SHANTISTAN
ENABLING A Land of Peace
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SHANTISTAN INTRODUCTION
Shantistan is a social enhancement curriculum that blends heritage ways, contemporary beliefs and reasoned practices that lead one to participate in searching for and enabling a land of peace. Through gathering and sharing life experience relating to peace-making themes, one can better understand similarities and differences of interpretation over time and space. By using dialogue and mediated learning interactions, that support learning-to-learn strategies, both cognitive, social and affective growth is possible. These respectful approaches provide an alternative to single minded approaches that require submission as contrasted to collaboration.
The loss of lives as well as the decimation of cultures and land requires us to engage in understanding each other's narratives and ways of making meanings ("ethnologic"). This includes respecting peace-building themes such as those presented in Shantistan. (integrity, harmony, tolerance, devotion to beliefs, love, doing good, civility, human dignity, brotherhood and sisterhood, faith and forgiveness, protection of sacrifice and reconciliation.) In the pilot study (1995), we sought to gather and share peace building narratives from different religions (Hindu, Christian and Islam). Respecting cross-culture practices, the leaders of their religious persuasion had recommended participants to participate on each of the three teams. We were hoping for cross-age, community respect and gender participation for team members.
In the first section we provide additional background about Shantistan. Then the use of dialogue as a peace-making process is discussed. This leads to how mediated learning provided a grid for cognitive, social and affective changes. Peace-making narrative examples illustrate how these may apply to the Shantistan peace-making concepts, often cross-culturally. Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India provided insights for this pilot study.
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About the Book
Shantistan is a cross-culture peacemaking workbook. Its purpose is to encourge the development and use of culture bearers, who are dedicated to promoting peace. Both theoretical and practical applications are provided. Applications of thirteen personal cross-cultural narratives form the Shantistan peace building curriculum. Mediated learning experiences delivered through collaborative dialogues provide opportunities for self-regulated learners to use representational thinking. In order to encourage heritage sustainability, participants gather and replicate their life experience relating to the peace-making themes. (integrity, harmony, tolerance, devotion to one’s beliefs, love, doing good, civility, human dignity, human kindness, faith and forgiveness, protection of life, sacrifice and reconciliation) This flexibility in product and process provides intergeneration participation and facilitates the benefits of peace making.
About the Author
Dr. Ruth Vassar Burgess is Professor Emeritus, Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri. She is widely published in her fields of speech-language disorders and cognitive psychology. In addition, she has taught for over fifty years at the university level. Her program for promoting peace has potential for virtually all levels of conflict resolution. These include peace within families, between communities, religious and social groups, political parties, as well as between nations.