| Exploring Human Nature: A Reflexive Mixed Methods Enquiry Into Solo Time in the Wilderness Contributor(s): Lemke, Jana (Author) |
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ISBN: 9088905584 ISBN-13: 9789088905582 Publisher: Sidestone Press OUR PRICE: $44.55 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: May 2018 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Psychology | Developmental - Adolescent |
| Physical Information: 0.7" H x 6.9" W x 9.9" (1.45 lbs) 280 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Exploring Human Nature takes the reader deep into the human experience of being in nature. Our current ecological predicament highlights the need to change people's nature awareness and behavior. This pioneering mixed methods study investigates a method to do this through facilitated Solo time in the wilderness. Solo time is an ancient, ritualized and pan-cultural practice of spending time alone in nature, that has been reintroduced into our current time and culture. The study focuses on the phenomenology of young adults' immersive experiences in nature and the evaluation of long term impact on their personal development, their relationship with nature, community participation and ecological behavior. However, this work is not only about the content of research, it is also about how research is done. On a methodological level the study takes a systemic approach: it explores and integrates an expanded, interconnected worldview and methodology. In practice, this encompasses working with participants' dreams as data and including different ways of knowing in an expanded view on validity. It also includes collecting data on the researcher's own experience and integrating it as a parallel narrative in the thesis. In this manner the book not only tackles the pressing issue of an increasing psychological and physical separation between humans and nature, it also calls into question how conventional research and its prevailing tendency to investigate the world in isolated pieces may contribute to the problem. Overall, this book provides a practical example of how a systemic approach may be integrated in the research process and in academic writing. It also serves as a valuable reference point for future work on promising triggers for change and highlights powerful elements for prospective programs focussing on individual empowerment, sustainability and nature awareness. It addresses all researchers interested in ecopsychology and experiential education but also those who are curious to explore subjectivity as part of an expanded worldview and methodology in research. |
Contributor Bio(s): Lemke, Jana: - Dr. Jana Lemke has an academic degree in psychology from the University of Potsdam and attended a Masters course in Transpersonal Psychology and Consciousness Studies at the University of Northampton. The masters aroused her personal and professional interest in the concept of mindfulness and drew her deeper into the exploration of the two main driving forces of our civilization: science and spirituality. This enquiry sparked a novel awareness and deep fascination for the human-nature relationship and led to years of personal and professional research on this topic at the European University Viadrina. Her PhD research focused on the investigation of facilitated experiences of nature and self that bear the potential to empower individuals and contribute to sustainability. However, throughout the research process, this focus extended to include the exploration of a systemic worldview and research methodology. Her passion lies in exploring "subjectivity as a touchstone for outer objectivity" (C.G. Jung) and its integration as a valuable part of research and academic writing. In practice this specifically includes working with dreams and the researcher's reflexivity as data sources and integrating different ways of knowing as an expanded view on validity. Jana Lemke has published several articles on mindfulness and is currently working on a series of articles covering autoethnography and working with dreams as research data. She has facilitated and accompanied several programs for young adults, which included 24-hour solos in the wild as well as a 3-day solo, the so-called vision quest in the wilderness. She is a professionally trained Zen Yoga teacher and a trained process facilitator in wild nature. |