Course Syllabus
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| Semester & Location: |
Spring 23 - DIS Copenhagen |
| Type & Credits: |
Elective Course - 3 credits |
| Major Disciplines: | Gender Studies, Leaderships Studies, Psychology |
| Faculty Members: |
Emily Brocks Current Students: please contact your faculty using the canvas inbox function |
| Program Contact: |
Helle Rytkønen - hry@dis.dk |
| Time & Place: |
Tuesday 08:30 - 11:25, Fi6-Metro 06 |
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.
The future is Feminine (no matter your gender identity). And this new consciousness has great potential to reframe how we live, love, work and develop our identities. 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 feminine consciousness and explore how it is already changing the way we do business & work - in Denmark, the US and around the world. We’ll also explore how this new feminine consciousness has the potential to reframe how we practice a healthy work/life balance and develop a sense of who we are in the world.
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 embodiment of these traits during the course. Each week we will dive into a specific theme through discussions or creative projects based on the readings, followed by physical exercises that will awaken your intuitive sense of how the themes relate to your own life journey.
Uncovering the impact of collective consciousness, Exploring biases of masculine & feminine traits, Creating emotional agility, Uncovering dogmatic codes of sensuality, Listening intuitively, Living in synchronicity, Developing the neutral mind, Meeting your critical inner voices – are just some of the themes we’ll unfold together.
Course Objectives
- Practice balancing masculine & feminine ways of being in your daily life
- Gain insight into which skills will be needed for the world tomorrow & current leadership trends
- Connect to your body & mind using intuitive yoga, meditation & creative flow processes
- Develop your own authentic strategy for success as a young professional
- Be inspired by local Scandinavian’s perspectives on embracing these qualities of being in Denmark today
**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. In addition, she is certified as a NLP Coach Practitioner, Shakti women’s circle leader , Shakti yoga mentor and Kundalini Yoga Teacher in training. 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 nearly 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
- Alexandra Walker (2018). Collective Consciousness & Gender (various chapters)
- Andy Aylesworth & Richard Cleary (2020) 'Reawakening creativity for business leaders: Removing obstacles', in Journal of Education for Business, vol.95, Issue 4
- bell hooks. (2001) 'Commitment: Let love be love in me' in All About Love: New Visions
- Brené Brown, (2022), 'Vulnerability as a Creative' on Being Boss Podcast
- Bozoma Saint John (2021) ‘The creative power of your intuition’ TedTalk
- Daniel Goleman. (2020) 'When smart is dumb' & 'Know thyself' in 'Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ 25th anniverary',
- Daniel Goldman (2021) ‘What makes a great leader’, Harvard Business Review (and video)
- Diane Richardson (2018) ‘The power of mindful sex’ TedTalk
- Elizabeth Gilbert (2015) ‘Courage’ in Big Magic; Creative Living Beyond Fear.
- Halla Tomasdottïr (2010) ‘A feminine response to Iceland’ TedTalk
- Halla Tomasdottír (2019) ‘The Crisis of Leadership and a new way forward’ TedTalk
- Jack Zenger & Joe Folkman (2016) What great listeners do (Harvard Business Review)
- John Gerzema, Michael D'Antonio (2013). The Athena Doctrine: How Women (and the Men who think like them) will rule the future. (various chapters)
- Joanna Barsh & Johanne Lovoie. (2014) ‘Becoming Soulful’ & ‘Building on your strengths’ in Centered Leadership: Leading with Purpose, Clarity, and Impact
- Valerie van Mulukom (2018) 'Is it rational to trust your gut feelings' (Neuroscience News)
- Nannerl O. Keohane (2010) 'Does gender make a difference' in Thinking about Leadership.
- Sheri Winston (2010). ‘A tale of cultural confusion’ in Women’s Anatomy of Arousal
- Susan David (2016) ‘Rigidity to Agility’ in Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work & Life.
Field Studies
March 1st: Changemaker, sustainability specialist and transformational coach Maja Michalewska will share with us how she used a feminine approach to her own journey of self-discovery as well as lead us through a transformational reflection exercise helping us to connect our minds & bodies, a pre-requisite for transformation and self-discovery.
March 8th: Gender Bender Workshop
Evaluation
Dynamic Participation, Active Listening and Feedback Skills (this includes sharing in class, giving constructive feedback and participating in group exercises, being a class rep, putting effort into your passion sharing assignment, posting engaging & inspiring content on our group platform.)
Weekly Reflective Journaling Exercises: Reflect about how the readings relate to your own life journey, the development of your daily practice in addition to a daily gratitude writing exercises.
Circle inspiration: Each week you'll post on our group's collective digital platform something related to the readings, such as a question for discussion or a source of inspiration for our circle to further explore the week's theme (i.e.. books or articles you've read, inspiring influencers, change-makers, organizations, artists, etc.)
Exploration projects: Three times during the semester you’ll explore how masculine or feminine energies impact a particular theme from class through your own chosen medium (writing, drawing, creating a video, music etc.)
Grading
| Assignment |
Percent |
| Dynamic Participation, Active Listening and Feedback Skills |
20% |
|
Weekly Reflective Journaling |
20% |
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Exploration Projects (3 projects, worth 15% each) |
45% |
|
Circle Inspiration |
15% |
Academic Regulations
Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:
DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org
Course Summary:
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