Z U L E N E T  H O M E
UPDATE 2007
Graduate Certificate in Social Ecology: http://handbook.uws.edu.au/hbook/course.asp?course=1577
Masters of Social Ecology: http://handbook.uws.edu.au/hbook/course.asp?course=1579
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NEWSLETTER

SOCIAL

ECOLOGY

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               C H A I R               
 SOCIAL ECOLOGY  
Stuart Hill
UWS-HAWKESBURY
Chair
             
PROFESSOR STUART B. HILL
Stuart Hill is the Foundation Chair of Social Ecology 
at the University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury

       
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 SOCIAL ECOLOGY IS...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
BACKGROUND
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 AT UWS WE EMPHASISE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FAQ
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SOCIAL ECOLOGY
            
 
            

         
             
 FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
 
            

           

       
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Social Ecology is...
Social Ecology (SE) at UWS today is an emerging meta-discipline that provides a sophisticated and critical framework for the generation of holistic theory, deep understanding, and effective, responsible action. 
click here for more!		      Background
Social ecology is a field of study first named and developed by Murray Bookchin, a well-known North American anarchist, in the 1960s (1). The guiding principles he emphasised were unity in diversity and complexity, spontaneity, complementary and mutualistic rather than hierarchical relationships, active, participatory democracy and bioregionalism. 
click here for more!		      At UWS we emphasise experiential learning, participatory action research and other qualitative methodologies; we learn best in action, and research about change is most effective when it involves those most implicated.
click here for more!		       FAQ
1. How long has social ecology been taught at UWS Hawkesbury and how is it taught?
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PAPERS
 
            

           

       
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 "As a Social Ecologist..."
Stuart Hill, Professor of Social Ecology at the Hawksbury Campus of the University of Western Sydney, describes himself as a social ecologist. 

A more accurate description might be a catalyst for change. But then, according to Professor Hill, ecology is about how systems work and social ecology is about learning to work effectively with those systems, particularly when change is occurring. 
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     "What SE means to me.."
This is a very personal account of social ecology. In this essay I will endeavour to discuss what social ecology means to me at this moment, place it within the vast smorgasbord of frameworks for understanding and action, share some critical moments in my evolving love affair with it, and talk boldly about where I believe it can make important contributions to our future, from the individual level to that of the species, and from the local to the global. 
click here for more!		     Twelve SE Testing Questions
Prior to planning Healthy City initiatives and at several stages throughout their implementation, to aid relevance and sustained effectiveness and efficiencies, it is helpful to consider a range of mutually supportive testing questions. 

The twelve questions that will be discussed (listed below) were designed to broaden considerations by including concerns in the personal, social and environmental domains.
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      FAQ
7. I like the idea of chaos as a precondition for creativity. How does social ecology relate to the arts, are there any artists who have worked with you or within the Department of Social Ecology? 
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SOCIAL ECOLOGY IS...
 
            
For a print version click here!
            
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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SE is
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Background
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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              PROFESSOR STUART B. HILL
Social Ecology (SE) at UWS today is an emerging meta-discipline that provides a sophisticated and critical framework for the generation of holistic theory, deep understanding, and effective, responsible action.

It derives its theory and direction from applied philosophy (critical reason, ethics, world-views, imagination), personal experience (postulation, action, reflection, contemplation) and diverse sources and systems of disciplinary, cultural and contextual knowledge (education, particularly ecological thinking, and spirituality).

SE emphasizes actions and reflective practice that integrate personal, social, political and environmental concerns and possibilities.

End goals include wellbeing and health, in the broadest sense, equity and social justice, and the fostering of mutualistic and caring relationships, personal meaning, organizational learning, co-evolutionary change and ecological sustainability. These relationships are illustrated below.


Relationships between sources of theory and praxis in social ecology

Because of this focus, most of its work is concerned with transformative learning and change, from the re-conceptualisation and redesign of existing theories, disciplines, professions, institutions and other structures and processes, to the facilitation of the actual processes of personal, social, political and environmental change.

The emphasis is on thinking about the big picture, while at the same time being willing to act in small meaningful ways, and also share and celebrate the associated visions, processes and outcomes to facilitate their rapid spread throughout society.

At UWS-Hawkesbury, SE had its origin in the mid-1980s in social communication. It was initially located within the Faculty of Agriculture and Rural Development and was primarily concerned with adult education in applied social and community settings. The change of name to Social Ecology reflected a drive to bring ecological thinking and concern for the environment into the nexus of key relationships.

Gradually SE has broadened to its present format, with undergraduate Majors in Community Development and Organisational Change, Environmental Education and Advocacy, and Ecological Psychology and Cultural Change. Coursework postgraduate programs include the Graduate Diploma and Master of Applied Science in Social Ecology, with Majors in Environmental Education, Organisational Development and Cultural Action; also a Master of Arts in Cultural Psychology: Jungian Studies and Complexity, Chaos and Creativity. Several other coursework postgraduate degrees are in the planning stage. Research degrees include the B.App.Sc.(Hons.), M.Sc.(Hons.) and Ph.D.

The educational goals of SE are pursued within a learning community in which opportunities for both students and staff to learn from one another are facilitated and encouraged. This process of learning is alive, exciting and empowering for all concerned. The knowledge and theory generated and the actions taken are at the cutting edge of personal, social, political and environmental thinking.

The research foci within the Social Ecology Research Group (SERG) are the same as the Majors plus Sense of Place and Critical Studies in Political Ecology. Discussions are underway for SERG to examine a possible amalgamation with the Centre for Systemic Development, the Centre for Strategic Thinking and the Critical Social Sciences Research Group.

Globally the term social ecology was first used in the mid-1960s by the United States anarchist, Murray Bookchin (1982) to characterise his particular critique of the centralised, hierarchical, naively simple, exclusionary and ecologically uninformed structures and processes that were (and still are) dominant in western society. Whereas Bookchin emphasised a philosophical analysis and was critical of deep ecology (Devall & Sessions 1985), SE at Hawkesbury had a more inclusive and practical approach. It drew its inspiration particularly from Carl Rogers (1969) conception of whole-person-learning, David Kolbs (1984) experiential education, Paolo Frieres (1972) view of education as liberation, Mary Belenky et als (1986) feminist perspectives, and Peter Reason and John Rowans (1981) participatory action research.

Subsequently, numerous other concepts have been incorporated. These include Gregory Batesons (1972) ecological or recursive epistemology, Peter Senges (1990) learning communities, Mary Clarks (1989) interdisciplinary approaches to global problems, Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varelas (1987) biologically-based constructivist mind, Peter Checkland and Jim Scholes (1990) soft systems methodology, Kurt Lewins (1935) force-field analysis and Fran Peaveys (1994) strategic questioning. Others are reflected in the selections included in the extensive collection of Readers that have been prepared for the subjects offered in social ecology by the academic staff. These are available at cost from the Course Administrator at the address given below.
 
 

References Cited.
Bateson, G. 1972. Steps to an Ecology of Mind. Intertext, London.
Belenky, M.F. B. McClinchy, N.R. Goldberger & J.M. Tarule 1986. The Womens Ways of Knowing: The Development of Self, Voice, and Mind. Basic Books, New York.
Bookchin, M. 1982. The Ecology of Freedom. Knopf, New York.
Checkland, P. & J. Scholes 1990. Soft Systems Methodology in Action. Wiley, New York.
Clark, M.E. 1989. Ariadnes Thread. St.Martins, New York.
Devall, B. & G. Sessions 1985. Deep Ecology. Gibbs M. Smith, Layton, UT.
Friere, P. 1972. Cultural Action for Freedom. Penguin, Harmondsworth, UK.
Kolb, D. 1984. Experience As the Base for Learning and Development. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Lewin, K. 1935. A Dynamic Theory of Personality. McGraw Hill, New York.
Maturana, H.R. & F.J. Varela 1987. The Tree of Knowledge. Shambala, Boston, MA.
Peavey, F. 1994. By Lifes Grace. New Society, Philadelphia, PA.
Reason, P. & J.Rowan (eds) 1981. Human Inquiry: A Sourcebook of New Paradigm Research. Wiley, New York.
Rogers, C. 1969. Freedom to Learn. Merrill, London.

Professor Stuart B. Hill 1st August, 2000.
Foundation Chair of Social Ecology
University of Western Sydney-Hawkesbury
Richmond. NSW, 2753, Australia
Ph.: (02) 4570 1280 Fax: (02 4570 1531. Email: s.hill@uws.edu.au

Department of Social Ecology Website:
http://www.nepean.uws.edu.au/showcase/aou/uwsh/socialinq/social_ecology/
Social Ecology Research Group Website: 
http://www.hawkesbury.uws.edu.au/research/groups/SERG/
 
            
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 SOME SE BACKGROUND
 
            
           


       
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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SE is
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Background
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We emphasise
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FAQ
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
Social ecology is a field of study first named and developed by Murray Bookchin, a well-known North American anarchist, in the 1960s (1). The guiding principles he emphasised were unity in diversity and complexity, spontaneity, complementary and mutualistic rather than hierarchical relationships, active, participatory democracy and bioregionalism.

At the University of Western Sydney-Hawkesbury, social ecology was adopted, virtually without reference to Bookchin, to better describe the Social Communications Graduate Diploma in the mid-1980s. The course had broadened beyond communication issues (initially in relation to agriculture and rural communities) to encompass a wide range of social and environmental issues. Social ecology at Hawkesbury has continued to evolve ever since. 

In 1996 I was appointed Foundation Chair of Social Ecology and one of my first tasks was to try to help the group arrive at a currently acceptable definition and description of what we do. This is an ongoing project!

For me, the central attraction is that at Hawkesbury social ecology aims to integrate the personal, social and environmental in most of its teaching and research. This is in contrast with the usual sustainability and change frameworks, which highlight the economy, society and the environment, in that order! By doing this, they exclude the individual from responsibility and perpetuate the role of money, rather than some higher system of values, as the basis for decision making. Money can only function effectively in a sustainable society if it is regarded as a tool in the service of a higher value. Thus, our programs at Hawkesbury are about sustainability and change, with an emphasis on equity and social justice, personal and collaborative action, imagination, and learning from nature and history. 
 
       
 
            
 		            
         
             
 UWS WE EMPHASISE
 
            
           


       
 
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experiential learning, participatory action research and other qualitative methodologies; 

we learn best in action, and research about change is most effective when it involves those most implicated.

the importance of context and diverse ways of knowing (including womens and indigenous ways);

so many so-called solutions to problems fail over the long term because they ignore the complex relationships that exist in nature, society and in our own bodies and because they are limited to scientific knowledge (the verifiable knowledge that we know we know), whereas most of the knowledge that we have we dont know we know, and most of it is unverifiable rather than ignore this, we need to find ways to work with this knowledge (which is what most artists spend most of their lives doing!).

the value of diversity and of learning to collaborate across difference;

valuing and working with diversity and difference is a quantum leap beyond tolerating it or even understanding it and it is a pre-requisite for peace.

working for equity and social justice, particularly in relation to issues of power, gender and race;

again, it is very demanding to act on such goals, and for most of us reading this (particularly us white males) it will mean giving up some privilege and reducing ownership and consumption.

understanding how to work with and design complex mutualistic systems, recognising chaos as an important precondition for creativity, development and coevolution, and not something to be quickly controlled and simplified;

our scientific, technological and regulatory approaches to the design and management of systems have usually overemphasised simplification, uniformity and control. Nature, on the other hand, is extremely complex, and creative, forever following cycles from chaos to order and back again to chaos. To avoid major crises, the key is to keep such cycles as small as possible.

What is exciting for me is that social ecology brings together so many poles that rarely meet: the arts and sciences; critical thinking and reflexivity, passion and intuition; rationality and spirituality; the stories of the ancients, systems theory and chaos theory; plus an extensive list of disciplines. Social ecology is a transdisciplinary metafield or meta-discipline that is particularly informed by ecology, psychology and health studies, sociology and cultural studies, the creative arts, holistic sciences, appropriate technology, post-structuralism and critical theory, ecofeminism, ecological economics, peace and futures studies, applied philosophy and spirituality. If one thinks about designing systems that can really work in the best possible way, it soon becomes clear that one must be free to draw on the full spectrum of human knowledge and wisdom. This is what social ecology aims to do. Because one cannot be an expert in every area, to be effective while taking into account su