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“Summonses to Awareness:” a Meditation Upon Wisdom and Artful Inquiry

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“Summonses to Awareness:” a Meditation Upon Wisdom and Artful Inquiry “Summonses to Awareness:” A Meditation upon Wisdom and Artful Inquiry By Giovanni Antonio Rossini A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Giovanni Antonio Rossini (2018) “Summonses to Awareness:” A Meditation upon Wisdom and Artful Inquiry Giovanni Antonio Rossini Doctor of Philosophy Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto 2018 Abstract In his writings Thomas Merton ponders the relation of contemplative experience and the arts within a meditation upon the spiritual life; one whose seminal character is “a life of wisdom” (Merton, 1972, p.141). With Merton as a guide post, my inquiry explores whether the kinship of wisdom and spirituality with the aesthetical, which is offered in his writings, can be extended to reinforce a relation of wisdom and artful inquiry. While the inquiry into the relation of the art and wisdom is informed by the discourse of wisdom studies (Curnow, 2015; Baltas, 2004; Walsh, 2015) it also departs from it by pondering wisdom not in relation to the text, but to the artful. Such different alignment in turn underscored by the question: While we speak of texts that are wise can we, in kindred spirit, speak of art that is wise? The exploring of such question departs from rational and empirical methodologies and instead is nested within a contemplative approach (Hart, 2004; Miller, 2006; Palmer, 1993; Zajonc, 2006); one which immerses inquiry within the life of the researcher and embraces strategies for research which are seeded by an aesthetical presence. Amongst such strategies narrative is embraced in tandem with visual retellings of aesthetical encounters both within and outside the classroom and intermingled with dialogical ii conversations with Merton; the latter strategy inspired by Merton’s own way of engaging with his readers and writings. The emergence into this inquiry is nested within this writer’s narrative and reflections upon the work of Merton; and draws upon the fields of holistic studies, narrative and arts based inquiry in curriculum studies and their kindred view of the presence of the personal in inquiry. While informing my methodology and nurturing reflections upon its principal question, their presence within inquiry also enriching the thesis that the promise of wisdom is one which flowers from within our selves through the unity of the personal and the aesthetical. iii For Gianna & Oriana No blade of grass is not blessed On this archetypal, cosmic hill, This womb of mysteries. Merton, Grace’s House, 1977 iv Acknowledgements While transformation is marked by shifts of consciousness, another marker of such movement is the presence of those in our lives who have accompanied such shifts and illuminated its journey. In my journey there are many to whom I am grateful for their support. Amongst them my friend Jude Ulysse who through his own doctoral journey in OISE illuminated my own. I am also thankful for the support of the Holistic Educators Group whose members both welcomed and encouraged my inquiry. I am grateful for the constellation of teachers who sparked my academic transit. Amongst them my first teacher at OISE, Kari Dehli, who welcomed my return to graduate school with warmth and kindness; Roger Simon with whom I pondered the power of images and whose touch continues to be present in my work; and Stephanie Springgay for her insights into the intersections of visual culture and learning. Amongst the scintillae its constellation enriched by my committee members. Michel Ferrari guided me onto the arc of wisdom studies while Grace Feuerverger supported the spark of narrative. Susan Schiller nurtured the intersection of my writing with spirituality while David Booth provided generative insights into the visual composition of my project. I am grateful for their support. At the core of the constellation is my supervisor John P. Miller whose presence guided me as I contemplated Merton’s scintilla on the purpose of education. Jack’s presence became central to the transformative spirit of my own educational journey. I thank him for his insights, support and guidance. v I am indebted to Dr. Avi Sussman for nurturing both my mind and soul as I journeyed through inquiry. Thank you also to Eri Oshima for fostering my creativity while supporting my wellness. My thanks to Greg Manuel with whom I started a conversation on Edward Burtynsky’s work which remains on-going. I am also grateful to the Nicholas Metivier Gallery and Edward Burtynsky studio for permission to use the images included in the thesis. I thank my friends for the many ways in which they supported my studies. The journey began with my parents Antonio and Agata who encouraged my sister Lucia and I to love learning. I am grateful for this gift. As I travelled the arc of inquiry I was accompanied by my partner Gianna; her presence as the original scintilla which nurtured the transformative journey. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgements v Letter to the Reader 1 Following Merton’s “Summonses to Awareness” 1 Drawing on Stories and Stories of Drawings 3 The Weave of Inquiry 6 Chapter One: Narrative Beginnings: The Seeds of Inquiry 13 “How do you expect to arrive at the end of your own journey if you take the road to another man’s city?” 13 Beginning Inquiry by Reflecting on My Story 13 Abandonment as Transformation: Entering the “Sacred Land” of Narrative 15 The Seeds of Inquiry as Recycling of Memory 18 Seeking the “Epistemology of Love” 20 “You are Not a Philosopher!” Encounters with the Philosophical Canon 22 “What is your Style?” Encounters with the Architectural Canon 24 Tycho’s Compromise: My Epicyclical Transit through Graduate and Professional School, A Circling of the Scintilla 28 Pairing Stories of Disconnection: From the Personal towards a Shared Narrative 32 Reflections on Cartesianism: A Philosophy without Mystery 36 Reclaiming the Binary: “SUM, I AM” 42 vii Chapter Two: Meditations on Merton Aesthetic Moment, Contemplation and Transcendence Towards the Wisdom Image 44 Introduction 44 Seeking the “Festival of Rain” 46 Beginning to ponder Transformative Shifts and Merton’s Aesthetics 49 Of the Aesthetic and Contemplative: A Unity within the Light 52 Weaving into Consciousness: The Seamless Garment of Contemplation 57 Merton and the Transformative Journey towards the Spiritual 60 The Journey of the Heart towards the Spiritual 65 A Moment of Discovery: A Classroom Encounter with Merton 69 Merton on Education: Towards the Unity of the Aesthetical, Spiritual and Paradisal 70 Seeking Paradisal Wisdom within Beauty 73 Seeking Paradisal Wisdom within Solitude 75 The Paradisal, “Radical Self” and the Artist 77 “Earth Connections:” Wisdom in the Landscape 82 Of the Pivot and Dome: Seeking the Divine by Visualizing Connection 87 Seeing Life from a Higher Perspective: Slow looking as Contemplation 99 Seeing Whole as Visual Contemplation of “Paradoxes and Passions” 100 The Contemplative and Aesthetical as Merton’s “Summonses to Awareness” 106 Chapter Three: Emerging Questions: Of the Relation of Wisdom and Art 113 Introduction: The Journey of Questions 113 Embarking on Inquiry: First Questions 115 viii Travelling Through Inquiry: Second Questions 121 The Question of Dialogical Discourse 121 Hearing the Silent Self: The Voice of Solitude 122 Evolving Questions towards the Wisdom Image 125 The Spirituality Research Paradigm and the Wisdom-Image: An Impossible Question? 127 Chapter Four: Literature Review 130 Introduction: In Search of Our Friends 130 Seeking Wisdom from Artists and Holistic Writers 135 Seeking Wisdom from Current Research in Wisdom Studies 141 Allusions to the Artful and Imaginal in Wisdom Studies 144 Wisdom and Ethical Intuitionism 147 Seeking Wisdom from Brother Louis 150 Seeking Wisdom from the Transformative Learning and Spirituality Research Paradigms 154 Paradox and Paradigm and the Spirituality Research Paradigm 160 Chapter Five: Seeking a Methodological Haven 162 Introduction 162 The Paradox of Methodology in Spirituality Studies: Exploring Merton’s “impossible paradox” and Ergas’ “paradoxical creed” 167 The Paradox of Spirituality Research: Palimpsest and Pentimento as Metaphors for Inquiry 174 From Kindred Methodologies to a Spiritual Research Paradigm 179 ix Acknowledging Merton’s Call: Dialogue with Brother Louis as a Strategy for Inquiry 182 Speaking with Brother Louis 186 From “Generative Dialogue” to Dialogical Speaking: Seeking Merton’s “Silent Self” 189 Seeking the “Inner Alchemy” through the Aesthetical 193 Dialogical Speaking, Narrative and Contemplative Knowing: A Transformative Journey of Shadows and Paradoxes 194 The Epistemology of Presence: Transformation as “Living Words” 198 Inquiry as the Epistemological Touch of Flow 201 Voice of the Paradise Child: Emerging from “Vague Fragments” onto Inquiry 202 Transiting from the Ground of Being to Transcendence of Being: A Journey of the Spiritual Embryo 210 The Contemplative Turn 212 The Embodied Researcher: Pondering the Aesthetical Presence of the Wisdom Body 215 Chapter Six: Wisdom in the Landscape: A Teaching Resource 223 “How long will this last?” ….. “Where is the Sun?” ….. “Is this going as planned?” 225 A Classroom Gallery 235 Chapter Seven: Seeking the Road for My Journey: Concluding Reflections on the Presence of the Personal and Aesthetical in Inquiry 240 References 248 Appendix A: Examples
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