SUSANNE, Bennett
(United States)
Title of contribution:
Communicating the Climate Crisis by Design
Where & when:
Presentation: Communicating the Climate Crisis by Design
As author and editor of a book on integral sustainable design, we each have 13 years of experience in the scholarship of applying integral thought. Recently, we have delivered numerous presentations on “Solving the Climate Crisis by Design”. This paper presents four different models for disseminating this scholarship and research to academic and crossover communities. Audiences in Lebanon, Scotland, Australia, and USA consisted of design and construction schools, building science educators and a mixed audience at a spirituality and peace center. Models included two different 4-quadrant approaches, a Big-3 approach, and a format where worldview levels dominate. Each presents problems and building/urban solutions. From different integral framings, the climate crisis looks radically different and its solutions also vary. Presentation design and scholarship about this work are guided by an IMP with reflective practitioner (Schon) and emergent learning (Darling) methods. In other words, we present a narrative of 40-60 minutes, informed by a history of scholarship where an integral approach informs the content, the message, the structure of the talks, its delivery, and how we assess and improve this dissemination over time. We learned to only speak integral to integral, that too much bad news activates a collective shadow, that green values and amber science miss the opportunity to enroll the prerational level, that a multilevel message is needed, and much more.
Names of co-contributors: Mark DeKay
Mark is a registered architect and Professor of Architecture at the Univ. of Tennessee, author of “Integral Sustainable Design: transformative perspectives,” co-author of “Sun, Wind, and Light: architectural design strategies.” Mark and his wife/editor, Susanne, were trained by Al Gore as a Climate Reality Leaders. They offer lectures internationally on “Solving the Climate Crisis by Design,” along with trans-disciplinary workshops for faculty research teams using the Integral Research Approach.
About Susanne Bennett:
Susanne was educated as an archaeological anthropologist at Columbia University. She is a master public speaker with more than 35 years’ experience in the fields of personal growth, building science, and environmental issues. She is the editor of “Integral Sustainable Design: transformative perspectives.” Susanne was trained by Al Gore as a Climate Reality Leader and co-leads lectures internationally on “Solving the Climate Crisis by Design,” along with trans-disciplinary research workshops.