Throughout its history the Institute for Social Ecology has been committed to
the partnership of education and activism, promoting the notion that non-hierarchical,
ecological and socially sustainable communities are realistic alternatives to
centralized, hierarchical economic and political systems existing today. Taking
equally antagonistic stances towards Marxism and capitalism, social ecology
– as well as its founding members, Murray Bookchin and Daniel Chodorkoff
– presents a powerful antidote to the hegemony of the ‘Old Left’
as well as Capital, infusing a libertarian-ecological set of ideas to contemporary
radical movements.
In the 1962 Murray Bookchin released Our Synthetic Environment, a seminal book
that revealed the devastating consequences of DDT and other toxic pesticides.
Bookchin extended the critique to include urban concentration, chemical agriculture,
and the rise of chronic environmentally related disease (1). Using anarchist
thought as a starting point for activist and organizational practice, Bookchin
broadened his focus to include anti-nuclear protest as well as the more general
Green politics of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. By engaging
with both education and activism, social ecology is much more than a reaction
to destructive technologies and social forms, as it presents radical and sustainable
alternatives that involve ecologically sound economics and technology.
Since 1974, the Institute for Social Ecology (ISE) has been building upon the
initial projects of its founders by offering higher education in the field of
social ecology, drawing upon an interdisciplinary mix of philosophy, political
and social theory, anthropology, history, economics, the natural sciences, and
feminism. Committed to publication, research, education, and activism, the Institute
carries on the tradition of presenting viable alternatives to damaging forms
of economics and politics.
Notes:
(1) “Social Ecology and Social Movements: From the 1960’s to the
Present”
http://www.social-ecology.org/article.php?story=20031118122843985
The mission of the Institute for Social Ecology (ISE) is the creation of educational
experiences that enhance people's understanding of their relationship to the
natural world and each other. By necessity, this involves the ISE in programs
that deepen students' awareness of self and others, help them to think critically,
and expand their perception of the creative potentialities for human action.
The purpose of the ISE's programs is the preparation of well-rounded students
who can work effectively as participants in the process of ecological reconstruction.
Anarchism and Social Ecology
Murray Bookchin
Cindy Milstein
You can submit a contact form by clicking on this link: Contact the Institute
for Social Ecology
http://www.social-ecology.org/staticpages/index.php?page=contact&topic=about
The ISE's 50-acre campus is located on Maple Hill in Plainfield, Vermont. The
nearby 140-acre farmstead of Maplehill Community School is also utilized in
the summer for indoor housing. Both are exceptionally beautiful sites in the
rural countryside, and are in close proximity to national and state forest recreation
areas as well as the state capital, Montpelier. The ISE's facilities include
a small library and bookstore, offices, classrooms, indoor and out-door sleeping
and dining spaces, organic gardens, a pond, and hiking trails.
Established in 1974 and incorporated in 1981, the ISE is an independent institution
of higher education dedicated to the study of social ecology, an interdisciplinary
field drawing on philosophy, political and social theory, anthropology, history,
economics, the natural sciences, and feminism. The ISE offers intensive summer
programs, a year-round B.A. degree program, workshops on issues such as biotechnology,
fall and winter lecture series, internship opportunities, and a speakers bureau.
ISE's campus also plays host to art exhibits, conferences, and other events.
In addition, the ISE is involved in research as well as publishing and activist
projects—currently including both the ISE biotech education and regional
food system design projects.
As both an educational and activist organization, the ISE is committed to the
social and ecological transformation of society. It is the ISE's core belief
that the human potential to play a creative role in natural and social evolution
can be realized, thereby allowing us to foster communities free from hierarchy,
social inequity, and ecological degradation. The ISE views the global penetration
of systems of domination into daily life, the centralization of political and
economic power, the homogenization of culture, and the strengthening of hierarchy
and social control as impediments to human freedom and the root causes of the
current ecological crisis.
Social ecology advocates a reconstructive approach that promotes a directly
democratic, confederal politics. As a body of ideas, social ecology envisions
a moral economy that moves beyond scarcity and hierarchy toward a world that
fully celebrates diversity. The ISE has been a pioneer in the exploration of
ecological means of food production, like organic gardening and permaculture,
and alternative technologies. Studies combine theoretical and experiential learning
in community organizing, political action, ecological economics, and sustainable
building and land use. The ISE, as such, strives to be an agent of social transformation,
demonstrating the skills, ideas, and relationships that can nurture vibrant,
self-governed, ecological communities.
For over 28 years, from the antinuclear and ecology movements to the current
one against the bleak side of globalization, the ISE has inspired individuals
involved in social change to work toward a humane, ecological, and liberatory
society. Join the more than 3,000 students from around the globe—from
Liberia to the Philippines, Italy to Iran, Norway to Uruguay, Israel to Ethiopia,
the United States to Japan, and many more—who have attended the ISE in
order to not only remake themselves but remake society as well.
(Source: http://www.social-ecology.org/staticpages/index.php?page=about&topic=about)
See also the article “Education & Community Action: A History of the
Institute for Social Ecology’s Programs” http://www.social-ecology.org/article.php?story=20031118122412247
by Michael Caplan.
Social ecology advocates a reconstructive approach that promotes a directly
democratic, confederal politics. As a body of ideas, social ecology envisions
a moral economy that moves beyond scarcity and hierarchy toward a world that
fully celebrates diversity. The ISE has been a pioneer in the exploration of
ecological means of food production, like organic gardening and permaculture,
and alternative technologies. Studies combine theoretical and experiential learning
in community organizing, political action, ecological economics, and sustainable
building and land use. The ISE, as such, strives to be an agent of social transformation,
demonstrating the skills, ideas, and relationships that can nurture vibrant,
self-governed, ecological communities.
(Source: http://www.social-ecology.org/staticpages/index.php?page=about&topic=about)
“Social Ecology and Social Movements: From the 1960s
to the Present”
http://www.social-ecology.org/article.php?story=20031118122843985
“Education & Community Action”
http://www.social-ecology.org/article.php?story=20031118122412247
Harbinger: A Journal of Social Ecology http://www.social-ecology.org/harbinger/harbinger.pdf
Biehl, Janet (1998) The politics of social ecology : libertarian municipalism.
Montreal: Black Rose Books.
Bookchin, Murray (1999) Anarchism, marxism, and the future of the left : interviews
and essays, 1993-1998. Edinburgh: A.K. Press.
Bookchin, Murray (1965) Crisis in our cities. Englewoods Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
Bookchin, Murray (1991) The ecology of freedom : the emergence and dissolution
of hierarchy. Montreal: Black Rose Press.
Bookchin, Murray (1971) Post-scarcity anarchism. Berkeley: Ramparts Press.