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Well of the Holy Women, Isle of Eigg, Scotland |
Welcome to this page which is an introduction and index to the accredited Masters level module that I have developed, initially within the Open University and, since 2006, in the University of Strathclyde's Department of Geography and Sociology where I am the Visiting Professor of Human Ecology.
Stop Press - I will be teaching a weekend course in Spiritual Activism for Schumacher North, 15-17 July 2011 at Hebden Bridge, England. Information for bookings here.
I use the expression Spiritual Activism to mean the spiritual underpinning of action for social and ecological justice.
It is an underpinning because it is not sufficient to think of spirituality - that which gives life - as being a mere optional "dimension" or "element". If activism is not grounded in spirituality it cannot be sustained in the long run: we either burn out or sell out as the oil of life runs low. We need replenishment from the wellheads of life itself, and no matter what religious tradition we may or may not be coming from, this re-sourcing is ultimately a question of spirituality.
Spiritual activism is a core rubric of my work. I have run workshops on it since 2002 at Iona Abbey, at the Woodbrooke Quaker Centre and at Schumacher College with master's level accreditation from the University of Plymouth. In 2004 the Masters level module accredited by the Open University was run at the Centre for Human Ecology during both spring and autumn, and in autumn 2006 it was accredited for the Masters Degree in Human Ecology at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. The Strathclyde programme is no longer running due to radical changes in university cost structures. Ad hoc versions may run from time to time and will be notified on this webpage.
A full handbook and course reader (as originally prepared under our CLA license) is available by private arrangement.
The remainder of this page comprises links within this website and that of my wife, Vérčne.
MSc Module Descriptor for Spiritual Activism, Centre for Human Ecology
Centre for Human Ecology MSc & Short Course details 2009 (Strathclyde Uni) - PDF
"Training for Transformation" - courses/writing on Verene Nicolas's website
Third Way and Tikkun article on the theology of spiritual activism
Last Updated: 19 April 2011
