Welcome!

Shoshin (初心) is a concept in Zen Buddhism meaning "beginner's mind". It refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner in that subject would. 1. "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few." 2. "Beginner's mind embodies the highest emotional qualities such as enthusiasm, creativity, zeal and optimism."

~Shunryn Suzuki

How to navigate the Canvas site

The content on this site is organized by week. Below you will find links to each week's page. They contain all of the readings, assignments and due dates as well as a general overview of what will be discussed in our in-person class sessions. If you follow it like a checklist of tasks that need to be complete then you will be prepared for each week. Some content is timed and will become available to you on different dates throughout the course (i.e. assignments and weekly pages).

There are three tabs on the menu to the left of this page.

Home: Brings you back to this page
Modules: Contains your pod discussion posts organized by instructional scenario, so you are able to see how your classmates are interacting with the material (this will be fleshed out more in our first class session, but you can also see Pod Group Discussions for a more detailed explanation)
People: Gives a list of all people involved in this seminar

Weekly Pages

Pre-Seminar Preparation (Before July 11)

Week 1 (July 11-15)

Week 2 (July 18-22)

Week 3 (July 25-29)

Class Resources

Syllabus (PDF)

Presentation Assignment Instructions

Pod Group Discussions

Meet Your Cohort

Additional Resources