Institute for Social Ecology
Encyclopedia
The Institute for Social Ecology is an educational institution in the United States
offering courses related to social ecology
, an anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian
strain of ecology
that is a form of libertarian socialism
. It was founded in 1974 by Murray Bookchin
and Daniel Chodorkoff. Historically, the Institute for Social Ecology has been a pioneer in the exploration of ecological approaches to food production, alternative technologies, and urban design
, and has played an essential, catalytic role in movements to challenge nuclear power
, global injustices and unsustainable biotechnologies, while building participatory, community-based alternatives.
As an educational and activist organization, the ISE is committed to the social and ecological transformation of society. It is the ISE’s core belief that the human potential to play a creative role in natural and social evolution can be realized, thereby allowing us to foster communities free from hierarchy, social inequity, and ecological degradation. The ISE views the global penetration of systems of domination into daily life, the centralization of political and economic power, the homogenization of culture, and the strengthening of hierarchy and social control as impediments to human freedom and the root causes of the current ecological crisis.
Social ecology advocates a reconstructive approach that promotes a directly democratic, confederal politics. As a body of ideas, social ecology envisions a moral economy that moves beyond scarcity and hierarchy toward a world that fully celebrates diversity. The ISE has been a pioneer in the exploration of ecological means of food production, like organic gardening and permaculture, and alternative technologies. Studies combine theoretical and experiential learning in community organizing, political action, ecological economics, and sustainable building and land use. The ISE, as such, strives to be an agent of social transformation, demonstrating the skills, ideas, and relationships that can nurture vibrant, self-governed, ecological communities.
For over 30 years, from the antinuclear and ecology movements to the current one against pervasive militarism and the bleak side of globalization, the ISE has inspired individuals involved in social change to work toward a humane, ecological, and liberatory society. Join the more than 3,000 students from around the globe—from Liberia to the Philippines, Italy to Iran, Norway to Uruguay, Israel to Ethiopia, the United States to Japan, and many more—who have attended the ISE in order to not only remake themselves but remake society as well.
January 9 – 16, 2010 — New York City — $300 (scholarships available)
The Institute for Social Ecology presents an 8-day intensive introduction to the philosophy and politics of Social Ecology. This 8-day intensive will offer students an introduction to the dialectical philosophy and politics of Social Ecology. Using the lens of Social Ecology, students will participate in four topical seminars focused on climate justice; alternatives to capitalism; race; and the history of Social Ecology and radical movements. Students will also participate in a practicum applying the principles of Social Ecology to their own actual (or imagined) activist campaigns.
The philosophy class will be held in the evening to encourage NYC students with day jobs to attend.
MA Program in Social Ecology at Prescott College
The ISE works in collaboration with the Prescott College Master of Arts Program (MAP) to offer a concentration in social ecology for Prescott MAP students. Students attend colloquia in Prescott, Arizona and in Vermont, while working independently in their home communities in collaboration with an ISE graduate advisor. For more information, click here.
Summer Colloquia
Since 2007 the Institute for Social Ecology has held annual summer colloquia. These weekend gatherings have been an occasion for both new and longtime associates of the Institute to discuss current issues, workshop writing projects, and renew a sense of community.
Activism
Over the past decade, the ISE's primary activist focus has been around opposition to genetic engineering of food and trees, exposing the broader myths of biotechnology, involvement in the growing movement for climate justice, and bringing a community-centered, grassroots approach, rooted in the practice of New England’s traditional town meetings, to a variety of social and ecological issues. The ISE’s approach to grassroots organizing is rooted in the principles of decentralism, community control, and face-to-face, direct democracy that have broadly inspired many of today’s movements for global justice.
Article Archive, featuring articles from a variety of writers within the field of social ecology.
Harbinger, A Journal of Social Ecology, publishes analysis relevant to the social ecology movement (currently inactive)
Left Green Perspectives/Green Perspectives, an independent but related newsletter publication devoted to the ideas of social ecology and communalism (this project ended in 1998)
Multimedia content, including audio and video clips of lectures, panel discussions, and interviews with social ecologists.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
offering courses related to social ecology
Social ecology
Social ecology is a philosophy developed by Murray Bookchin in the 1960s.It holds that present ecological problems are rooted in deep-seated social problems, particularly in dominatory hierarchical political and social systems. These have resulted in an uncritical acceptance of an overly...
, an anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian
Anti-authoritarian
Anti-authoritarianism is opposition to authoritarianism, which is defined as a "political doctrine advocating the principle of absolute rule: absolutism, autocracy, despotism, dictatorship, totalitarianism." Anti-authoritarians usually believe in full equality before the law and strong civil...
strain of ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
that is a form of libertarian socialism
Libertarian socialism
Libertarian socialism is a group of political philosophies that promote a non-hierarchical, non-bureaucratic, stateless society without private property in the means of production...
. It was founded in 1974 by Murray Bookchin
Murray Bookchin
Murray Bookchin was an American libertarian socialist author, orator, and philosopher. A pioneer in the ecology movement, Bookchin was the founder of the social ecology movement within anarchist, libertarian socialist and ecological thought. He was the author of two dozen books on politics,...
and Daniel Chodorkoff. Historically, the Institute for Social Ecology has been a pioneer in the exploration of ecological approaches to food production, alternative technologies, and urban design
Urban design
Urban design concerns the arrangement, appearance and functionality of towns and cities, and in particular the shaping and uses of urban public space. It has traditionally been regarded as a disciplinary subset of urban planning, landscape architecture, or architecture and in more recent times has...
, and has played an essential, catalytic role in movements to challenge nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
, global injustices and unsustainable biotechnologies, while building participatory, community-based alternatives.
History
Established in 1974 and incorporated in 1981, the ISE is an independent institution of higher education dedicated to the study of social ecology, an interdisciplinary field drawing on philosophy, political and social theory, anthropology, history, economics, the natural sciences, and feminism. The ISE has offered intensive summer programs, a year-round B.A. degree program, workshops on issues such as biotechnology, fall and winter lecture series, internship opportunities, and a speakers bureau. In addition, the ISE is involved in research as well as publishing and activist projects.As an educational and activist organization, the ISE is committed to the social and ecological transformation of society. It is the ISE’s core belief that the human potential to play a creative role in natural and social evolution can be realized, thereby allowing us to foster communities free from hierarchy, social inequity, and ecological degradation. The ISE views the global penetration of systems of domination into daily life, the centralization of political and economic power, the homogenization of culture, and the strengthening of hierarchy and social control as impediments to human freedom and the root causes of the current ecological crisis.
Social ecology advocates a reconstructive approach that promotes a directly democratic, confederal politics. As a body of ideas, social ecology envisions a moral economy that moves beyond scarcity and hierarchy toward a world that fully celebrates diversity. The ISE has been a pioneer in the exploration of ecological means of food production, like organic gardening and permaculture, and alternative technologies. Studies combine theoretical and experiential learning in community organizing, political action, ecological economics, and sustainable building and land use. The ISE, as such, strives to be an agent of social transformation, demonstrating the skills, ideas, and relationships that can nurture vibrant, self-governed, ecological communities.
For over 30 years, from the antinuclear and ecology movements to the current one against pervasive militarism and the bleak side of globalization, the ISE has inspired individuals involved in social change to work toward a humane, ecological, and liberatory society. Join the more than 3,000 students from around the globe—from Liberia to the Philippines, Italy to Iran, Norway to Uruguay, Israel to Ethiopia, the United States to Japan, and many more—who have attended the ISE in order to not only remake themselves but remake society as well.
Current activities
8-Day Social Ecology IntensiveJanuary 9 – 16, 2010 — New York City — $300 (scholarships available)
The Institute for Social Ecology presents an 8-day intensive introduction to the philosophy and politics of Social Ecology. This 8-day intensive will offer students an introduction to the dialectical philosophy and politics of Social Ecology. Using the lens of Social Ecology, students will participate in four topical seminars focused on climate justice; alternatives to capitalism; race; and the history of Social Ecology and radical movements. Students will also participate in a practicum applying the principles of Social Ecology to their own actual (or imagined) activist campaigns.
The philosophy class will be held in the evening to encourage NYC students with day jobs to attend.
MA Program in Social Ecology at Prescott College
The ISE works in collaboration with the Prescott College Master of Arts Program (MAP) to offer a concentration in social ecology for Prescott MAP students. Students attend colloquia in Prescott, Arizona and in Vermont, while working independently in their home communities in collaboration with an ISE graduate advisor. For more information, click here.
Summer Colloquia
Since 2007 the Institute for Social Ecology has held annual summer colloquia. These weekend gatherings have been an occasion for both new and longtime associates of the Institute to discuss current issues, workshop writing projects, and renew a sense of community.
Activism
Over the past decade, the ISE's primary activist focus has been around opposition to genetic engineering of food and trees, exposing the broader myths of biotechnology, involvement in the growing movement for climate justice, and bringing a community-centered, grassroots approach, rooted in the practice of New England’s traditional town meetings, to a variety of social and ecological issues. The ISE’s approach to grassroots organizing is rooted in the principles of decentralism, community control, and face-to-face, direct democracy that have broadly inspired many of today’s movements for global justice.
Alumni
- Dave Jacke, author of 'Edible Forest Gardens'
- Eric Toensmeier, author of 'Perennial Vegetables'
- Grace Gershuny, author of 'The Soul of the Soil'
- Tom Stearns, founder and owner, 'High Mowing Seed Company'
- Chaia Heller, author of 'Ecology of Everyday Life'
- Brain Tokar, editor of 'Redesigning Life'
- Cindy MilsteinCindy MilsteinCindy Milstein is an anarchist activist and educator who talks at various anarchist and socialist gatherings. One such talk was the very informal but in-depth class, "Anarchism 101" at the National Conference on Organized Resistance, at the American University in Washington DC, in 2003 and 2004...
Educational Resources
Social ecology is an interdisciplinary field drawing on philosophy, political and social theory, anthropology, history, economics, the natural sciences, and feminism. The ISE's website offers the following resources for those interested in learning more about social ecology:Article Archive, featuring articles from a variety of writers within the field of social ecology.
Harbinger, A Journal of Social Ecology, publishes analysis relevant to the social ecology movement (currently inactive)
Left Green Perspectives/Green Perspectives, an independent but related newsletter publication devoted to the ideas of social ecology and communalism (this project ended in 1998)
Multimedia content, including audio and video clips of lectures, panel discussions, and interviews with social ecologists.
See also
- Social ecologySocial ecologySocial ecology is a philosophy developed by Murray Bookchin in the 1960s.It holds that present ecological problems are rooted in deep-seated social problems, particularly in dominatory hierarchical political and social systems. These have resulted in an uncritical acceptance of an overly...
- SustainabilitySustainabilitySustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
- BiodiversityBiodiversityBiodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
- Global warmingGlobal warmingGlobal warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
- EcologyEcologyEcology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
- Earth ScienceEarth scienceEarth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...
- Natural environmentNatural environmentThe natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
- RecyclingRecyclingRecycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...