KINSHIP: World as Archipelago

We inhabit a world of islands. Despite our separations, cosmic and interpersonal, we are all intimately connected. We are joined at the oceanic root, at the depths of the seabed, and by the salt-stippled space between us. The seas of relation that meditate our entanglements are, in the same breath, domains of impasse traversed only through building arks and yielding to the winds that carry our words and wares in sensuous exchange, or by diving courageously into the unbroken fathoms between and among us.

How can thinking about the ‘world as archipelago’, and thinking with islands and their inhabitants and visitors (not about them), help us explore what kinship means in a socio-politically, but not physically, divided world?

Hosted and curated by Hannah Close, the course is taught by a group of diverse teachers. They are leading artists, scholars and activists including: David Whyte, Kailea Frederick, David Gange, Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq, Iain McGilchrist, Alastair McIntosh, Himali Singh Soin, Maureen Penjueli, Leny Strobel, Bathsheba Demuth, Craig Santos Perez, and Anna Arabindan-Kesson.

We will navigate towards a unique island of inquiry each week. Through tentacular engagement with self, other, and the more-than-human, we’ll challenge colonial and essentialist notions of relationship so that we might orient ourselves towards healthier ways of being together, ways that honour our profound entanglements with our elemental home.

Course Structure#

The course, KINSHIP: World as Archipelago, runs from 31 January - 7 March 2023, consisting of weekly live sessions on Tuesdays at 6pm UK time (sessions will be recorded). Purchasing the course includes access to weekly readings, resources and activities, and to a dedicated Discord forum to share insights and conversations with fellow participants.

Course Objectives#

• Deepen your understanding of the role of relationships in creating healthier ways of being (both individually and collectively)
• Discover what kinship means in your own life & rediscover your sense of place/rootedness in the world (and self)
• Expand knowledge of different ways of relating to self, human, and more-than-human beings
• Re-evaluate the notion of the “other” through intersectional and “multi-perspectival” lenses
• Cultivate deeper awareness of nuance, complexity, and the value of a “both/and” perspective
• Gather tools and practices for deepening a multitude of relationships in your own life
• Shift your perception of kinship towards more expansive, unorthodox and/or radical possibilities relevant to the issues and contexts we find ourselves entangled in today
• Expand knowledge of useful terms and concepts, and be part of questioning what a new ecologically intregrous language might look like (or a language towards flourishing for all)