Religion and ecology is one of the fastest growing areas in the study of religion, exploring how religious consciousness has shaped and been shaped by environmental relationships and crises. Spiritual traditions old and new offer insights and practices for making sense of the profound kinship of all life, climate injustice, the "Anthropocene," and their demands on us. Are there religious lessons to be learned from our planetary kin, animal, vegetable and mineral? While addressing western traditions and landscapes, this year’s course centers Buddhist ecologies and the biomes and traditions with which they are in conversation. Zen master Dogen’s “Mountains and Rivers Sutra” will be a constant point of reference.