How do we reconcile its impact on our own families, communities and the institutions we use today. We will look at tapestries woven in cotton from different parts of the world. Each culture invests the fabric with their own traditional patterns, techniques and stories. Our job will be to uncover the impact of these unique and intriguing cultural imprints for our lives.

Using creative expression, collective group exercises and personal reflection, we envision alternatives to hate, division and ignorance. Our work will serve as a palpable and practical intervention into the hate mongering evident in attacks on Black history and BIPOC peoples.

Workshop Leaders

Teaching Team Members to be Announced

Registration

This 6-week course meets on Tuesdays at 5 pm EST on Zoom. The suggested donation for the course is $200. Scholarships are available. If you are in a position to contribute to the scholarship fund, your donation makes this course available to people who cannot afford the full price.

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