Course Syllabus

 

Course Description

‘A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.’ - Zen Shin

Sociologists, economists, psychologists, and leadership gurus alike are all in agreement: We are in the midst of a fundamental shift in the collective consciousness. Rather than focusing on external status symbols, competition and lineal rationality, a shift is currently underway. Research from a wide variety of disciplines shows that qualities such as trust, collaboration, being vs. doing, intuition, and empathy, formerly often exclusively attributed to being feminine, are now being seen as powerful tools to not only solve global issues and lead multi-national companies – but the key to living happier lives – for all of us.

This new consciousness has great potential to reframe how we live, love, work and develop who we are in the world of tomorrow. Yet many of us have never learned how to embrace and embody these qualities in today’s busy digitalized life.

This course aims to introduce you to this emerging new heart-centered consciousness & the impact centuries of masculine dominance thinking has had on how we understand our bodies, emotions & connections to one another. You'll explore whether the work of early second wave feminists like Gloria Steinem and Audre Lorde can still be used today to understand the complexities of oppression in today's world. You'll meet inspiring women who have crafted a career from a heart-centered consciousness. And you'll practice embodying Sacred Rest tools to begin reframing how we cultivate a more authentic life. 

This course is highly experiential, as the course will also be a platform for you to be curious about your own identity, personal strengths & potential blind spots you uncover while practicing the tools we explore while studying abroad. Each week we will dive into a specific theme through discussions or creative projects based on the readings, as well as physical exercises that will awaken your intuitive sense of how the themes relate to your own life journey.

Uncovering the impact of masculine dominance thinking, Exploring gender biases, Cultivating emotional agility, Uncovering dogmatic codes of sexuality, Living in Sync, Developing a neutral mind, Meeting your inner critics – are just some of the themes we’ll unfold together. 

 

Course Objectives

• Gain insight into how gender norms impact our ability to be authentic 
• Explore your unconscious biases and thought patterns 
• Practice living heart-centered in different phases of your study abroad experience
• Connect to your body & mind using intuitive yoga, meditation & creative flow processes
• Be inspired by people embracing heart-centered qualities in their careers and lives
• Develop a plan for implementing new tools and ways of being in your life

**It is not required to have previous experience with yoga or meditation to participate in the course.

Faculty

Emily Brocks is Danish-American with a background in Gender Studies from the US and a Master’s degree in Social Work from Denmark. She is a certified Kundalini Yoga Teacher, Shakti Yoga Teacher, NLP Coach Practitioner and women’s circle leader. Emily has extensive experience working with young adults as a mentor, coach, and teacher. She taught the introductory course to Gender & Sexuality at DIS from 2010-2013, and for ten years managed student housing programming at DIS. Following her passion of bringing awareness of the feminine to young adults through coaching, meditation, and Kundalini yoga, she now runs her own company, GirlCollective, offering workshops for local youth focusing on the body, sexuality, relationships, identity and leadership.

 

Readings

• Abeer Y. Hoque (2025) 'Feeling OldCute, Might Delete Later' in Bloody Hell: Adventures in Menopause from around the world (editor Mona Eltahawy) 
• Abby Epstein (2021) The Business of Birth Control Documentary 
• Alexandra Walker (2018). Collective Consciousness & Gender (various chapters) 
• Alexandra Pope (2018) Find your fierce feminine force Interview 
• Alexandra Pope, Sjanje Hugh Wurlitzer (2023) Why is it so hard to Rest at Menstruation and Menopause podcast 
• Ashley Abramson (2025) Seven types of rest to help restore your body's energy (American Pyschological Association) 
• Audre Lorde (1988) A Burst of Light & other essays (excerpts)
• bell hooks. (2001)  'Commitment: Let love be love in me' in All About Love: New Vision
• Daniel Goleman. (2020) 'When smart is dumb' & 'Know thyself' in 'Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ 25th anniversary', 
• Diane Richardson  (2018) ‘The power of mindful sex’ TEDTalk
• Gabor Maté (2022) 'Living in an Immaterial World: Emotions, Health & the Body Mind Unity' & 'You Rattle my Brain: Our Highly Interpersonal Biology' in The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture 
• Gloria Steinem (1992) Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem
• Halla Tomasdottír (2019) ‘The Crisis of Leadership and a new way forward’ TEDTalk
• Jalala Bonheim, PhD (2015) The Sacred Ego: Making Peace with Ourselves and the World (excerpts)
• John Gerzema, Michael D'Antonio (2013). The Athena Doctrine: How Women (and the Men who think like them) will rule the future. (various chapters)
• Justin Baldoni (2017) Why I'm done trying to be 'man enough' TEDTalk 
• Martin Mejlby Jensen et.al (2025) Loneliness is associated with adverse health behavior and obesity: a Danish population- based study of 122,258 individuals in BMC Public Health 
• Reshma Saujani (2022) Pay it Up: The Future of Women & Work: And why it's different than you think (various chapters) 
• Robert Waldinger & Marc Schulz (2023) The Good Life and How to live it: Lessons from the World's Longest Study on Happiness (various chapters) 
• Saundra Dalton-Smith (2017) Sacred Rest (excerpts)
• Susan David (2016) ‘Rigidity to Agility’ in Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work & Life. 
• Susan David (2017) 'The Gift & Power of Emotional Courage' TEDtalk
• Trey Washington (2024) Rest is not resistance, and that is ok

 

Field Studies

March 4: (morning) Brunch &  Screening of 'The Business of Birth Control' Documentary 

March 4: (evening) Film Screening of The Day That Iceland Stood Still and Talk w. Director, Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir

March 25: (evening) Online talk with Jane Honikman about her work on the emotional wellbeing of families

April 15: (afternoon) Sound Healing Workshop with Tina-Marie

 

Evaluation

Dynamic Participation & Padlet Posts: sharing in class, participating in group exercises, being a class rep, posting engaging & inspiring content related to the readings in the weekly class padlet  

Weekly Journaling: Weekly journaling prompts related to themes of Sacred Rest

3 assignments: Exploring core concepts of the course

• The Price We Pay Paper
• Connecting Across Generations Interview
• Embodying the Revolution Final Project 

Grading

Assignment	Percent
Dynamic Participation & Reading Padlet Posts	15%
Sacred Rest Weekly Journaling	10%
The Price We Pay Paper	25%
Connecting Across Generations Interview	25%
Embodying the Revolution Final Project	25%