“We need to expand our understanding of the word environment,” says Dr. Jean Kayira, a scholar of sustainability and Indigenous Knowledge. “In my view, environment is really about interconnectedness and the interdependence of everything.” Jean directs Antioch’s PhD in Environmental Studies, and she is a leader in this interdisciplinary field that tries to deepen our understanding of the world – and to keep the world from changing it so much that it’s no longer hospitable. In this episode, Jean shares with us why multiple knowledge systems are better than just one, how dancing on mountaintops can be part of rigorous scholarly inquiry, her passion for the Malawian concept of umunthu, and the importance of planting seeds (sometimes literally) in your own community.
