Framework for Sustainability in the Curriculum
Educating students to serve and lead in a global context, the core of EMU’s mission requires that we incorporate into our teaching the interlocking aspects of economic, environmental, and social sustainability. Peace with Creation: Sustainability from an Anabaptist Perspective draws together EMU students, faculty and staff around the theme of sustainability and how it relates to Anabaptist beliefs concerning creation care, peace and social justice.
Theology
of Sustainability
1
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God declares creation “very good” and placed human stewards in the garden of the earth to tend and keep it.
- We have the same hope for the rest of creation that we have for ourselves: transformation and renewal through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- The church promotes and engages in more sustainable practices as an expression of its love for and gratitude toward God whose glory is made manifest in creation.
Principles of Sustainability
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We acknowledge that individual, institutional, and community actions have local and global impacts on the current and future health and prosperity of all humans and other species. These impacts include the:
- The fairness, equity, stability and security of human cultures and social systems
- Economic opportunity for all current and future humans
- Ecological diversity and integrity2
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Therefore, we strive to transform and renew social, economic and ecological systems to create just and peaceful relationships between humanity and the rest of Creation.
Principles for Teaching Sustainability
The following principles are essential aspects of teaching sustainability:
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Emphasize the interconnectedness of all people, disciplines and actions (i.e. systems thinking)
- Engage students in actions that are experiential and include real world problem solving
- Explore economic, environmental, and social justice through connections to people both locally and globally
Student Learning Outcomes
1. Define sustainability according to the Principles of Sustainability.
2. Justify sustainability from a theological perspective.
3. Explain how individual, institutional, and community actions impact sustainability
4. Name and defend actions that promote sustainability at the individual, institutional, and community levels
5. Integrate the Principles of Sustainability within the student’s discipline
6. Incorporate sustainability into one’s values system