Evaluations of academic programs are a lot of work and they require much patience.
The Curricular Sequence in Italian is a program I love and of which I am very proud to be part. It is coming up for evaluation as we speak.
The original version only included three of the four teaching faculty. A few days ago I realized that I, the fourth one, had been left out. I didn’t take it personally. I simply proceeded to complete the job.
The Sequence includes one of my favorite courses: Italian Cinema. My contribution to the Sequence includes the results of my one year of advanced study in Italian cinema and what that brings to the students of the SCI and others at our university.
The complete evaluation integrates the teaching of cinema as a path for students to discover one of the 20th century arts for which Italy is best known and appreciated around the world. This I believe makes the program stronger and more viable.
The version also includes the goal of having more that one faculty teach the course in Italian cinema.
This post documents the experience that ended the most torturous year in my academic career, 2014-15, and its subsequent effects. The documents I filed at the time are on record in the highest offices of the campus.
When mobbing is legal people will resort to it to attack those weaker than themselves. In Puerto Rico, I learn, the only female governor, Sila Calderon, tried to introduce legislation against it. But. You guessed right: she was mobbed.
When mobbing is legal, people will use ideas and opinions in the public domain to feel that they have permission to act violently against those who represent perspectives different from what those ideas represent.
For example, when I first presented my proposals for hybrid modalities to my department, a pandemonium erupted. Several colleagues started yelling in Spanish, “you’re not qualified,” others started nervously pacing the room to assuage anxiety, others yet tried to ask questions in English and their voices were covered up by the yelling ones. Some female faculty went to the hallway to breathe fresh air. I was cornered on the stage, feeling lynched while the chair fell silent. The proposals were never considered at that time.
I wrote an Affidavit in Spanish that described the scene in minute detail and filed it with the highest authorities on campus. Then I filed another with more background. One year later it was finally possible to consider my first proposal in a calm and respectful manner.
One of the philosophies whose effects are visible in the mobbing I suffered is, as I’ve more recently learned, the philosophy of cercania, nearness, which privileges the local and the presential at the expense of everything else.
On a small island where people are per se afraid of novelty and foreigners, this can be very damaging. The geophysical nature of islands is what creates that sense of being surrounded by waters which makes everything non isleno muffled and remote.
The mobbing I suffered impaired my mental capabilities for quite sometime. It made my body/mind reactive to Spanish, a language I otherwise use quite well, because that’s the language against whose violence I could not defend myself.
For quite sometime, it made impossible for me to sustain the long-term attention required of peer-reviewed research.
Finally, it weakened my personal ecosystem to where I suffered a fall while traveling to Rome, Italy, one of my research arenas where I also visit family, to the point that I fell on top of myself, with the left arm extended under my own weight.
The fracture of the radial head that resulted in the affected elbow turned out to be irreparable. The entire movement of the elbow was at one point blocked. Eventually, some 65-70 percent of this movement was recuperated via Tuina Chinese therapies and India’s Auyrvedic therapies, all at my expense for about $ 7000.
Back view. Limited flexibility of left elbow.
The remaining percentage is not subject to recuperation, orthopedic doctors tell me. The difference can be observed in these images. It is a permanent disability that’s not severe per se, but quite substantial nonetheless.
I am now in the process of having the entity of this disability verified by the authorities, so I can receive the proper protections and respect. I am also observing my own inner transformation as I accept my new body and its mild deformation as a result of my work. It is a humbling and sensitive process.
As I am in this process, I am also tremendously enjoying the new relationship with students made possible by the hybrid modality.
Front view. Limited extension of left elbow.
I love the vibrant discussions when we get together presentially and discuss the texts we’ve read. It’s analytical observation at its best.
And I love how they learn how to learn online as they attend modern history lectures on You Tube and engage in taking complex, probing, soul searching, wide ranging, and profoundly thought provoking tests.
When I teach the Humanities from the Point of View of Love, I want the experience of students in the course to match the universal theme chosen. I’ve practiced that thematic approach for over ten years. Ever since we reformed the course from an all-out canonical, Allan Bloom type of litany of works by the (in)famous “dead white males,” to one that accommodates for the diversity of human experience and endeavor.
I chose the theme of love back then, when we opened up to thematic approaches as recorded in the document at this link. And now with the hybrid modality, that alignment of theme and experience of learning is coming to fruition. Yay!
First Set. Hybrid Section. Students in H-Huma 3112: The Humanities and Love
There are practical advantages as well. How relaxing for my half crippled elbow not to have to gesticulate over and over repeating the same lectures till I sound like a broken record. Students can refer to a standard version and be sure that exams correspond to what’s been really taught!
The series of online lectures on modern history from the point of view
Gaia: The Blue Dot.
of the people and the Earth is available at this link to the entire world. Talk about cercania. It’s a small planet after all! The blue dot.
With my mental joy restored, my creative energies have resurged as well. Amorous Visions is the study of Italian cinema that took me to Connecticut some four years ago. The first chapter came complete in early September, when I felt some peace was achieved around me in relation to my choices. I miss all the foreign colleagues who’ve been bashed to silence or have left for more friendly shores where cercania does not reign.
“Ecologies of Love and Toxic Ecosystems” is perhaps my favorite among all my studies of an academic nature. I contacted the editor of a Deleuzian journal. It’s peer reviewed and open source, my favorite style because it is scientifically reliable and accessible to all.
Folded arms view. Left hand unable to touch shoulder.
She got excited and asked for the submission. I said, “it’s over 14,000 words, are you prepared?” She said “yes.” I sent it. Two days later here’s what I got: “We read your essay with great interest and like it very much!” After one round of blind review, they “intend to include it in the next issue.” Wooow!
I felt: “Well Serena it was worth while to live to be over 62 years old even with a half deformed elbow, and be active in research and scholarship for over 30 years, if you’ve learned your job so well!” “Can the energy of love survive in toxic ecosystems? ” asks the article’s meta-question. The answer is “yes, as it becomes love for love or erotophilia.” They got it. “Your fountain, Serena,” I told myself, “is still pulsating with vital energies.” It was an overdue joy!
The Isla del Encanto where mobbing is legal is full of adventures, academic and not, that reverberate in the distance and presentially with the energies of life around the globe. Can we welcome the energies that will make that encanto sustainable?
As an educator, I love to share knowledge. ABE: always be educating, as my sex-positive educator friends say. Here are my lessons for the day:
I have angels. Mobbing can be avoided when administrations are aware of what it is and how it happens. When I was mobbed, angels sent me a manual about it so I could identify it. The manual is available at this link. Enjoy!
Mobbing results from conflict–unresolved conflict. Conflict can be resolved by applying the process of generating consensus from conflict itself, as explained in the manual On Conflict and Consensus, by C. T. Butler and Amy Rothstein, two founders of the horizontal democracy movement Food not Bombs. The book is available at this link. May it bring the genuine consensus that makes agreements sustainable to our learning communities. Enjoy!
Memories come back. My loving friend C.T. Butler used this book when he came from far away to lead the first retreat the Humanities Department ever had, a two-day, in 2005, or was it 2006? He was an angel from afar I called here to save us as I saw the disarray. I was new. The chair then took the credit. That retreat was really a blessing that energized everyone as the department found its true north and kept the steady direction for a good while.
This time others are planning a retreat, or Coloquio. Humanities, they call it. I feel terribly scared that the scapegoating will continue. I want to duck the attacks and save myself.
Or, I want to be treated like a human being and not a criminal under special surveillance or a scapegoat.
“How would that look like?” you may ask. It will look like a space where the current chair and direction take responsibility for creating safety for everyone. For example: It will look like the event takes place in a space where
They establish a space of communication based in freedom of expression in language choice.
They take charge for openly recording all meetings in the Coloquio and for providing online access to the audiofiles thereof in a timely way?
They take responsibility for publishing all submitted syllabi and other relevant documents to the department’s website well before day of the Coloquio.
“How would that encourage you to participate?” A legitimate question.
I would know that the freedom of expression of ALL those who choose to practice academic freedom will be protected and valued as the essence of what dialogs, or colloquia, are about.
I would know that there will be freedom of expression in ideas as well as in language choice, between, for example, English and Spanish, as we did at that time by virtue of a translator.
I would know that people will put their cards on the table: what are colleagues teaching in their courses, what is the content of their syllabi, how can I study that content as detenidamente (attentively) as my syllabi have been studied when, after ten years of practice that went unobserved, it was found that, lo and behold, the theme I’ve chosen for my approach to the Humanities is Love!
“Is that just for your protection?” Good point.
These measures will, I believe, make the Coloquio safe for all those colleagues who choose to practice academic freedom and not only the “prominent” members whose fears keep the department from evolving. My presence requires them and other genuine educators will appreciate them.
“Hopefully, that’s exactly what will happen.” I’ll stay tuned for this manifestation.
“But education is more than just a bunch of courses. No?”
As a member in good standing of the sex-positive education community and movement, and as a leader in the Ecosexual movement, I naturally also want to bring to students the know how, the skills, the arts to practice love in their lives to the extent that it feels safe and healthy at any given moment to do so.
I can manifest a whole bunch of angels who will fly to our shores to teach the arts of truly conscious and aware consent and negotiation in interpersonal relationships.
I’ve negotiated the exclusive for a special type of event called Practices of Ecosexuality at UPRM. We had a very successful first run last year. This year the call is out for Practices of Ecosexuality and Sex-Positive Education. I get inquiries all the time while we wait for the proper venue to host the event. Do I have to tell them we’re scared of angels who come from far away? I hope not.
This while the millenials–here like everywhere else–speak English better than their professors because they learn online and are branching out through the social media to the entire globe. Would college be a way to scare them about the world? Ridiculous, no? I love the millennials because they are a game-changer generation. They won’t adjust. They’ll make change happen. It’s a pleasure to teach them how, with love.
They tell me the department is seeking its “true north” after a crisis that was endemic, deeply seated, and devastating. In Puerto Rico we’re in a debt restructuring situation where throughout the UPR system we’ve been asked to get rid of expensive red tape and bring our curriculum into the 21st century. The AGB Report is here. Crises are powerful opportunities for change. Are we going to take it? I hope so.
A department that sheds its fears can become capable of imagining a sustainable future for itself. I presented a plan for action when given a chance. It’s available at this link for everyone to access and enjoy.
Instead of being trapped in fear we can be a source of learning for love. Shall we?
In a conjuncture where the best and most peaceful option we have is a wisely negotiated bankruptcy that will wipe out debts and keep the island’s assets in the island while suspending credit for Puerto Rico, this proposal for reform is like an extended hand that offers a lifesaver to those in a sinking boat. It is wise to appreciate life savers when one’s boat is sinking. They can make all the difference! I’ve had a bankruptcy. I learned one of the greatest lessons of my life: Serena, live within your means! Now I have assets, not debts. The same could happen to the UPR and all of Puerto Rico. It i my wish in writing this. Thank you!
The document and what it proposes matters to everyone a great deal. It recommends many things that we all know should have been done gradually over the years. We have been mired in what is often called inmovilismo, a fear of change that ultimately causes more problems than it can ever fix. Now is the last chance to finally get to those changes! Are we going to take it or miss it?
I propose very ample discussions about this proposal in all administrative and teaching units. Departments, faculty, administrators, employees, students. We all have to get in sync so that we can collaborate eagerly for the common good. Can we do it? I hope so. Please consider. Thank you!
“You can’t always get what you want,” as Tina Turner says. But there is a lot we can do when we become honest, upfront, direct, and sincere. Unashamed. For any process of renewal, self-knowledge is key.
This letter makes the AGB document available. It’s very important to study the project with keen attention, an open mind, and in the spirit of analytical observation. Knowledge is key. What does the document say? Do we really know and understand the content before we take action about it? Any action devoid of knowledge is ignorant. I have invited all my students to do what students do: study the document. Find it at this link:
For open discussions, there is some forum already in place too. A series of open meetings has been organized by the Comite de Autonomia. They’re at the Hora Universal. I went to the one on March 10. The next one is on March 15, in Stefani 113. Then on March 31 in Anfiteatro de Enfermeria. We need many more of these, at different hours.
There is plenty of room in these forums. That’s where it’s good to be. The more people participate, the more we can prove that we are capable of renewal and of welcoming change as a community. The more the renewal project the Report proposes becomes doable. The more our chance to save the life of the University of Puerto Rico becomes real.
It’s been a joy to convene #PracticesOfEcosexuality@UPRM, the first symposium about #Ecosexuality hosted at UPRM, an academic institution located in the region I’ve elected as my third Matria, the Caribbean.
Day One was Thursday, January 28, and we were in the Teatro Figueroa Chapel, a beautiful amphitheater at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, whose air conditioning system needs urgent refurbishing for calibration and sustainability. It was FREEZING! Despite the balmy temperatures and caressing breezes of the dry season in the blessed region of the Islas Maravillas, we had to wear coats and sweaters to resist the low temperature air conditioning. The university contributed performance spaces and technical skills, with Dean Gilbes’s special blessing. Speakers donated their time, travel funds, and expertise. Volunteers donated their organizational skills. My non-profit, 3WayKiss funded the necessary hospitality and publicity.
This was a day of ideas. A little too cerebral, considering the excessive air conditioning. The really hot gift that made it all worth while is Dr. Susan Block, who came with her husband, Captain Max, all the way from Los Angeles to educate people in our region about the inspiring behaviors of our kissing cousins from the primate kingdom, the Bonobos. Also known as Dr. Suzy, Susan Block is a renown sexologist and sex educator who devoted her energies to studying these gentle creatures who evolve peace through pleasure. Students had been lining up in the Lobby to sign attendance sheets. I rushed them in so as to start on time.
The theater was full. Our speaker was absolutely charming. She spoke ad lib presenting her findings on a background of eloquent videos where the diverse amorous behaviors of various Bonobo communities could be admired. These include kissing on the mouth, intercourse while gazing into a partner’s eyes, various styles of pleasure, inclusive sexual play with partners of various genders, respect for the wisdom and experience of older females, and solidarity among “sisters” when annoyed by male insistence.
What a nice place to be! I want to sign up for Bonobo camp next summer. I’ve been called bonoboesque before. But I bet I can learn a lot more too. Dr. Suzy eloquently explained how, if inspired by Bonobos, we humans could find ways to use our intelligence more efficiently than we do today. We too could evolve peace through pleasure instead of endangering terrestrial life with our cruel weapons. Yes, I agree! That’s ecosexual intelligence, or ESQ, right, Dr. Suzy? And I’m so happy that the public could feel validation for these practices and ideas. A whole batch of student reports was due this week. Dr. Suzy’s keynote was a big hit. Some students felt an alignment with their own way of thinking. Others were exposed to entirely new ideas. Many responded with enthusiasm. Others considered Dr. Suzy’s proposal seriously. All response were equally significant. Some of these reports will appear on this blog in an upcoming series. Stay tuned!
Lunchtime was a great occasion for community members, students, and volunteers to intermingle with speakers. Tables were organized with attendance sheets, books, and foods. We served Sancocho, a specialty of the Caribbean that brings out the richness of local ingredients. It was made with love by our volunteers. This tasty soup is healthy and complete, revealing the ancient culinary wisdom of the region. Dr. Suzy was so eager to answer questions about her book we had to remind her to eat her soup. People’s ecosystem absorbed the love found in the food.
The day continued with two favorite presentations. Marsha Scarbrough, from New Mexico, focused on the Orishas, these African deities that reside in elements of nature and remind us to sacralize what sustains our lives. An onstage dance made it all more real. Another favorite was the self-revealing tale of Maria Virginia Sanchez Cintron. a bilingual world traveler, social worker, and musician in Mayaguez. She revealed how ecosexual love can work for people seeking openness in relationships, and especially for Latino women who experience sexual expression on a continuum. This presentation was a favorite with attendees. It was very spontaneous and reached to the heart of many bicultural people’s experience in our region.
As the program unfolded, an audience formed that continued attendance, well beyond any required hours, which is what makes symposia real. It was great to see such diversity in attendees: ages, colors, attires, genders, origins, disciplines, interests. It was a true manifestation of the motley nature of the Caribbean. Speakers had been asked to be cognizant of bilingual needs, and to leave 25 percent of their time for open questions. It was a great joy to me to notice that we always had more questions form students and other attendees than speakers had time to address. Participation was eager and real!
Next was my presentation from my brave co-editing experiences. As some of you know, I am the co-editor of #Ecosexuality: When Nature Inspires the Arts of Love, published by 3WayKiss in 2015 here in Puerto Rico. I wanted to share about the complexity of this collaborative experience, where I worked elbow to elbow on a par with with a number of people spread world wide and all willing to go on record as ecosexual authors. What a great adventure it was! And a major joy in it was the evolution of a loving collaborative alliance with my faithful co-editor and mentee Lindsay Hagamen. She appeared long distance from her community in Washington State. This was a technological feat. It all worked really smoothly thanks to the careful technical assistance of Antonio Ramos and Pepe Garcia. I did not perform to the best of my abilities. I was a bit too overwhelmed with production and emceeing responsibilities. But it was great to read poems by Yemisi Ilesanmi and Kamala Devi, and excerpts from the book, along with Susan Block and Lindsay.
Linda Rodriguez is the brave colleague who became involved in the project from the beginning. A graduate of the UCLA School of Film, she staged a scene from her film script Children from the Sea. It was exciting to see the stage filled with props and performers in this in-progress staged reading. While listening to Linda and watching the stage business, one could really understand the secrets of script writing techniques. People could really relate to her theme and their questions were very interesting.
Last but not least for this day of ideas was Taber Shadburne‘s active learning exercise on the theme Spirituality in the 21st Century. In half one hour this Master Trainer from Oakland, California, got everyone to speak out and loud about their most hidden secrets. His simple sentence: “I pretend to . . . . but I really . . . ” worked its magic as people started to fill out the blanks with what’s in their heart. Participants lost their fears and shared their intimate thoughts. What a relief! Impacting the whole person is a significant goal in teaching. Education is a voyage of personal transformation. And it is through practices like these that we can achieve it.
The day ended with the screening of two films. Playa Azul I Love Youis a short film about the first Plural Wedding of Ecosexual Love in the Caribbean, performed in 2014. It’s my first and I was very shy when introducing it. It’s co-direcred and co-produced with Shaison Antony. It is still incomplete. But was good enough to show to a supportive audience. The second films is a classic of Ecosexual cinema, Goodbye Gauley Mountain, by Beth Stephens with Annie Sprinkle.
By the time of the screenings, most people in our audience could not stand the cold any longer. Many braved the adversity and stayed anyway. But it was a small group. Some of the feedback I received on my film is that it requires more drama. Its accented English was amplified by the large screen. Gauley Mountain is a favorite in my courses and was appreciated here too. In a future edition, I would place films at a more favorable time in the program.
This is my report on Day One. I want to thank all the speakers, volunteers, facilitators, organizers, technician, and attendees. Collaboration was at a very high point, with everyone staying tuned and willing to pitch in. There was a lot of peripheral vision. Students enrolled in Huma 4996-001 did a great job of manning their teams, bilingual/hospitality team, attendance team, technical team. Everyone was very responsible and present. We met many new people willing to help us power events like this. My beloved assistant, Paola Pagan, a UPRM alumna, was as appreciated, organized, and attuned as ever. Thank you Paola! I was, at times, overwhelmed with trepidation about how all this would pan out.
This big Day One was a big challenge for me. And I sometimes became bossy and bitchy as a way to fend off tension and cope with things. I apologize to anyone who might have been in the way. I’m glad I can think back to this experience with calm and wisdom. Firsts are a way to gather stronger teams. And when we do another edition we will have more calibration, delegation, and wisdom.
Thanks for listening. I hope this was useful. If you find this report interesting, please share with your networks. We will post more on Day Two, the in-the-body day, and, eventually, on Day Three, the spice-on-the-beach day.
This is Serena, a.k.a. Gaia, writing from Kalikalos, a holistic community in Kissos, on Mount Pelion, Greece.
This is a stop in my journey for two main reasons: wanting to become acquainted with the mythologies of my childhood, and wanting to bring the ideas and practices of poly-amory, multiple loves, to people and communities already attuned to holistic styles of living.
Here’s a quick report from part one, an introduction to the relation between Gaia, the concept of a living planet, and amorous resources, resources of love that we can share amorously if we learn a little bit about what poly people do.
We had scheduled this intro for the Wednesday morning slot, on August 4, 2010, during the Family Experience Week, for participants in two campuses, Kalikalos, where I am staying, and Anilio, a nearby village in the same area.
It was announced the previous evening at a wonderful taverna dinner, where people responded with a certain enthusiasm. Parallel activities for children and teen-agers were arranged, even though we also opened the option for their participation too.
The next day almost the whole community showed up. We had prepared the Round House, a pretty summer building made of pine, canvas, and bamboo. Over twenty people showed up, everyone with their own dosage of curiosity and enthusiasm.
The conversation went very smoothly, with everyone responding eagerly. “When people mention Gaia, what comes up for you? What comes up when you hear polyamory? And, last but not least, the million dollar question: jealousy?” The presentation unfolded from the diverse responses the group generated. And at the end it was decided to offer another session, with bioenergetic exercises that help people experience ‘compersion,’ in little increments. It was amazing how quickly this group got the idea of what compersion is. It was a new word for them, initially proposed as ‘the opposite of jealousy.’ They came up with a parallel definition that compares it to the Buddhist concept of Maddhitta, or the joy of rejoicing in someone else’s joy.
Individual coaching sessions were also offered, and one was scheduled right after the meeting. It was a joy to share my knowledge and experience with this brave woman from the UK, a gift to listen to her story and empathize with her situation and predicament. Often, the internalized idea that monogamy is superior is the real obstacle to the unfolding of a happy and free amorous life. I do hope that obstacle was at least temporarily removed from her mind, at least for the time being . . . . so that her path of personal and spiritual growth can naturally unfold.
So this group really gave me a sense of wider possibility: I do feel that it is my mission on this planet to open up all kinds of holistic communities to the ideas and practices of poly love styles. One of my two purposes for being here in Greece is now very tangible and real. As for the other one, well . . . it was so magical to mention Gea, or Gaia, on the very land where this concept was created, in times so ancient that it is sometimes difficult to find their traces on the land that hosted them about three thousand years ago. Greece has been colonized and culturally reorganized various times since, by the Orthodox Christians, the Ottoman Turks, and more.
Still . . . there was one participant in the group who is originally from Greece. She often functions as an interpreter for the English-speaking group with local people. When I mentioned the Titans, or first generation of Greek deities, that were not people but forces of nature that one would interpret, second, and revere rather than control, it was clear that she knew what I was talking about. She even gave us the name of Gea spelled and prononuced in Greek! I wish I could reproduce it here, but it will have to be for some other time, since I’m too ignorant to remember the letters of the Greek alphabet she used!
In any event, it was great to see that what I came up with in relation to Greek mythology made sense to a person who was educated in modern Greece. It must be real then, and not just a fantasy of yours truly. The day unfolded with people silently metabolizing the new ideas. Facilitator extraordinaire Dorota Owen showed great enthusiasm. One could observe the afterglow on people’s faces at dinner.
And on this note, my blog entry will come to a conclusion. I definitely will come back to Kalikalos for more summers and more groups. I also highly recommend these vacations. The cool air of a mid-mountain village, a nice residence, a cozy holistic community, access to fabulous beaches, moderate prices and the option of offering services, a sense of family, and healthy vegetarian food. What else could one expect from a vacation in Greece?!
For anyone reading this blog, and interested in knowing more about polyamory and holism, I recommend my latest book, Gaia and the New Politics of Love. Discount buy here.
For those interested in my life as Gaia, the experiment that lead to the Gaian awareness I have today, I recommend Eros: A Journey of Multiple Loves. Discount buy here.
Fianally, for those interested in fabulous holistic vacations in Greece, I recommend the Kalikalos Blog, http://kalikalos.blogspot.com, and Website http://www.kalikalos.com. Make sure you stay up to date on what’s coming up and what they are doing!
Namaste,
Gaia,
a.k.a. Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio, PhD
author of Gaia and the New Politics of Love, a Silver Winner for the 2010 Nautilus Award in Cosmology and New Science, and of
Eros: A Journey of Multiple Loves, a Lambda finalist for Bisexuality in 2007
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