Theories of Fascism
Start April 17, Wednesdays at 2pm Eastern, eight weeks Was the previous US administration fascist? Was it comparable to 20th century European fascism? Upon finding refuge in America, several German-Jewish philosophers sought to understand the terms fascism, authoritarianism, and totalitarianism. They focused on morality, participation, and subjectivity rather than the figure of the dictator. They […]
Municipalism Cohort Fellowship
In partnership with the Solidarity Research Center and Kola Nut Collaborative. Next dates offered TBA. The Municipalism Cohort Fellowship is a 12-week online program that presents radical municipalist theory and practice to grassroots organizers trying to reclaim the right to their cities and self-organize as rebel cities. The cohort fellowship aims to make municipalist approaches […]
Institute for Social Ecology Mentorship Program
Mentorship has long been a central practice of radical and non-hierarchical left pedagogy. The goal for “the students to become teachers” invokes an ethos of education as an open-ended, developmental process. For nearly fifty years, the Institute for Social Ecology has thrived through mentoring relationships that nurture and support radical, independent scholarship. Murray Bookchin was […]
Legacies of Environmental Radicalism
Begins August 29, class sessions on Tuesdays from 7 pm to 8:30 pm US Eastern time for ten weeks. Instructor: Brian Tokar. Over nearly six decades, radical ecologists with widely varied outlooks and philosophies have begun to transform the field – frequently a tool of colonialism and corporate resource management in its earlier years – […]
Confronting Ecofascism: Environmental Politics and the Radical Right (Flex)
Instructors: Peter Staudenmaier, Blair Taylor, Michael Premo, and Richard Hames As a self-directed flex course, this can be registered for and taken at any time, at the student’s convenience. Registrants will have access to the full syllabus and reading materials as well as lecture recordings, but without any live classes or discussions. Course Description Although today […]
Confronting Ecofascism: Environmental Politics and the Radical Right
Next offered: TBA Instructors: Peter Staudenmaier, Blair Taylor, Michael Premo, and Richard Hames This course is also available as a self-directed flex course here, which can be taken at any time. It may also be taken for college credit. Please inquire at social-ecology@mail.mayfirst.org for details. Course Description Although today ecology is largely understood as a […]
Food and Climate Justice (Flex)
Reading materials and lecture recordings provided. Instructors Brian Tokar and Grace Gershuny. As the world faces intersecting crises of climate, health, and multiple social inequities, movements for climate and food justice are playing a central role toward developing a community-centered grassroots response. These movements share common themes, viewing the sources of these crises in institutions of […]
The Philosophy and Politics of Social Ecology (Flex)
Instructor Chaia Heller This class offers a deep dive into the philosophy and politics of social ecology designed for both newcomers to the theory and for those well versed in Bookchin’s work. Together, we’ll address epistemological questions that offer a rethinking of nature and human nature that transcends racist, patriarchal, and colonial outlooks that, in […]
Solarpunk, Art, and Social Ecological Aesthetics
Course begins on March 5 and will run on Tuesdays at 7pm Eastern time for ten weeks. To take as a self-directed flex course instead, register here. Taught by the Solarpunk Surf Club. Solarpunk is an emerging visionary utopian aesthetic that critically engages the reality of capitalist catastrophe while maintaining a radical optimism about humanity’s potential […]
Solarpunk, Art, and Social Ecological Aesthetics (Flex)
Solarpunk is an emerging visionary utopian aesthetic that critically engages the reality of capitalist catastrophe while maintaining a radical optimism about humanity’s potential for a communal, ecological future. Solarpunk conjures visions of beauty and harmony in both formal and social senses—scenes of vibrant neighborhood life, biophilic architecture, and liberatory uses of jugaad-style technologies. The worlds […]
Rethinking Social Transformation (Flex)
Instructor Rob Ogman A self-directed flex course, with all readings and lecture recordings provided. Rethinking Social Transformation is a five-session online seminar taught by ISE faculty Rob Ogman that explores the challenges and possibilities of linking emancipatory vision to practical political engagement in the current historical context. The course brings Social Ecology into conversation with a variety […]
Food and Climate Justice: Resistance and Liberation
To take as a self-directed flex course, register here instead. Also available for college credit. Inquire at social-ecology@mail.mayfirst.org for details. Dates next offered TBA. Instructors Brian Tokar and Grace Gershuny. As the world faces intersecting crises of climate, health, and multiple social inequities, movements for climate and food justice are playing a central role toward developing […]
Frankfurt School Critical Theory (Flex)
Offered as a self-directed flex course. All readings and lecture recordings are provided. Frankfurt School Critical Theory is a famously rich yet challenging body of work. These transdisciplinary thinkers have been a foundational influence on social ecology, which has drawn on their penetrating analyses of a wide array of topics including capitalism, fascism, modernity, reason, science […]
The Philosophy and Politics of Social Ecology
Instructor Chaia Heller Begins January 18, running for eight weeks on Thursdays at 7pm Eastern time. Also available as a self-directed flex course, which can be started at any time (register here). This class offers a deep dive into the philosophy and politics of social ecology designed for both newcomers to the theory and for […]
Feminism and Ecofeminism: A Social Ecology Approach (Flex)
As a self-directed flex course, this can be registered for and taken at any time, at the student’s convenience. Registrants will have access to the full syllabus and reading materials as well as lecture recordings, but without any live classes or discussions. This class explores the many stranded feminist and ecofeminist movements, looking at their various […]
Feminism and Ecofeminism: A Social Ecology Approach
To take as a self-directed flex course, register here instead. Also available for college credit; inquire at social-ecology@mail.mayfirst.org for details. Dates next offered TBA. Instructor Chaia Heller. This class explores the many stranded feminist and ecofeminist movements, looking at their various theoretical and activist tendencies through a social ecology lens. Taking a one-room schoolhouse approach, the […]
Commune, Council, Party: Marxism and Direct Democracy (Flex)
As a self-directed flex course, this can be registered for and taken at any time, at the student’s convenience. Registrants will have access to the full syllabus and reading materials as well as lecture recordings, but without any live classes or discussions. This course is a deep study of Marxist political theory and its dynamic, contradictory […]
History and Philosophy of Biology (Flex)
As a self-directed flex course, this can be registered for and taken at any time, at the student’s convenience. Registrants will have access to the full syllabus and reading materials as well as lecture recordings, but without any live classes or discussions. This course will provide an overview of the historical development of various strands of […]
Ecology, Democracy, Utopia: Introduction to Social Ecology (Flex)
As a self-directed flex course, this can be registered for and taken at any time, at the student’s convenience. Registrants will have access to the full syllabus and reading materials as well as lecture recordings, but without any live classes or discussions. This course introduces students to social ecology: an interdisciplinary body of ideas that […]
Commune, Council, Party: Marxism and Direct Democracy
Instructor: Mason Herson-Hord 10-WEEK ONLINE COURSE EXPLORING MARXISM, DIRECT DEMOCRACY, AND Revolutionary STRATEGY, next dates offered to be announced. To take as a self-directed flex course, register here instead. Also available for college credit; inquire to social-ecology@mail.mayfirst.org for details. This course is a deep study of Marxist political theory and its dynamic, contradictory relationship to […]
