Keynote “Toward A Transformed Vision of Contemplative Education Centering Social Justice”

Our world is currently being confronted with chilling social issues which call for a framework of contemplative education that fosters what Latina feminist theorist, Gloria Anzaldúa, called “conocimiento,” a high level of enlightenment fostered through creative contemplative practices such as art, poetry, dance and meditation. The path toward enlightenment connects inner work with public acts involving social change and personal transformation. This session will address the notion that the field of contemplative education can play a central role to engage students in liberatory and socially conscious deep learning experiences. This session will also seek to address a transformed vision of contemplative education that recognizes cultural patterns of oppression, incorporates theoretical lenses rooted in social justice, and employs a diverse ecology of culturally–validating contemplative practices.