Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Fall 2010 String Theory and Our Relationship with Nature: The Convergence of Science, Curriculum Theory, and the Environment Virginia Therese Bennett Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Recommended Citation Bennett, Virginia Therese, "String Theory and Our Relationship with Nature: The Convergence of Science, Curriculum Theory, and the Environment" (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 530. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/530 This dissertation (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STRING THEORY AND OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE: THE CONVERGENCE OF SCIENCE, CURRICULUM THEORY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT by VIRGINIA THERESE BENNETT (Under the Direction of John A. Weaver) ABSTRACT Curriculum Theory affords us the opportunity to examine education from a multitude of directions. This work takes advantage of that opportunity to explore the relationships between science, nature, and curriculum using string theory and our ideas about the environment as a backdrop. Both the energy and multiple possibilities created by strings and the rich history leading up to the theory help to illustrate the many opportunities we have to advance discussions in alternative ways of looking at science. By considering the multiple dimensions inherent in string theory as multiple pathways and interweaving metaphors from Deleuze and Guattari, Michel Serres, and Donna Haraway, our approach to environmental issues and environmental education allow us to include alternative ways of looking at the world. INDEX WORDS: C. A. Bowers, Curriculum Theory, Cyborgs, David Orr, Donna Haraway, Ecofeminism, Einstein, Environment, Gilles Deleuze, Michel Serres, Physics, Rhizomes, String Theory STRING THEORY AND OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE: THE CONVERGENCE OF SCIENCE, CURRICULUM THEORY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT by VIRGINIA THERESE BENNETT B.A., Georgia Southern University, 1995 M.S., Georgia Southern University, 1997 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATION STATESBORO, GEORGIA 2010 © 2010 VIRGINIA THERESE BENNETT All Rights Reserved iii STRING THEORY AND OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH NATURE: THE CONVERGENCE OF SCIENCE, CURRICULUM THEORY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT by VIRGINIA THERESE BENNETT Major Professor: John A. Weaver Committee: Ming Fang He Marla Morris Alison Morrison- Shetlar Electronic Version Approved: December 2010 iv DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my family: Bill, Ian, and Evan Bennett - while they often question my ideas, they are always ready to listen. Bill, your patience through this process has been more than I could ask for. It is also dedicated to my grandparents, George and Ruth Snider, whose quest for learning never left them and who instilled in me a desire to always explore and my mother, Virginia Liedel, who had the courage to continue her educational journey as a mother of five. Finally, it is dedicated to my aunt, Ruth Snider, who often reads ahead of me and provides hours of lively discussion to help keep my thoughts flowing. Her mind is awe inspiring. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This work would not have been possible without the guidance and input from the following individuals: Dr. John Weaver, Dr. Ming Fang He, Dr. Marla Morris, and Dr. Alison Morrison-Shetlar. They have been instrumental in guiding me in my journey into curriculum studies. A special thanks to Alison, who, early in my career in education, allowed me to discover that I am, indeed, creative. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. vi CHAPTER 1 RIPPLES, WAVES, AND CURRICULUM THEORY ....................................1 Convergence, Divergence, and Curriculum Theory ......................................1 String Theory .................................................................................................7 Perspectives On The Environment ................................................................9 Nature As Metaphor ....................................................................................11 Converging Ideas .........................................................................................12 2 STRINGS, SUPERSTRINGS, AND A UNIFYING THEORY………………………………………………………………….16 On The Road To M-Theory .........................................................................16 Strings, Superstrings, and M-Theory ..........................................................27 String Theory’s Historical Web: There Are No Straight Lines ...................36 3 THE ENVIRONMENTAL WEB: FROM PERSPECTIVES ON NATURE TO ECOFEMINISM ...................................................................................39 Perspectives On Nature: The Anthropocentric/Non-anthropocentric Binary… ................................................................................................42 Social/Socialist Ecology ..............................................................................44 Cultural Approaches to Environmental Issues: Education Institutions ......46 Deep Ecology And Systems Thinking ........................................................56 Ecofeminism ................................................................................................61 vii 4 NATURE IN THEORY: RHIZOMES, FOLDED TIME, SCIENCE AND CYBORGS ..................................................................................................91 Rhizomes, Nature, And Curriculum ............................................................92 The Folding Of Time And Subsequent Perspectives On Nature ...............100 Politics, Nature, And The Space Between The Two .................................109 Why Cyborgs, Coyote, And OncoMouse ® Matter ...................................113 The Commingling Of Rhizomes, Cyborgs, And Narrative .......................124 5 THE CONVERGENCE OF SCIENCE, CURRICULUM THEORY AND THE ENVIRONMENT .............................................................................130 Shake Up Education ..................................................................................130 Science Education .....................................................................................132 Environmental Education ..........................................................................140 Where Does String Theory Fit In? ...........................................................145 Continuations .............................................................................................151 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................155 viii CHAPTER 1 RIPPLES, WAVES, AND CURRICULUM THEORY If physicists are right, things you thought were totally different are actually deeply related. George Musser (2008, p. 23) At the very moment when we are acting physically for the first time on the global Earth, and when it in turn is doubtless reacting on global humanity, we are tragically neglecting it. Michel Serres (1990/1995, p. 29) Stick your finger into a pool of water. What happens ripples beyond just your physiological response, beyond the recognition of the wetness of the water, the temperature in relation to your body temperature, the visual distortion of your finger viewed through the water. There is a change in the water itself, its patterns of movement, chemical makeup, and appearance. Your relationship with the water has in turn changed its relationship with the living and non-living components that are a part of this pool of water. You have broken oxygen and hydrogen bonds, changed air patterns, influenced surface tension, and diverted the path of literally millions of living organisms; all from sticking your finger in a pool of water. For a brief time, you might ponder the effects of your action. Chances are, you really won’t think of relationships at all but will instead focus on the more obvious cause and effect, giving only a surface snapshot of what has actually occurred. Convergence, Divergence, and Curriculum Theory Such is often our approach in education. We may conscientiously examine surface relationships but often fail to delve deeper, despite espousing critical thinking. We don’t examine what radiates from the ripples or the myriad of consequences generated from each action, each thought, each perspective. One area of education, 1 however, that consistently and purposefully does examine these ripples, looking well beneath the surface, is curriculum theory. It allows us to look in any direction and begin a discussion of what we, educators and students alike, experience. Curriculum theory is “the interdisciplinary study of educational experience” (Pinar, 2004, p. 2). So here we have an avenue with which to examine virtually any topic from an educational standpoint, yet the gap between this academic discipline within the educational field and “education” within most classrooms is perceived as ever widening. William Pinar argues that the current situation in public school