Traditional knowledge to shape arts-in-health (1)Over the past year, I've been delighted to teach marine biology as part of the Seminars on Science courses at The American Museum of Natural History. We begin by studying properties of the ocean water including variation in temperature, salinity, and pressure; and move on to explore adaptations of marine creatures to different environments such as tidal pools, estuaries, and mangrove. We discuss ecosystems of the ocean e.g. coral reefs, seagrass beds, kelp forests, and the deep sea. The purpose of this knowledge, of studying diverse creatures like the anglerfish to larvaceans, is to inform marine conservation. On this topic, one thing I have been very excited about is the use of traditional and indigenous knowledge to protect our oceans. By centering knowledge of communities that have lived and worked alongside the oceans, Western science can gain considerable insights into preserving the oceans that sustain us. I wonder if a similar approach could be used to guide arts-in-health initiatives as well, and what that might look like. In the next post, I will describe some learnings from my journey with Bharatanatyam over the last several decades under the guidance of my gurus Smt. Maheshwari Nagarajan ("Amma") and Smt. Vanitha Jayan ("Didi").
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
