16 August 2021
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Student Matters
UMass Boston anticipates a reopening of campus for the fall 2021 term. Note that some CCT courses operate using a hybrid format, so attendance may be possible on campus or online. Please contact cct@umb.edu with questions about the format before the start of the term. Students attending campus will be required to have COVID-19 vaccination and are advised to view the campus guide for reopening.
For incoming CCT students – you are invited to attend the optional College of Education and Human Development Online Orientation, Monday, August 30, 2021 from 4:00-5:00pm. This orientation is for new students in CCT and other education programs in our college. You will have the opportunity to meet members of the college and the chair of the Curriculum and Instruction department and learn a little more about college and university resources. Contact cct@umb.edu for confirmation of login details.
Fall 2021 courses:
See this page to register and view more information (search for code CRCRTH to find Critical and Creative Thinking offerings).
- CrCrTh 601, Critical Thinking; Sept. 7-Dec. 7; Tuesdays, 7:00-9:45pm; hybrid format (on campus: #10715, online: #10716)
- CrCrTh 612, Seminar in Creativity; Sept. 8-Dec. 8; Wednesdays, 4:00-6:45pm; synchronous online format (#10720); Theme: Creative Problem-Solving (see full description of the course theme here)
- CrCrTh 615, Holistic & Transformative Teaching; Sept. 13-Dec. 13; Mondays, 7:00-9:45pm; hybrid format (on campus: #10717, online: #10718)
- CrCrTh 692, Processes of Research & Engagement; Sept. 9-Dec. 9; Thursdays, 4:00-6:45pm; hybrid format (on campus: #10721, online: #10722)
CCT Events
CCT Fall 2021 welcome and discussion (online)
Thursday, September 2, 5:00-6:00pm EDT
Online, for CCT students and recent graduates.
RSVP here to confirm and to receive Zoom details.
Theme: “Times of Transition: Revisiting Purpose, Practice, and Progress during Graduate Study”
In this discussion on “Times of Transition: Revisiting Purpose, Practice, and Progress during Graduate Study”, we reflect on what it means to us to continue a study of critical and creative thinking and extend it beyond the formal program. Many of us in the CCT community have noticed the importance of reflection on our paths, and no less in the time of recent profound global concerns such as climate change and pandemic, progress and polarization across current political and social movements, the shifting nature of workplaces and our professional employment, supporting children and family, and challenges of education across many levels. As scholars in an interdisciplinary graduate program focused on thinking, how do we connect the transitions in our own lives with those going on elsewhere in the world? How can we best direct our study to both develop our own capacities and support critical and creative thinking in others? Where have we come from, and where do we go from here?
CCT Fall 2021 Harborwalks (in person, Boston)
In-person, for all Boston area students, alums, and others in the CCT community
All in the local CCT community are invited to join us for any of the following weather-permitting morning walks along the Harborwalk path starting near Castle Island/South Boston beaches this fall, supplying us with fresh air, fitness, and social-distance-friendly community-building.
RSVPs are requested here in advance of each walk for confirmation of starting location.
- Saturday, August 28th, 10:30am-12:00noon
- Saturday, September 25th, 10:30am-12:00noon
- Saturday, October 23rd, 10:30am-12:00noon
Alum, Student, and CCT Associates Notables
Wanda Teays, former CCT faculty, has released a new edition of her book, Second Thoughts: Critical Thinking for a Diverse Society (fourth edition). The book addresses concepts such as argument, fallacies, and reasoning in context of the importance of critical thinking in culture, media, and the Internet age. For more information and to purchase, see the publisher site.
CCT students, alums and associates are encouraged to send items about accomplishments, new publications, or offerings to the Critical and Creative Thinking community to be included in future newsletters. Please submit items here.
Events
Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain Annual Conference
Online, September 3-5, 2021
Paper presentations, panels and other discussions focused on the advancement and teaching of philosophy of education.
For more details as they develop and to register, see the web site.
2021 a2ru National Conference: Sharing Stories: The Case for Art
November 3-5, 2021
The Alliance for the Arts in Research Universities (a2ru) will use this year’s online conference to meet this unique moment in a uniquely artful way. We will engage and explore how we can best deploy what we hope has not changed—our passion for the arts, for arts education, and for arts integration—through storytelling, rather than traditional conference presentations.
For more information and registration options, see the web site.
Canadian Society for Education Through Art 2021 Virtual Conference: Encounters: Art Education, Social Justice, and Democracy
November 13-14, 2021
For more information and registration information, see the web site.
2021 ENCATC (The European network on cultural management and policy) Education and Research Session
October 21, 2021
held during the 2021 ENCATC Digital Congress (19-22 October) on the theme of “Artists in the spotlight! In search of new agendas for education and research in the cultural management and policy field”
For more information, see the web site.
Creative Vitality Summit: Conference on the Creative Economy
September 20-21, 2021
Speakers, panel discussions, and community conversations around the creative economy. For more information and to register, see the web site.
2022 International Transformative Learning Conference
“Transformative Learning: Telling, Evaluating, and Deepening Our Story”
Co-hosted by Michican State University and Grand Rapids Community College
April 6 – 9, 2022, Kellogg Center at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI.
We invite proposals for pre-conferences, paper presentations, experiential sessions, symposia and roundtables. Submissions will be done electronically through the International Transformative Learning Association (ITLA) website at https://itlc2022.intertla.org (see website for specific details).
Call for proposals due Sept 15, 2021. Papers for those proposals accepted will be due Feb 1, 2022.
Opportunities and Resources
Food for Thought
Video:
- The art of the metaphor – Jane Hirshfield (YouTube, Ted-Ed)
- Your Elusive Creative Genius – Elizabeth Gilbert (TED)
- Challenging Society panel discussion: Art’s Role in Shaping Our World (Vimeo, CMU Alumni Association)
- I Changed Astronomy Forever. He Won the Nobel Prize for It (YouTube, New York Times)
- Berry’s Paradox – An Algorithm For Truth (YouTube, Up and Atom)
- Will America’s disregard for science be the end of its reign? (YouTube, Big Think)
- A Master Listener (YouTube, CBS Sunday Morning)
- Six Ways to Be a Better Listener (YouTube, Greater Good Magazine)
Articles:
- What Daydreaming Does to Your Mind (Greater Good Science Center)
- Making Learning Last: How to Improve the Psychology of Education (Faculty Focus)
- Why Adults Lose the ‘Beginner’s Mind’ (New York Times)Seven Ways to Fight Bias in Your Everyday Life (Greater Good Magazine)
- Is There Such a Thing As Universal Humor? (Discover)
- How does design affect decision making? (Vox)
- After neurodiversity (Aeon)
- Want to know, even if it hurts? You must be a truth masochist (Psyche)
- Why Creativity is the Most Important Skill in the World (LinkedIn)
- Forget Traditional Brainstorming— Instead, Try This Technique To Spur New Levels Of Team Creativity (Forbes)
- The surprising link between creativity and risk (Strategy + Business)
- Six Vintage-Inspired Animations on Critical Thinking (BrainPickings)
- The Best Answer to Fanaticism–Liberalism; Its calm search for truth, viewed as dangerous in many places, remains the hope of humanity – Bertrand Russell (New York Times Archives)
- The Trick to Making Healthy Habits (The Cut)
- Experimental Brain Implant Lets Man With Paralysis Turn His Thoughts Into Words (WBUR Radio)
- Unleashing creativity: enhancing the lives of women in India (Global Sisters Report)
- Why mind wandering is good for your creativity (Idea to Value)
- Belief in Conspiracies Tied to Lower Critical Thinking Skills, But Don’t Get Smug (Science Alert)
- Creating a Path for the Future of Higher Education through a Structured Approach for Interdisciplinary Teaching (Faculty Focus)
- Imagine you could insert knowledge into your mind: should you? (Psyche)
- Let’s think about ‘thinking’ before we teach ‘critical thinking’ (AlterNet)
- Parents group launches campaign for ‘true diversity of thought’ in New England private schools (Boston Globe)
- MIT Predicted in 1972 That Society Will Collapse This Century. New Research Shows We’re on Schedule (Vice)
- 12 Habits of Unhappy People (and How to Avoid Having Them) (Power of Positivity)
- Critical Thinking And The Marvel Cinematic Universe – podcast discussion with Dr. Arnold T. Blumberg (KPBS)
- Neuroscience has much to learn from Hume’s philosophy of emotions (Psyche)
- 16 Ways to Own Your Professional Learning (John Spencer)
- The Fine Line Between Reality and Imaginary (Nautilus)
- Diversity: A Neural Pathway Untapped (The Creativity Post)
- Scientists Discover a “Mind-Blowing” Link Between Gut Health and Age Reversal (Inverse)
- Defeating America’s racism problem requires critical thinking, not primetime analysis (Real Change News)
- ADHD and How to Control Rumination, RSD and Depressive Thoughts (Tracy Otsuka podcast)
Research / New Publications
- Book: Second Thoughts: Critical Thinking for a Diverse Society (fourth edition), Wanda Teays
- Billionaire Bonanza 2020: Wealth Windfalls, Tumbling Taxes, and Pandemic Profiteers (Institute for Policy Studies)
Humor
- We the Sheeple (New Yorker)
