Erin Crawley-Woods, M.F.A., Theatre and Dance
Body and Place
I attended Valley + Ridge to continue development of a Special Topics in Dance course, Body + Place.
The course draws from movement ecology, somatic practice, site-specific artistic investigation, and current conversations in the Environmental Arts and Humanities to address questions such as: How can we explore our body as an environment and the environment through our bodily senses? How do our interactions with built and natural environments influence our perception of space and place and our role within it? What shifts in our relationship and approach to environmental issues of our time when we experience ourselves as a part of nature?
With a focus on project-based and place-based learning, the course will fulfill Dickinson’s Sustainability Connections requirement as well address UNESCO Key Competencies for Sustainability (Collaboration and Self-Awareness Competencies) and several of what Victor Nolet has termed “sustainability’s big ideas” (Health and Resiliency, Connecting with Nature, Interconnectedness). Students will engage with these ideas through reflective journaling, walking tours of various Carlisle neighborhoods, excursions to the Dickinson College Farm, Letort Spring Run Trail and Stuart Park at Barnitz Mill, and a culminating collaborative performance project as part of the National Water Dance project in April 2024.
I was inspired by several experiential learning tools used in the workshop as well as conversations with current and past participants to develop content addressing the Sustainable Development Goals and the Dickinson College Land Acknowledgement – neither of which I have found artful ways of incorporating into a class before.
As a result of participating in Valley + Ridge, I have a clearer vision of how sustainability principles can be woven throughout this course rather than as something added on top and I feel more confident in my ability to provide resources for the students to make sustainability connections themselves.