The A.W.E. Project: Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human

Matthew Fox’s newest book, which up till now I’ve been paying all too little attention to (probably because I’m a little put off by an acronym in the title of a book), is called The A.W.E. Project: Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human. His Reinvention of Work: A Vision of a New Livelihood for Our Time was a life-changing book for me, and Fox’s new book, which connects awe and education, is incredibly relevant to the project of this blog. I’ve often had the thought that Fox’s work can be a lens through which to explore a renewal of education, and that if someday I wrote a book, I could make that connection, but here is a book that makes that connection explicit! Though there will be those who agree wholeheartedly, and those who disagree passionately, I see Fox’s ideas for reinventing culture, which have at their core spirituality and honouring the childlike nature of ourselves (both of which are altogether ignored in most liberal and even radical critiques of culture) as essential. In this new book (which came out in the Fall of 2006) Fox introduces 10 C’s that are at the core of his renewed philosophy of education:

1.) Cosmology and Ecology
2.) Contemplation, Meditation
3.) Creativity
4.) Chaos and Darkness
5.) Compassion
6.) Courage
7.) Critical Consciousness and Judgement
8.) Community
9.) Ceremony, Celebration and Ritual
10.) Character

I haven’t yet picked up the book (which I’ll try to find through inter-library loan at the library or through an online bookseller) but I think I may eventually explore each of these 10 C’s one at a time in my blog. (Or at least, I think I’ll do some kind of methodical approach to Matthew Fox’s work.) If there’s a single writer that I think readers of this blog should be acquainted with it’s Matthew Fox. A minor caveat I have in introducing him is that, as an Episcopalian priest originally coming out of the Catholic tradition, his writing is quite enmeshed in theology. If you’re open enough not to be immediately put off by Christian theology, I think you’ll find value in Matthew Fox’s approach, and learn something new about the Christian tradition as well. His theology is not your grandfather’s theology: it’s a very spiritual theology, that can be appreciated by a secular audience, and his spirituality vision of cultural renewal are very relevant to my project with this blog. I must emphasise that you don’t have to be interested in theology to appreciate his work.

He’s been the subject of a lot of criticism from conservative Catholics, and according to some blogs I’ve read, is considered by many of these Catholic bloggers as one of the “most dangerous theologians.” On the other hand, I know many more progressive Catholic priests and nuns who appreciate his work, and I would add that, all of the ten C’s mentioned above can be seen as categories in Catholic theology, albeit often neglected ones. My hope is that those who read this blog can understand the importance of at least some of the ten C’s above, whether we’re Christian or not, whether we consider ourselves spiritual or not. Reading Matthew Fox, I have a new appreciation of the Christian tradition, as he challenges so many of the assumptions I previously had about it. Fox provides a language for communicating my own worldview with Christians. I used to be scared to share my worldview with some Christians, as I thought we had very different visions, and perhaps we do, but now I’m confident that what I’m interested in is usually there, somewhere in the Christian tradition, perhaps hidden or neglected, but there. I hope that translating between worldviews, finding ways to cooperate and get along with people with very different ones, can be a focus of this blog.

Thomas Berry said: “Matthew Fox might well be the most creative, the most comprehensive, surely the most challenging religious-spiritual teacher in America. He has the skill to fill this role at a time when the more official Christian theological traditions are having difficulty in establishing any vital contact with either the spiritual possibilities of the present or with their own most creative spiritual traditions of the past.”

So, I hope if any of this piqued your interest, you will look into Matthew Fox’s work. Or perhaps if you continue to read this blog we can explore some of Matthew Fox’s ideas together.

And especially, if you’re under 30, and are a fan of Matthew Fox, I’d love to hear from you. It’s strange, but I don’t know any younger people who are interested in his work, and I’d really like to find some!

~ by dewiniaeth on June 21, 2007.