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News from the Graduate Program in Critical & Creative Thinking

University of Massachusetts Boston
1 May 2020
Contents
Student matters, CCT community,
CCT events, alums, other events,
opportunities, resources,
food for thought, humor
 Other Links
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CCT Program web site

Student Matters
Summer CCT courses are open for registration (see full descriptions of themes)
-CrCrTh 611 Seminar in Critical Thinking (theme: Design Thinking)
class #2314; May 26-July 9
format: synchronous online, meetings on Mondays and Wednesdays, 5:00-8:00pm, starting May 27th (contact cct@umb.edu for information about asynchronous option for participation)
-CrCrTh 612 Seminar in Creativity (theme: Overcoming Creative Blocks)
class #2315; May 26-July 9
format: asynchronous online

The following fall 2020 courses are planned (final times to be confirmed). Registration opens in mid-April:
CrCrTh 601 Critical Thinking (Tuesdays, 7:00pm)
CrCrTh 618 Creative Thinking, Collaboration, and Organizational Change (time TBD)
CrCrTh 655 Metacognition (Mondays, 7:00pm)
CrCrTh 692 Processes of Research and Engagement (time TBD)

CCT Community
The admissions to the CCT graduate program are now open for fall 2020 admission (after a brief period of being on hold). The next application deadline will be June 1, 2020 for fall admission. Please also note that applications are being accepted for the MA and Graduate Certificate in Critical and Creative Thinking, but the option for the Science in a Changing World Track will not reopen at this time.

CCT Events
Taking Ourselves Seriously Across the CCT Community
in recognition of the work of Professor Peter J. Taylor

When: Sunday, April 5, 2020, 2:00-3:30pm EDT
Where: Online - participate in Zoom. Please RSVP here by April 3rd (for attendance or to submit a written reflection, and to receive information to join Zoom conference). Contact cct@umb.edu for more information and see full details.

All are welcome to join the Critical and Creative Thinking program for this spring event - alums, faculty, current and prospective students, and any others. During this interactive event, participants will share and hear from others on our journeys as critical and creative thinkers about ways that we take ourselves seriously. We hope that you'll join us in the spirit of solidarity and community during this time of particularly challenge to our world. Long-time CCT program director and UMass Professor Peter Taylor, who passed away in October 2019, had immeasurable impact on the CCT and university community and wider world through his work in several areas, including science in social context, reflective practice, and critical and creative thinking. One of his many innovations was the concept of "taking yourself seriously", a base for much of his teaching, coaching, and mentoring of students over the years. This idea relates to the way that we come to appreciate the value of our own ideas, support others, and be supported in creating something that is, most of all, important and meaningful to us personally. In this community open house event, we take time to reflect on what this means to us in our continued directions, and in recognition of Peter's influence on us as engaged lifelong learners. Participants are asked to bring short stories or biographical sketches about how this relates to your own work and life, to be shared through some discussion activities that we'll use throughout the session. See full description and additional details.

Alum and CCT associates Notes

CCT graduates are invited to complete our brief Alum Survey in support of forming vision for the upcoming years of the CCT program.

Bob Schoenberg (CCT former faculty and alum) is offering a free online training, "STOP ASSUMING – Apply CT to your Personal Life". See below under Opportunities.

CCT alums and associates are encouraged to send items of interest to the Critical and Creative Thinking community to be included in future newsletters. Please submit events, announcements, and opportunities through this form: http://bit.ly/CCTSICWi

Events

Note that all courses will be conducted online through the end of the semester, and the campus events is closed until further notice and at least until April 13th. As of this time, no decisions have been made about plans for commencement. Many campus talks, events, and special programs open to students and others are being conducted virtually; all are welcome to refer to the UMBeInvolved site for details and schedules.

Opportunities

Bob Schoenberg, former faculty member, is offering a free online training program entitled, STOP ASSUMING – Apply CT to your Personal Life. This two hour online training program will teach you how to identify your personal assumptions, (which tend to be restrictive and/or negative) and how to challenge them. For more information or to register, email Bob at Bobsch3@gmail.com. Anyone in the CCT community is welcome to participate in this unique online training program.

Call for Papers: Journal of Contemplative Inquiry
Deadline for 2020 publication: April 15th, 2020.
We seek to publish work that builds bridges between the emerging field of contemplative education, broadly defined, and related practices in the wider Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL), student life, faculty development, leadership studies, and related areas. Particularly welcomed are submissions that align with the mission of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society to further compassion and social justice in all aspects of higher education and in our world more widely. We welcome submissions that introduce, explore, and evaluate contemplative practices from different cultural traditions that deepen and support interactions across cultural boundaries and identities. This includes work that may draw on paradigms for conducting research that are different from or in addition to conventional academic methodologies.
See full details and submission guidelines.

Resources

UMB Campus updates: https://www.umb.edu/coronavirus

Form to request loaner laptop for students needing one for online access: https://umbchormebookloans.as.me/schedule.php

The following collections of resources are available for reference and sharing widely around COVID-19, of particular interest to those in the Boston area and state of Massachusetts: