With full awareness of all that is going on in the world, I find inspiration in an African proverb popularized by Nigerian scholar Bayo Akomolafe: the times are urgent, let us slow down. One interpretation of this proverb invites us to look more critically at our consumption patterns, how they connect to our identities, and how both sculpt the social and environmental problems we face in today’s world. Having spent more than two decades exploring this realm, I have put together a 6-week online course that is currently enrolling. The course is called Slowing Down, and it begins on June 19.
I designed Slowing Down to help participants achieve four overarching goals:
- Understand the connection between today’s social and environmental challenges and people’s consumption patterns,
- Analyze the relationship between consumption and the anxiety, grief, and trauma many of us carry, even if only subconsciously,
- Evaluate how our consumption patterns connect to the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and how we fit in the world, and
- Craft new personal narratives less dependent on consumption that we can grow into over time.
You can visit my website for more information about the course’s schedule and structure, and to register. I use a pay-what-you-can model for pricing, so no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Finally, I want to acknowledge that I am among the many part-time university instructors who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic’s impacts on higher education in the US. If folks could share this announcement in their networks to help attract enrollment, I would be very grateful. Feel free to can share this Facebook Event if you use that platform. Reach out to me if you have other marketing ideas, or questions.
Many thanks, and take good care,
Eric Garza, PhD
Cell: (802) 881-8675
Web: EricGarza.info