{"id":345,"date":"2021-06-13T21:23:30","date_gmt":"2021-06-14T01:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/?p=345"},"modified":"2022-06-08T15:29:20","modified_gmt":"2022-06-08T19:29:20","slug":"two-eye-seeing-in-the-age-of-climate-adaptation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/two-eye-seeing-in-the-age-of-climate-adaptation\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Two-Eyed Seeing’ in the Age of Climate Adaptation (Unit 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(Source: BLMS Graphic Arts<\/a>) <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does it mean to have \u2018two-eyed seeing\u2019 in addressing climate change and adapting our society to a warming world?<\/em><\/strong>  For we are often told that we cannot solve the world\u2019s crises – like the climate crisis – with old ways of thinking. But as a settler colonial on Turtle Islands, I know I have been conditioned to think in a worldview of scarcity, competition and ownership by a neoliberal capitalist model. However, many Indigenous peoples would see the world differently from a worldview of abundance, cooperation and co-ownership or rather reciprocity. So how does one like myself reconcile these plural worldviews in order to see the problems we face and their solutions from an entirely new way of thinking? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have been thinking about this often over the past two weeks, as I recently joined the first cohort of a new program at Royal Roads University in the Graduate Diploma and Masters program for Climate Action Leadership<\/a>.  The 17 of us, including myself, described as \u201cemerging climate action leaders” (Cox, 2021) span across geographies, backgrounds and worldview. We have come together (virtually) in an intensive 80-hours course called \u2018Leading Climate Action in Society (part 1)\u201d that takes place across 10 days in order to nose dive into the world of change adaptation from a transdisciplinary approach (MACAL, 2021a) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many ways, a transdisciplinary approach is essentially that of a process rather than a destination. For it is a space where people from diverse backgrounds – like our cohort – can come together in co-learning and co-creating in order to go \u2018between, across and beyond\u2019 their trained disciplines and into emergent knowledge or new ways of thinking (Corman & Cox, 2020). To put this into practice, our teams were given a design challenge that would put transdisciplinary thinking to task. That of creating an open educational program with the goal to actively engage<\/em> the public in climate change strategies, or in essence spur climate mobilization (MACAL, 2021b).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the start I was struck by the notion of the \u2018two-eyed seeing\u2019 in relation to the design challenge at hand but also in terms of systems change. Or rather, how a process of co-inquiry from Indigenous knowledge systems and western knowledge systems could mutually sense and shift the world around them (Goodchild et al., 2021). In Relational Systems Thinking by Melanie Goodhcild (2021), she explores this very notion through a practice of cross-cultural dialogue between these two sets of knowledge systems. Rather than the concept of \u2018braiding\u2019 (Kimmerer, 2013) where western knowledge still tends to dominate, Goodchild argues, like other Indigenous scholars, for the \u2018two-row\u2019 methodology where the two knowledge systems come together in a process of co-learning and co-creating on equal footing, and where the deep reflection in between epistemologies creates ground for new emergent ideas and solutions to the problem our world faces (Goodchild et al.<\/em>, 2021).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, when one thinks about systems change, we tend to think in terms of macro-level disruptions such as disrupting the financial, political or energy system in order to address the climate crisis. However, as members of the Cascade Institute <\/a>make clear, perhaps one of the most complex systems that is in need of disruption is held in all of our human minds – our worldviews (Ross & Piereder, 2021). Human worldviews are a highly sophisticated network of concepts, beliefs and values attached to feelings and emotions that are based on our personal experiences (Ross & Piereder, 2021). But because humans are self-aware creatures, we have the ability for inner reflection which in turn helps us to adapt and change our belief systems, or what is otherwise known as having \u2018complex adaptive systems\u2019 (Lawrence & Homer-Dixon, 2021). Hence, by disrupting the causal links in and between concepts and emotions mapped in our mind, such as through personal life experiences or shifting one\u2019s personal narrative (alternatively through Cognitive Affective Maps), we can rearrange the mind itself (Lawrence & Homer-Dixon, 2021; Ross & Piereder, 2021). Moreover, if the mind is a mirror to our collective society, we can shift this complex system of the human worldview and thus how we organize society, all by disrupting the normative narratives pathways in our minds. This breeds new potential and hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how do we tap into the adaptive mind? How can we disrupt our destructive worldview? Or rather, how can we change the inner stories that are no longer serving us? Could \u2018two-eye seeing\u2019 be that answer? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Returning back to the two-row methodology in Goodchild (2021), it is only when we begin to learn from each other, even have an eye to another worldview, then can we begin to rearrange our mind to new thinking and new possibilities.  She calls this relational systems thinking <\/em>where an ethical or \u2018sacred space\u2019 is created in our new way of seeing and sensing the world that goes beyond even the human worldview and into the more-than-human world (Goodchild et al.<\/em>, 2021). This is perhaps the most necessary step of all if we are to disrupt our systems and survive the 21st century ahead in a warming world. For the \u2018two-eyed seeing\u2019 is connecting us with the very life system that supports all other complex systems – our Earth Mother. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Corman, I. & Cox, R. (2020). Transdisciplinary Thinking in the context of the MACAL program.  In Master\u2019s in Climate Action Leadership, Royal Roads University. Retrieved from: https:\/\/commons.royalroads.ca\/macal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2021\/04\/MACAL_Transdisciplinary_Thinking03-31-21-3.pdf<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cox, R. (2021, June 7). Crossroads MACAL Story (blog). In CALS501 WordPress, Master\u2019s in Climate Action Leadership, Royal Roads University. Retrieved from: https:\/\/commons.royalroads.ca\/cals501\/crossroads-macal-story\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goodchild,  M. et al., (2021). Relational Systems Thinking: That’s how change is going to come, from Our Mother Earth. Journal of Awareness Based Systems Change 1(1)<\/em>, p. 75-103. Retrieved from: https:\/\/jabsc.org\/index.php\/jabsc\/article\/view\/577\/696<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homer-Dixon, T. (2011, January). Complexity Science. In Oxford Leadership Journal, 2(11)<\/em>, p. 1-5. Retrieved from: http:\/\/homerdixon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Homer-Dixon-Oxford-Leadership-Journal-Manion-lecture.pdf<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Homer-Dixon, T et al. (2014). The Conceptual Structure of Social Disputes: Cognitive Affective Maps as a Tool for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. SAGE Open<\/em>, vol. 4 (1), p. 1 – 20. Retrieved from: https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/2158244014526210<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kimmerer, R. (2013). Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teaching of Plants<\/em>. Milkweed Editions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawrence, M. & Homer-Dixon, T. (2021). Introduction to Complex Systems Thinking. n Master\u2019s in Climate Action Leadership, Royal Roads University; Retrieved from: https:\/\/moodle.royalroads.ca\/moodle\/local\/kalturamediagallery\/index.php?courseid=8518<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

MACAL (2021a). Welcome to CALS 501 – Leading Climate Action in Society Part 1 (wordpress website). In Master\u2019s in Climate Action Leadership, Royal Roads University. Retrieved from: https:\/\/commons.royalroads.ca\/cals501\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MACAL. (2021b). Assignment 2: Design Thinking Challenge – Initial Design Challenge Concept (Team).  In Master\u2019s in Climate Action Leadership, Royal Roads University. Retrieved from:  https:\/\/commons.royalroads.ca\/cals501\/assessment\/assignment-2\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

MACAL Program. (2021c). Master or Arts in Climate Action Leadership (website). Royal Roads University. Retrieved from: https:\/\/macal.royalroads.ca\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ross, H & Piereder, J. (2021). Belief systems in a complex world: A cognitive affective mapping tutorial (powerpoint presentation and lecture). In Master\u2019s in Climate Action Leadership, Royal Roads University; Retrieved from: https:\/\/moodle.royalroads.ca\/moodle\/local\/kalturamediagallery\/index.php?courseid=8518<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Source: BLMS Graphic Arts) What does it mean to have \u2018two-eyed seeing\u2019 in addressing climate change and adapting our society<\/p>\n

Continue reading‘Two-Eyed Seeing’ in the Age of Climate Adaptation (Unit 1)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":950,"featured_media":467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"templates\/full-width-page.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cals501","category-royal-roads-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/950"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":647,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345\/revisions\/647"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webspace.royalroads.ca\/ehunter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}