Fall 2013. Conflict and Governance

Full-time, 15 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W, 392W)

Application Deadline: Closed

Conflict and contradiction are unavoidable aspects of contemporary life. We encounter conflict everywhere: in ourselves, in small groups, and in every organization in which we are involved, be they an enterprise, club, political party, team, seminar group, business or social movement. We hold beliefs that are inconsistent, we face political or institutional contradictions we cannot resolve but must work with. In something as everyday as sports, we embrace confrontation as part of our lives. How do we arrange or manage this tension and find ways to create conditions within which we can engage conflict positively? How do we create collectives that welcome and thrive on difference?

The governance of modern life, at all scales, is more than anything else the process of managing these conflicts. Conflict management has many objectives: sometimes we try to minimize or resolve it, sometimes we try to put it to good purposes, occasionally we just try to ignore it, but much of the time we try to figure out ways to work with it. From judges to referees to leaders of large institutions; from activists to soldiers to union members: governing ourselves effectively and legitimately requires an understanding of conflict and conflict management. All of these people work in and with less-than-perfectly-harmonious realities. How do they do so? What works and what doesn't? What do they prioritize? How do they make decisions? What institutional structures and methods do they rely on? How do they move past 'mistakes' or obstacles?

Faculty

Sean Blenkinsop is an Associate Professor in the SFU Faculty of Education with a secondment for five years to the Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue.

Geoff Mann teaches and is the graduate chair in the Geography department at Simon Fraser University, and directs SFU's Centre for Global Political Economy.

Outline

• Conflict and Governance Outline

Spring 2014. Semester at CityStudio

Full-time, 15 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W, 392W)

Application Deadline: Monday, October 7, 2013

Semester at CityStudio is a cohort-based course that brings together bright, innovative students from diverse backgrounds, disciplines, and universities to collaborate with The City of Vancouver on real world projects. CityStudio is an immersive, cooperative learning environment combining interdisciplinary skills with the complexity of collaborating both individually and within a group setting. The course combines dialogue and design elements, and requires students to engage with communities, research existing urban interventions and design projects to improve the world around them. Students cultivate the skills necessary to conduct student led dialogues, public presentations, and to engage in multi-stakeholder processes with policy makers and City of Vancouver staff. By focusing on current issues that matter in Vancouver, students have an opportunity to develop innovative solutions that assist The City of Vancouver in reaching their goals. Students work together and with the course leaders to learn and develop deep listening skills, effectively participate in dialogue, and to challenge their own perspectives, all towards the goal of implementing real-world solutions. The courses offer field experiences, on-the-ground training, leadership development, group process, and urban sustainability project management skills.

Course runs Monday thru Friday 9:30-3:30 January - April. 15 credits. DIAL 390, 391, 392. Students register through SFU and the course is open to students from participating schools.

CityStudio (www.citystudiovancouver.com) aims to create a project school and an energetic hub of learning and leadership where students co-create City of Vancouver projects on the ground. CityStudio, a unique collaboration between the City of Vancouver (CoV) and the city's six post secondary institutions (BCIT, ECUAD, Langara, SFU, UBC, VCC), was launched in September, 2011 to engage and enable post-secondary students to actively support the implementation of the Greenest City 2020 Action Plan.

CityStudio coordinates a large network of courses on 6 campuses that focus learning, research and action on challenges confronting the City. City staff create space for innovation and implementation as a result of the enthusiasm that the student bring to the work that is enriched by leading edge thinking from the universities, colleges and technical/artistic institutes.

instructors

Janet Moore is the Co Director and Co-Founder of CityStudio and an Assistant Professor at the SFU Centre for Dialogue.

Duane Elverum is the Co Director and Co-Founder of CityStudio.

Spring 2013. Semester in the City II

Full-time, 15 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W, 392W)

This course runs Monday thru Friday 9:30-3:30. The course is intensive and experiential and students should not be taking any other courses during this term. This is a full course load.

This 15 credit (SFU - DIAL 390, 391, 392) full time course will be held at Vancouver's CityStudio and is be open to students from six Vancouver post-secondary institutions (SFU, UBC, BCIT, Langara, Emily Carr, VCC).

Students will work full-time as a cohort with the City of Vancouver to implement Greenest City 2020 urban sustainability strategies and focus projects towards meeting the these goals.

Students will be selected from interdisciplinary areas represented by all post secondary institutions; geography, health science, engineering, planning, social sciences, arts,
business, food systems and design.

The Spring 2013 CityStudio cohort will focus on urban interventions at the neighbourhood
scale of implementing demonstration projects related to Greenest City Goals. Specific community plans as well as the document Vancouver 2020: A Bright Green Future will inform and provide context for our work.

The cohort will meet in the studio (located under Cambie Bridge near
Olympic Village) 5 days/week, Monday - Friday from 9:30am - 3:30pm.

What is CityStudio? As an initiative within Vancouver's Campus City Collaborative (C3), CityStudio Vancouver, CityStudio is an energetic hub of learning and leadership where post-secondary students work with City staff, community and business experts to research, design and implement projects that work towards the achievement of Vancouver's Greenest City 2020 Action Plan. In addition to this core studio course, 12 partner courses from the 6 campuses will simultaneously engage the theme, share research and work, and participate in events. http://www.citystudiovancouver.com

Students will be informed of the status of their application by mid November 2012. After students are accepted to the program we will assist students in applications to become an SFU student for the term. Students will gain SFU credits and SFU fees will apply.

If you have further questions, please contact the Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue at ugsid@sfu.ca, and CityStudio at citystudiocoordinator@gmail.com

Faculty

Janet Moore is an Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University's Centre for Dialogue. She has imagined, designed and facilitated courses that focus on community engagement, resilience, lifestyle activism, food systems, group process and urban sustainability at UBC, SFU and the Great Northern Way Campus (a collaboration of UBC, SFU, BCIT and Emily Carr). Janet is currently the University Teaching Fellow for the SFU Faculty of Environment and a research associate with the SFU Centre for Sustainable Community Development. She keeps busy raising two kids and dreaming of life as a social entrepreneur/urban farmer.

Sean Blenkinsop is an Associate Professor in the SFU Faculty of Education with a secondment for five years to the Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue.

Duane Elverum is an Emily Carr faculty member where he teaches in Design, Foundation, and Critical Studies as well as develops coursework in sustainable systems. He sits on the President's Sustainability Task Force at the university. He is personally responsible for emitting 5.4 tonnes of CO2 per year into the atmosphere. He has crossed the Pacific Ocean in a sailboat five times.

Outline

• Semester in the City II Outline

WIki

• Click here for the Spring 2013 wiki (login required)

Fall 2012. Health: Issues and Ethics

Full-time, 15 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W, 392W)

Canadians identify health care as a core value, but the practical realities of delivering care are overwhelming our compassion. This course will consider the nature of health and explore the complexities of a health care system that corresponds with our values and ethics while being effective and financially stable. Three related themes will serve as a substrate for the semester: the nature of health, delivery of health care, and populations at risk. Issues such as how health and illness are defined, the roles of preventative and curative approaches, and the impacts and ethics of new technologies will be addressed. We will compare public and private models, focus on community health care as a developing new paradigm, and examine the particular challenges of marginalized and vulnerable communities.

Faculty

Mark L. Winston is the Academic Director of the Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University.

Michelle Patterson is an Adjunct Professor and Scientist of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University.

Kevin Chan is Director of Policy, Parliamentary Affairs and Research in the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, an independent Agent of Parliament protecting the privacy rights of Canadians.

Outline

• Health: Issues and Ethics Outline

Summer 2012. Being about Action: Sustainable Food Systems
A Summer Institute in Dialogue

10 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W)

This Summer Institute in Dialogue will explore the concepts of leadership, action and sustainable development within an urban context. Students will engage in a collaborative project with a local partner organization to create a more sustainable region, with the theme of "sustainable food systems" as a starting point. What is food? What is hunger? What is nourishment? How do we create more sustainable food systems? What is the role of urban agriculture? How is food connected to unsustainable consumption patterns?

The class will survey a range of local projects, working towards creating sustainable food systems as well as attending local events connected to sustainability and food. Projects will focus on crafting proposals for action with community groups, reflective writing, and collaborative group work. This is an intensive and experiential course running five days per week 9:30-3:30.

Instructors: Janet Moore, Yona Sipos, Herb Barbolet and special guest expert Hannah Wittman.

Faculty

Janet Moore is an Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University's Centre for Dialogue. She has imagined, designed and facilitated courses that focus on community engagement, resilience, lifestyle activism, food systems, group process and urban sustainability at UBC, SFU and the Great Northern Way Campus (a collaboration of UBC, SFU, BCIT and Emily Carr). Janet is currently the University Teaching Fellow for the SFU Faculty of Environment and a research associate with the SFU Centre for Sustainable Community Development. She keeps busy raising two kids and dreaming of life as a social entrepreneur/urban farmer.

Outline

• Being about Action Outline

WIki

• Click here for the Summer 2012 wiki

Spring 2012. Semester in the City

Full-time, 15 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W, 392W)

This spring term will be held at CityStudio and will be open to students from six institutions (SFU, UBC, BCIT, Langara, Emily Carr, VCC). Students will work full-time as a cohort with the City to implement Greenest City 2020 urban sustainability strategies and focus projects towards meeting the project goals. The best and brightest students will be selected from interdisciplinary areas represented by all post secondary institutions; geography, health science, engineering, planning, social sciences, arts, business, food systems and design.

The cohort will meet in the studio 5 days/week, Monday - Friday from 9:30am - 3:30pm.

Please feel free to check the City Studio website.

Faculty

Janet Moore is an Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University's Centre for Dialogue. She has imagined, designed and facilitated courses that focus on community engagement, resilience, lifestyle activism, food systems, group process and urban sustainability at UBC, SFU and the Great Northern Way Campus (a collaboration of UBC, SFU, BCIT and Emily Carr). Janet is currently the University Teaching Fellow for the SFU Faculty of Environment and a research associate with the SFU Centre for Sustainable Community Development. She keeps busy raising two kids and dreaming of life as a social entrepreneur/urban farmer.

Duane Elverum is an Emily Carr faculty member where he teaches in Design, Foundation, and Critical Studies as well as develops coursework in sustainable systems. He sits on the President's Sustainability Task Force at the university. He is personally responsible for emitting 5.4 tonnes of CO2 per year into the atmosphere. He has crossed the Pacific Ocean in a sailboat five times.

Outline

• Semester in the City Outline

WIki

• Click here for the Spring 2012 wiki

Fall 2011. Religion, Spirituality, Contemplative Inquiry and Social Action

Full-time, 15 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W, 392W)

The semester will probe how spiritual, religious and contemplative practices can inform the way we address social and civic issues, particularly poverty, health, peace and the environment.

Organized religions including indigenous traditions, as well as less formal spiritual thought and practices, can provide deep wisdom to address social and environmental concerns. We have much to learn from religious leaders, indigenous elders, artists, activists, civic officials, youth leaders, and others of faith and good will who want to make a positive difference. However, organized religions also have been at the heart of problematic outcomes and we are aware of historical and contemporary instances where organized religions may have contributed to injustice.

Our approach will be to explore creative visions and constructive solutions arising where ideas, institutions, and practices -- religious, indigenous, spiritual and contemplative -- intersect with social activism. We will explore the essential human capacity to reach beyond and connect to practices for well-being within and without: the original impulse behind religiosity.

Faculty

Mark L. Winston is the Academic Director of the Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University.

Rabbi Robert Daum is an Associate Professor of Rabbinic Literature and Jewish Thought and the first Director of the Iona Pacific Inter-Religious Centre at the Vancouver School of Theology.

Heesoon Bai is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University.

Outline

• Religion, Spirituality, Contemplative Inquiry and Social Action Outline

WIki

• Click here for the Fall 2011 wiki

Summer 2011. Wilding Vancouver
A Summer Institute in Dialogue

May 9 - June 24. 10 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W).

The City of Vancouver is frequently voted the most livable city in the world. The city is uniquely bounded by the Georgia Strait, the Fraser River and the Coastal mountains. In 2010, Mayor Gregor Robertson declared that Vancouver would attempt to be the world's Greenest City  by 2020. How are efforts to green the city related to wilding the city? What does wilderness have to do with Vancouver? And, how might we think through the process of educating towards a greener and wilder Vancouver?

We will explore concepts of urban ecology, urban wilderness, living buildings, local food systems, ecosystem restoration and living in place. We will also consider public space, wild space and what it would mean for the future of Vancouver to be wild. 

Be prepared to explore Vancouver by foot, bike and bus to investigate systems, connections and places as well as explore the boundaries of urban spaces. We are planning indoor and outdoor adventures and overnight opportunities in nearby wilderness during this innovative and experiential Summer Semester in Dialogue.

Faculty

Janet Moore is an Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University's Centre for Dialogue. She has imagined, designed and facilitated courses that focus on community engagement, resilience, lifestyle activism, food systems, group process and urban sustainability at UBC, SFU and the Great Northern Way Campus (a collaboration of UBC, SFU, BCIT and Emily Carr). Janet is currently the University Teaching Fellow for the SFU Faculty of Environment and a research associate with the SFU Centre for Sustainable Community Development. She keeps busy raising two kids and dreaming of life as a social entrepreneur/urban farmer.

Sean Blenkinsop is an Assistant Professor and Co-Director of the SFU Imaginative Education Research Group. Sean grew up in Northern Ontario and has a long of history as an outdoor, environmental and experiential educator. Doctoral work completed at Harvard University was philosophical in nature with an interest in choice, dialogue, community and freedom. He is active in research relating to culturally inclusive imaginative education that focuses on Aboriginal youth. Current research interests are might be situated in the area of eco-philosophy focusing on epistemological and ontological questions related to ecological worldviews, semiotics, education for community flourishing, indigeneity and wilderness as teacher.

Outline

• Wilding Vancouver Outline

Spring 2011. Vancouver - A Local Exchange

Full-time, 15 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W, 392W).

A recent trend towards globalization encourages university students to 'go abroad' for a semester, immerse themselves in new cultures and experiences. Yet another trend suggests that we need to 'localize'  - learn more about place and the land we live on.  This semester will help students to begin to imagine what is possible in the place where we are – Vancouver, British Columbia.

This semester is about the stories we tell in the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Region. We invite 20 students to the SFU Vancouver Campus on a 'local exchange'. We will encourage the students to slow down, experience the neighbourhoods by walking streets and alleys in Vancouver, participating in local activities and imagining what is possible. We will involve ourselves in a range of experiences in the local community in order to consider diverse perspectives about the future story of Vancouver.

How does Vancouver tell the story of place? Who can live in this city? Who has lived here in the past? How does/can the past of Vancouver shape, influence and inform where we go?

What kind of city is this becoming and for whom? Who will shape the future of this city? How will that happen?

A fully immersive program in to what it means to live, move around and breathe in Vancouver. We will explore stories of the history, the ecology, the place and the people.

Come experience dialogue, community, engagement and learning – join us on a Local Exchange in Vancouver for a semester.

Faculty

Janet Moore is an Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University's Centre for Dialogue. She has imagined, designed and facilitated courses that focus on community engagement, resilience, lifestyle activism, food systems, group process and urban sustainability at UBC, SFU and the Great Northern Way Campus (a collaboration of UBC, SFU, BCIT and Emily Carr). Janet is currently the University Teaching Fellow for the SFU Faculty of Environment and a research associate with the SFU Centre for Sustainable Community Development. She keeps busy raising two kids and dreaming of life as a social entrepreneur/urban farmer.

Kevin Millsip is currently the Sustainability Coordinator with the Vancouver School Board and the Director of Next Up, a leadership program for young people committed to social and environmental justice.

Outline

• Vancouver - The Local Exchange Outline

Readings

• Click here for the Spring 2011 readings

WIki

• Click here for the Spring 2011 wiki

Fall 2010. Energy

Full-time, 15 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W, 392W).

Our future and that of our planet is affected by two overwhelming trends: we are running out of oil, and climate is changing due to excessive carbon emissions. Economies, life styles, and the survival and diversity of other organisms depend on how we adapt to new energy constraints. The choice is not whether to change, but rather how to develop soundenergy policies and personal living practices that allow a gentler transition into the new energy economy. This semester is about hope, and solutions, focused on thoughtful, confident planning and rigorous analysis to enable effective adaptation to these challenges. Topics will include:

Peak Oil: Will we run out, and are there viable carbon-based alternatives to oil?

Alternative Energy: How can business, science, and\ social policy synergize a new energy economy, and who will be the key players?

Transportation: How might transportation be redesigned locally and over long distances to adapt to changing energy prices and sources?

Climate Change: How can we reduce carbon emissions, maintain robust economies, and adapt to current and future levels of global warming?

Life Cycle/Lifetime Analyses: How do we analyze the status quo and alternatives to determine which are optimal economically, personally, and environmentally?

Faculty

Mark L. Winston is the Academic Director of the Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University.

Barbara Frisken is Professor and Chair at the Department of Physics at Simon Fraser University.

Ted Kirkpatrick is an Associate Professor at the School of Computing Science at Simon Fraser University.

Outline

• Energy Course Outline

Readings

• Click here for the Fall 2010 readings

WIki

• Click here for the Fall 2010 wiki

Summer 2010. Being About Action: Experiments in Creativity and Lifestyle Activism
A Summer Institute in Dialogue

May 12 - June 25. 10 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W).

We plan a 7-week journey of experiments led by students and focused on lifestyle activism and the creative process. Guests for course dialogues will include leaders from across the region who have embarked on lifestyle activism through actions including zero waste, 100 mile diet, reducing oil dependence, and many others. We also will engage with guests who inspire creativity through a range of creative processes. Where does social change begin – at the level of the individual or the community? What happens when students engage in creativity? How does creativity interweave with individual lifestyle choices? Is there a relationship?

We will research the process, documenting our explorations on video and through print media. We hope to make a difference and track that difference so that others can be inspired to join us in this experiment.

This is an intensive and experiential course running five days per week, 9:30am-3:30pm.

Faculty

Janet Moore is a faculty member at the Centre for Dialogue at SFU, collaborator with the SFU Centre for Sustainable Community Development and leader of a social network of sustainability educators (walkingthetalk.bc.ca).

Duane Elverum is an Emily Carr faculty member where he teaches in Design, Foundation, and Critical Studies as well as develops coursework in sustainable systems. He sits on the President’s Sustainability Task Force at the university. He is personally responsible for emitting 5.4 tonnes of CO2 per year into the atmosphere. He has crossed the Pacific Ocean in a sailboat five times.

Outline

• Being About Action Course Outline
  

Readings

• Click here for the Summer 2010 readings

Spring 2010. Finding Space, Understanding Place
Redesigning Our Region for Resilience

Full-time, 15 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W, 392W).

Course Description

We will use MetroVancouver as our laboratory to explore the multiple dimensions of land use as they relate to new urban development, rural land use and policy regarding the future of land in our region. This program brings together planners, writers, policy makers, and leading thinkers, as well as business and community leaders to examine how the decisions we are making today are significantly altering the region.

We will use a systems approach to pose some fundamental questions examining land use in the region:

Who decides which lands are used for which purposes?
How can citizens affect those decisions?
Where will we find space for another million people in the Lower Mainland?
How does land use have to change to adapt to global climate change?
What land uses should have top priority to create a resilient region?

Plan to be enchanted, mesmerized and intrigued while engaging deeply with leading experts in sustainable development, community planning, cultural change and social responsibility. The class will be charged with convening a large public event that will help MetroVancouverites re-engage in a dialogue about our region.

Faculty

Janet Moore is a faculty member at the Centre for Dialogue at SFU, collaborator with the SFU Centre for Sustainable Community Development and leader of a social network of sustainability educators (walkingthetalk.bc.ca).

Peter Ladner is a former politician and business owner who is currently a business columnist and sustainability consultant.

Outline

• Finding Space, Understanding Place Outline
  

Readings

• Click here for the Spring 2010 readings

Fall 2009. Art in Community: Creating Cultures of Ingenuity and Innovation

Full-time, 15 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W, 392W).

Course Description

Art in Community: Creating Cultures of Ingenuity and Innovation will explore the intersection points between art and business, science, community, and social change.

Our focus will be on how innovation can be nurtured and harnessed through artistic expression to foster economic well-being, environmental protection, community sustainability, and civic dialogue. We will explore the role of imagination in scientific advances and the contribution of the arts to strategic planning in business, investigate how culture defines communities and creative spaces encourage culture, survey the landscape of art in social controversy, and examine the dynamic between creativity and identity in urban and aboriginal communities.

Focal topics will include:

What is ingenuity? How do we harness and develop it?

• The nature of creativity and imagination
• How dialogue establishes the relationships and substrate from which ingenuity emerges

How is innovation manifested within institutions?

• Business and the arts: strategic planning and leadership development through culture and dialogue-based practices
• Creative Institutions: How ingenuity can be encouraged within government, cultural organizations, corporations, research laboratories, and universities

Art in Community

• Role of the artist in stimulating dialogue
• Pushing the envelope: edgy art and censorship
• Space: How physical urban spaces contribute to social change
• Culture and identity: the Canadian aboriginal experience

Faculty

Mark L. Winston is the Academic Director of the Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University.

Andrea Rose is a professor of music and arts education at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Artistic Director of the biennial Festival 500 International Choral Festival.

Judith Marcuse is the Founder and Co-Director of SFU's International Centre of Art for Social Change and the Founder and Artistic Producer of Judith Marcuse Projects.

Outline

• Art in Community Course Outline

Readings

• Click here for the Fall 2009 readings

Summer 2009. Being About Action: Exploring Food, Community, and Urban Sustainability
A Summer Institute in Dialogue

May 4 - June 18. 10 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W).

Course Description

This Summer Institute in Dialogue will explore the concepts of leadership, action and sustainable development within an urban context. Students will engage in a collaborative project with a local partner organization to create a more sustainable region, with the theme of “food” as a starting point. What is food? What is hunger? What is nourishment? How do we create more sustainable food systems? What is the role of urban agriculture? How is food connected to unsustainable consumption patterns?

The class will survey a range of local projects, working towards creating sustainable food systems as well as attending local events connected to sustainability and food. Projects will focus on crafting proposals for action with community groups, reflective writing, and collaborative group work. This is an intensive and experiential course running five days per week, 9:30-4:00.

Faculty

Janet Moore is a faculty member at the Centre for Dialogue at SFU, collaborator with the SFU Centre for Sustainable Community Development and leader of a social network of sustainability educators (walkingthetalk.bc.ca).

Siobhan Ashe is visiting faculty in the Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue at Simon Fraser University.

Herb Barbolet is one of the leading food activists in North America and was the founder and executive director of FarmFolk/CityFolk.

Outline

• Being About Action Course Outline

Readings

• Click here for the Summer 2009 readings

Spring 2009. Designing the Future

Full-time, 15 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W, 392W).

Course Description

We will use Metro Vancouver to explore the multiple dimensions of sustainability as they relate to the city, region and the global context. Bringing together writers, policy makers, and leading thinkers, as well as designers, artists, business and community leaders, we will examine how the decisions we are making today are significantly altering the planet. We will use a systems approach to examine urban sustainability with the intention of posing some fundamental questions:

• Do we really know what sustainability is?
• What is sustainable urban development for the 21st Century?
• What ideas shape the way we currently live? What ideas are the most important for living on the planet - in and out of cities?
• How do we understand and balance competing forces in order to turn visions for the future into reality?
• Does our conception of urban systems (water, energy, transportation etc) predispose us to unsustainability?
• How do we move forward with hope and optimism?

Plan to be excited, confused, mesmerized, optimistic, and disenchanted while engaging deeply with leading experts in sustainability, green design, community planning, cultural change and corporate social responsibility. The class will be charged with convening a large public event that will help Metro Vancouverites re-engage in a dialogue about our collective future.

Assignments will include both reflective and public writing and small and large group projects.

Faculty

Janet Moore is a faculty member at the Centre for Dialogue at SFU, collaborator with the SFU Centre for Sustainable Community Development and leader of a social network of sustainability educators (walkingthetalk.bc.ca)

Duane Elverum is an Emily Carr faculty member where he teaches in Design, Foundation, and Critical Studies as well as develops coursework in sustainable systems. He sits on the President’s Sustainability Task Force at the university. He is personally responsible for emitting 5.4 tonnes of CO2 per year into the atmosphere. He has crossed the Pacific Ocean in a sailboat five times.

Outline

• Designing the Future Course Outline

Readings

• Click here for the Spring 2009 readings

Fall 2008. Health: Issues and Ethics

Full-time, 15 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W, 392W).

Course Description

Canadians identify health care as a core value, but the practical realities of delivering care are overwhelming our compassion. This course will consider the nature of health itself, and will explore the complexities of a health care system that corresponds with our values and ethics while being effective and financially stable.

Three related themes will serve as a substrate for the semester: the nature of health, delivery of health care, and populations at risk. Issues such as how health and illness are defined, the roles of preventative and curative approaches, and the impacts and ethics of new technologies will be addressed. We will compare public and private models, focus on community health care as a developing new paradigm, and examine the particular challenges of marginalized and vulnerable communities.

Faculty

Mark L. Winston is the Academic Director of the Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University.

Siobhan Ashe is visiting faculty in the Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue at Simon Fraser University.

Outline

• Health: Issues and Ethics Course Outline

Readings

• Click here for the Fall 2008 readings.

Summer 2008. Being About Action: Housing
A Summer Institute in Dialogue

May 5 – June 20. 10 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W).

Course Description

This semester will explore the concepts of leadership, action and community development within the context of sustainable housing in the Metro Vancouver region. Students will engage in collaborative projects with local organizations to explore, identify and publicly imagine a range of possibilities for designing sustainable housing. Projects will focus on crafting proposals for action with community groups, reflective writing, and collaborative group work.

Housing consists of more than physical structures and encompasses broader issues. Housing impacts and shapes our social networks, access to employment opportunities, participation in public social spaces, the nature and availability of social services as well as our sense of safety and security. We will explore the relationships between housing and sustainable community development, asking: What is housing? How is housing connected to well-being for individuals and communities? What is housing deprivation? How will we provide housing for a growing and aging population? What are the broad impacts of housing policy – past, present and future?

Faculty

Siobhan Ashe is visiting faculty in the Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue at Simon Fraser University.

Educator and community activist Dr. Mike Carr is the author of Bioregionalism and Civil Society: Democratic Challenges to Corporate Globalism, UBC Press, 2004.

Outline

• Being About Action: Housing Course Outline

Readings

• Click here for the Summer 2008 readings.

Spring 2008. Being Canadian: Explorations in Citizenship and Identity

Full-time, 15 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W, 392W).

Course Description

Being Canadian is more than holding a valid passport, sewing our country’s flag on a backpack, or believing in peacekeeping. But what does citizenship mean in a country like ours, with its immense cultural, social, geographic, and economic diversity? This course will actively explore the nature of identity and the tensions surrounding diverse loyalties that arise under the multicultural Canadian mosaic; constitutional and policy challenges posed in defining who is a legal citizen; responsibilities of citizenship and the nature of democratic engagement; and appropriate political, economic, and cultural roles for Canada internationally.

We will use film, music, and writing to probe how and why issues associated with citizenship policy, cultural identity, and democracy form, grow, change and disperse, and explore who we are as Canadians and what we might become as the collective Canada.

Faculty

Siobhan Ashe is visiting faculty in the Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue at Simon Fraser University.

Mediator and negotiator Tony Penikett is the author of Reconciliation: First Nation treaty Making in British Columbia, Douglas & McIntyre, 2006.

Outline

• Being Canadian Course Outline

Readings

• Click here for the Spring 2008 readings.

Fall 2007. Adaptations to Human Environmental Impact

Full-time, 15 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W, 392W).

Course Description

This semester is about hope, focused on how we adapt to the profound impacts we are having on our planet. Environmental disruption threatens overwhelming consequences for our social and economic systems, but too often we are overwhelmed by the problems and lose sight of viable solutions. Canadians require thoughtful, confident planning and analysis to enable effective adaptation to these challenges. We will address three major and connected themes: Climate Change, Energy, and Biodiversity, probing local to global solutions involving policy, enterprise, innovation, and life styles. With innovative thinking, we can alter our impact to protect ourselves and the biological world around us.

Faculty

Mark L. Winston is the Academic Director of the Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University.

Andrew Nikiforuk is a well-known Canadian journalist who has written about education, economics, and the environment for the last two decades.

Outline

• Adaptations to Human Environmental Impact Course Outline

Readings

• Click here for the Fall 2007 readings.

Summer 2007. Being About Action: Exploring Food, Community, and Urban Sustainability
A Summer Institute in Dialogue

May 7 – June 15. 10 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W).

Course Description

This Summer Institute in Dialogue will explore the concepts of leadership, action and sustainable development within an urban context. Students will engage in a collaborative project with a local partner organization to create a more sustainable region, with the theme of “food” as a starting point. What is food? What is hunger? What is nourishment? How do we create more sustainable food systems? What is the role of urban agriculture? How is food connected to unsustainable consumption patterns?

The class will survey a range of local projects, working towards creating sustainable food systems as well as attending local events connected to sustainability and food. Projects will focus on crafting proposals for action with community groups, reflective writing, and collaborative group work. This is an intensive and experiential course running five days per week, 9:30-3:30.

Proposed Community Partners: Campus Food Miles Reduction Action Project by Local Solutions, in partnership with the Sustainable Campus Coalition, the Centre for Sustainable Community Development and Environmental Youth Alliance

Faculty

Janet Moore is an Assistant Professor in the Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue at Simon Fraser University.

Rob Van Wynsberghe is a Professor at Royal Roads University in the School of Environment and Sustainability.

Outline

• Being About Action: Exploring Food, Community, and Urban Sustainability Course Outline
• Being About Action: Exploring Food, Community, and Urban Sustainability Course Schedule

Spring 2007. Going For Gold: Leveraging the Impacts of Olympic Fever

15 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W, 392W).

Course Description

In 1994, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) added environment to the set of sport and culture values that guide the activities of the Olympic Movement. It is here where the power and commitment of the IOC to deliver its event in a comprehensive fashion interfaces with the willingness and ability of the host destination to meet these requirements in a sustainable way. We will use Vancouver and Whistler, BC as laboratories to explore the many challenges and opportunities associated with guiding the 2010 Winter Olympic Games towards sustainable outcomes. We will facilitate an Olympic dialogue that not only includes important dimensions of environmental stewardship, but also incorporates critical aspects of corporate social responsibility, economic opportunity, community development, sport and health promotion. The overriding focus of discussion and inquiry will centre on "How can the 2010 Winter Olympic Games contribute to global and local sustainability initiatives in a pro-active and meaningful fashion?"

Faculty

Peter Williams is a Professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University.

Janet Moore is an Assistant Professor in the Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue at Simon Fraser University.

Outline

• Going for Gold: Leveraging the Impacts of Olympic Gold Fever Course Outline
• Going for Gold: Leveraging the Impacts of Olympic Gold Fever Course Schedule

Fall 2006. First Nations, Inuit, and Metis: Traditional Beliefs and Contemporary Challenges

Course Description

The greatest divide in Canada may not be between French and English, but rather the gap in understanding between diverse aboriginal communities and those Canadians who immigrated and settled here in the last 500 years. We will focus on particular aspects of First Nations, Inuit, and Metis communities, including traditions, culture, history, spirituality, connection to the land, stories, language, and humour. We hope to illuminate the rich tapestry of past and current , and foster curiousity and perceptive appreciation of what it means to be from a First Nations, Inuit, and Metis culture. We also will address contemporary challenges in adapting traditional values into developing appropriate approaches to contemporary issues. New governance ideas are developing, both on and off reserve, land claims and treaty negotiations are ongoing, and novel approaches to health and justice emerging as powerful drivers in communities.

Faculty

Mark L. Winston is the Academic Director of the Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University.

Mary Jane Jim is a member of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, former Vice-chief for the Yukon region on the Executive Committee of the Assembly of First Nations, and currently operates Duu Chuu Management Consulting.

Outline

• First Nations, Inuit and Metis: Traditional Beliefs and Contemporary Challenges Course Outline
• Fall 2006: Course Schedule

Summer 2006. Being About Action: Local Leaders, Global Futures A Summer Institute in Dialogue

May 8 - June 26. 10 credits (DIAL 390W, 391W).

Course Description

This intensive and integrative undergraduate Summer Institute will engage students in a range of experiences and dialogues about what it means to be a leader for an individual, an organization and for a city such as Vancouver operating within a global context. We will explore the role of leadership in creating a more sustainable and equitable future for humans, cities and ecosystems, amidst complex local and global issues and perspectives. Students will be involved in a range of public dialogues including Imagine BC, World Youth Forum, an online e-dialogue, World Urban Cafés, and the week-long World Urban Forum UN Habitat event in Vancouver (June 19-23, 2006). Students will play an active role in participating, reflecting and reporting on these important events, creating projects that contribute to local and global dialogues about the future.

Faculty

Janet Moore is an Assistant Professor in the Undergraduate Semester in Dialogue at Simon Fraser University.

Rob Van Wynsberghe is a Professor at Royal Roads University in the School of Environment and Sustainability.

Taigita Biln, former student in the Undergraduate Semester and currently a graduate student in Education at UBC, will be a teaching assistant for the program.

Outline

• Being About Action: Local Leaders, Global Futures

Spring 2006. Social Enterprise for Sustainable Community Development

Topics such as air quality, transport, land use, energy conservation, waste management, water and sewage, housing, and community economic development were explored in the context of achieving sustainable communities. The course focused particularly on the expanding role of the private sector and the emerging role of social enterprise as key players in the governance and infrastructure dynamics of communities and regions.

Outline

• Social Enterprise for Sustainable Community Development: Course Outline
• Spring 2006: Course Outline

Fall 2005. Health Care Issues and Ethics

Canadians identify health care as a core value, but the practical realities of delivering care are overwhelming our compassion. This course considered the nature of health itself, and explored the complexities of a health care system that corresponds with our values and ethics while being effective and financially stable.

For more information, please download the course outline in PDF format:

• Health Care Issues and Ethics: Course Outline
• Fall 2005: Course Schedule

Spring 2005. The Urban Experience

This course centred around two focal topics: The Urban Fabric: Design in the City; and Urban Sustainability: Development, Distribution, and Decision-Making.

For more information, please download the course outline in PDF format:

• The Urban Experience: Course Outline
• Spring 2005: Course Schedule

Fall 2004. Art and Community

This course centred around four focal topics: The Role of the Creative; Art, Activism and Public Art; Culture and Identity; and The Business of the Arts.

For more information, please download the course outline in PDF format:

• Art and the Community: Course Outline
• Fall 2004: Course Schedule

Fall 2003. The Urban Experience

This course centred around three focal topics: Transportation, Sustainability, and the Livable City; Social/Affordable Housing: Social Policy and Economic Realities; and Neighborhoods: Resolving Issues at the Local Level (Focus on Strathcona).

For more information, please download the course outline in PDF format:

• The Urban Experience: Course Outline

Fall 2002. Nature, Environment and Society

The inaugural semester focused on three topics: nature, the environment and society. For more information, please download the course outline in PDF format:

• Nature, Environment and Society: Course Outline