Rites of Passage (WS-605)

Rites of passage are the hinges of human life, allowing individuals and communities to negotiate complex transitions meaningfully in relationship to one another, to the roles and responsibilities of one’s community, to the land and creatures among whom one lives, and to the transcendent dimension of human experience. Yet as traditional cultural and religious traditions erode, many individuals, families, and communities are left without the psychic/ communal structures these rites once provided. This course will examine the importance of rites of passage in human development, the impact of their widespread loss in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood today, and the creation of new or renewed forms of such rites for healthy and resilient human-ecological flourishing.