The Open Master’s in Living Systems is an open-source unschooling curriculum for those seeking to understand what it means to participate in the living web of a place. Inspired by thinkers across ecology, philosophy, indigeneity, and the arts, I designed this curriculum to explore my own understanding of living systems, subjective experience of livingness, and role in nurturing life.

The curriculum is transdisciplinary, meaning it is designed to decompose categories we are familiar with, such as humans and nature, objective and subjective, history and futurity. It draws from a variety of disciplines and modes of learning, including theory, science, embodied experience, and applied practice. As such, it is intentionally broad, rather than going deep in any particular lens. If you would like to go deeper into a technical discipline, area of critical theory, or applied project, let your curiosity carry you!

I am still working through this curriculum myself and will continue to update it as I make changes. This document captures only the portion of my studies that I feel form a cohesive whole for others to use as a starting point. I have gone on many tangents that are particular to my own interests, and you should too!

<aside> ✉️ If you have any questions about this material or would like to collaborate, reach out to me!

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How to Use This Material

`I believe learning is a lifelong, self-directed process of inquiry, so I aligned this research with the Open Master's unschooling framework. That means you are free to use it as you please and remix it at will. Here are some suggestions:

• Design your own structure. Self-directed learning requires some intention and structure. Think about what order you might want to move through these materials in and what will motivate you to keep going. Maybe it’s clear goals and timelines? A study buddy? Spending time in your favorite places?
• Reflect as you go. Reflective practice is critical for absorbing the material in a way that makes sense to you. Think about not only what you have learned but also what shifts you are noticing within yourself, how you relate to the world, and what is motivating you to continue.
• Follow your curiosity. Use this curriculum as a starting point, but notice when new sparks arise within yourself. Maybe it’s a new interest, or a burning question, or a deepening relationship. Follow those threads and go on tangents. Maybe you end up with a totally different curriculum. Share it!
• Bring in community. Living systems are all about entanglements. Form relationships through your study, whether it’s through a learning group, book club, volunteer work, activism, spiritual practice, or tending to nature. Reflect on what it means to be in “right relation” with the more-than-human beings you come into contact with.

Modules

Modules

Materials

<aside> 🕊️ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. You are free to use and remix this work, but you must also keep the work open.

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Illustrations by Storyset