E"art"h Education, Interbeing, and Deep Ecology

Overview & Synopsis

We believe that the current environmental crisis can be addressed by changing our relationship with the Earth that sustains us. This entails a reorientation of the idea of self to include an understanding that one is integrally and relationally part of everyone and everything else. Grounded on the ideologies of deep ecology and interbeing, we propose an E"art"h Education paradigm for art education and learning in the arts. In this article, we describe the crisis of environmental degradation and its root causes that have estranged people from the natural world. We suggest changes that may result in reconnection and address the potential role of art education in effecting these changes. (Contains 8 figures and 1 endnote.)