Publish at April 24 2024 Updated April 24 2024
"Between me and myself, there is the Earth".
Jean-Marc Besse - exergue to "Ecoumène" by Augustin Berque
French geographer and orientalist Augustin Berque brings an ecological and cultural dimension to the notion of ecumene. For Berque, the ecumene is the humanized environment, i.e. all the places that humanity has transformed and which, in turn, condition it. His perspective emphasizes the reciprocal relationship between human beings and their environment, underlining the dynamic aspect of this interaction where culture and nature are intrinsically linked and not disjointed as in what he calls the modern Western paradigm.
Other geographers such as Semple (1963), Sauer (1911) and Tuan (1977) recognize the importance of the relationship between human beings and their environment. They consider that the ecumene is formed by the interactions between man and nature.
Sauer and Berque share a vision in which the ecumene includes the modifications made by man to the natural environment. They insist that the ecumene encompasses physical transformations and the effects of these modifications on society.
Tuan places greater emphasis on the cultural and perceptual aspects of the ecumene. Tuan is interested in the experiential and sentimental dimension, while Berque emphasizes the reciprocity between the humanized environment and the human condition, a more ecological approach than Tuan's. Semple sees the environment as a factor limiting or facilitating human activities, a more deterministic perspective than Berque's, which envisages a more dynamic and reciprocal interaction.
According to Berque (1986), mesology, which studies the relationships between living beings and their environment, shows that the environment directly shapes what and how we learn. The ecumene, as a space experienced and constructed by man, offers a multitude of opportunities for embodied, contextual learning. Lived experiences encourage deeper understanding and a personal relationship with knowledge, which can enhance learner engagement and interest.
Berque (1990) argues that the ecumene is not limited to a physical setting, but plays an essential role in the construction of cultural and individual identities. This reinforces the orientation of learning processes intrinsically linked to local culture and history, enriching education by making it more meaningful and relevant to learners.
Despite the ecumene's local influences, globalization promotes a standardization of education that ends up eclipsing local specificities and sometimes, as in urban environments, idealizing nature, even making it alien and hostile.
This standardization hampers efforts to incorporate learning experiences specifically adapted to local contexts, potentially reducing the cultural relevance of education(Spring, 2008).
In some ecumens, particularly in less developed areas, constraints such as lack of infrastructure and resources limit adapted learning opportunities and their richness. These material limitations hinder educators' ability to provide quality education and fully exploit the pedagogical potential of the local environment (UNESCO, 2014).
Berque (1996) emphasizes the importance of adaptability of educational practices to various ecumens. An adaptive approach would not only engage learners by offering an education that resonates with their immediate environment, but also promote a more nuanced understanding of global issues through a local prism. Integrating the specific characteristics of each ecumene into education helps build resilience to climate and social change, better equipping individuals to respond to the specific challenges of their own environment (Berque, 2005).
Tailoring education to reflect diverse ecumens is a complex task that can prove logistically difficult, limiting the possibility of widespread implementation. On the other hand, focusing excessively on local contexts leads to a fragmentation of education, where learners may lack a coherent, global understanding of essential subjects, thus diminishing the overall effectiveness of education in terms of preparing for global challenges (Banks, 2004). Regionalism and communitarianism are two identifiable pitfalls.
By drawing on the unique characteristics of each ecumene, education can become more contextual, increasing its relevance and impact, and fostering its connection to the living. This not only improves knowledge retention, but also enhances learner engagement by connecting them directly to their immediate environment (Berque, 2011).
Using the ecumene as a framework to structure learning encourages sustainable practices and heightened ecological awareness. This prepares individuals to be responsible citizens, capable of making informed decisions about their environment, respecting their neighbors and actively contributing to the sustainability of their community and beyond (Berque, 2013).
Integrating phenomenological principles into education, while rewarding, poses significant logistical challenges and requires considerable resources for teacher training and the adaptation of curricula and devices. These obstacles can make large-scale implementation difficult. Established education systems are often resistant to profound structural changes, particularly those requiring a complete overhaul of pedagogical methods and educational objectives. This inertia limits the adoption of new educational approaches based on lived experience and interaction with the ecumene, even when a pedagogy of experience proves valuable, if John Dewey or Mezirow are to be believed.
The advent of information and communication technologies has the potential to transform the way educational environments are perceived and used. For example, augmented and virtual reality can enrich learning by enabling learners to virtually explore different ecumens without physical constraints, offering a new dimension to phenomenological education.
Another perspective that could be explored is the role of local communities in the design and implementation of devices. Actively engaging communities in the educational process can not only make learning more relevant and contextualized, but also strengthen the links between education and local issues, fostering greater ownership and relevance of the educational process by focusing them on ecological issues.
These perspectives enrich the discussion by highlighting how new technologies and community engagement could transform education into a more immersive and interactive experience, in line with the principles of mesology and the ecumene.
Illustration: ZaraMuzafavora - DepositPhotos
Sources
Berque, A. (1986). Le sauvage et l'artifice: Les Japonais devant la nature. Gallimard.
https://www.decitre.fr/livres/le-sauvage-et-l-artifice-9782070706778.html
Berque, A. (1990). Médiance de milieux en paysages. GIP Reclus.
https://www.decitre.fr/livres/mediance-de-milieux-en-paysages-9782701127491.html
Berque, A. (1996). Être humains sur la Terre: Principes d'éthique de l'écoumène. Gallimard.
Berque, A. (2005). Écoumène: Introduction à l'étude des milieux humains. Belin.
https://www.decitre.fr/livres/ecoumene-9782701199511.html
Berque, A. (2011). Poétique de la Terre: Histoire naturelle et histoire humaine, essai de mésologie. Belin.
Berque, A. (2013). La mésologie, pourquoi et pour quoi faire? PUF.
https://www.decitre.fr/livres/la-mesologie-pourquoi-et-pour-quoi-faire-9782840161882.html
Banks, J. A. (2004). Teaching for social justice, diversity, and citizenship in a global world. The Educational Forum, 68(4), 289-298.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Continuum.
Paulo Freire - Pedagogy of the Oppressed
https://www.decitre.fr/livres/la-pedagogie-des-opprimes-9782748905328.html
Spring, J. (2008). Research on globalization and education. Review of Educational Research, 78(2), 330-363.
https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=7921fdc5ccab962fdcf37f03b4635f487b3d57b0
UNESCO. (2014). Teaching and learning: Achieving quality for all. Global Education Monitoring Report, UNESCO Publishing.
https://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/teaching-and-learning-achieving-quality-for-all-gmr-2013-2014-en.pdf
Berque, A. (1995). Les raisons du paysage: de la Chine antique aux environnements de synthèse. Paris: Hazan. https://www.hazan.fr/livre-les-raisons-du-paysage-9782850253860
Sauer, C. O. (1963). Land and Life: A Selection from the Writings of Carl Ortwin Sauer. Berkeley: University of California Press. https://books.google.fr/books/about/Land_and_Life.html?id=TTgcNrf9eYYC&redir_esc=y
Tuan, Y.-F. (1977). Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/space-and-place
Semple, E. C. (1911). Influences of Geographic Environment, on the Basis of Ratzel's System of Anthropo-Geography. New York: Henry Holt and Company. https://archive.org/details/influencesofgeog00semp
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