NCS 05 — Sacred Mountains of the World: The Heights of Inspiration
Quarter: Winter
Instructor(s): Edwin Bernbaum
Date(s): Feb 3—Mar 17
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Mondays
Class Meeting Time: 7:00—8:50 pm (PT)
Please Note: No class on February 17
Tuition: $405
Refund Deadline: Feb 5
Unit(s): 1
Status: Registration opens Dec 2, 8:30 am (PT)
Quarter: Winter
Day: Mondays
Duration: 6 weeks
Time: 7:00—8:50 pm (PT)
Date(s): Feb 3—Mar 17
Unit(s): 1
Tuition: $405
Refund Deadline: Feb 5
Instructor(s): Edwin Bernbaum
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Registration opens Dec 2, 8:30 am (PT)
Please Note: No class on February 17
As the tallest and most dramatic features of the landscape, mountains are naturally associated with the highest and most central values and aspirations of people throughout the world. Remote Mount Kailas in Tibet directs the minds of millions of Hindus and Buddhists toward the utmost attainment of spiritual liberation. Mount Sinai occupies a special place in the Bible as the awe-inspiring site where Moses received the Ten Commandments, the basis of law and ethics in Western civilization. The Hopi and Navajo revere the San Francisco Peaks, in Arizona, as a sacred source of water and healing on which their communities and lives depend. Mount Everest represents the highest goals of many people today. Views of mountains as places of inspiration and renewal helped give rise to the environmental movement and continue to play a role in galvanizing support for parks and protected areas such as Yosemite and Mount Rainier. Drawing on the instructor’s personal experiences, research, and work with US national parks and UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the course will explore the key role of mountains in mythology, religion, literature, history, and the art of cultures around the world. The course also will delve into the spiritual dimensions of mountaineering and highlight implications for climate change and environmental conservation. The conclusion will focus on the relevance of sacred mountains for everyday life.
EDWIN BERNBAUM
Co-Chair, International Union for Conservation of Nature Specialist Group on Cultural and Spiritual Values of Protected Areas; Senior Fellow, Instituto de Montaña
Edwin Bernbaum is a leading authority on sacred mountains, a mountaineer, and a scholar of comparative religion and mythology whose work focuses on the relationship between culture and nature. As director of the Sacred Mountains Program at The Mountain Institute, he initiated a program to develop interpretive materials with national parks, including Yosemite and Mount Rainier, based on the cultural and spiritual significance of features of the environment in cultures around the world. He played a major role in international efforts to get Mount Kailas in Tibet, the most sacred mountain in the world for nearly a billion people, and the pilgrimage routes leading to it from India and Nepal nominated as a World Heritage Site. An exhibit of Bernbaum’s photographs based on his award-winning book Sacred Mountains of the World was on display at the Smithsonian Institution and the American Museum of Natural History. He has lectured widely at places like the Smithsonian, the National Geographic Society, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He received a PhD in Asian studies from UC Berkeley. Textbooks for this course:
(Required) Edwin Bernbaum, Sacred Mountains of the World, 2nd Edition (ISBN 978-1108819817)