VANESSA ANDREOTTI: And now we have hospice modernity…(and a goodbye from Wild)
Dec 3, 2024
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Vanessa Andreotti, a Brazilian academic and Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria, passionately discusses how modernity is akin to an 'adolescent' civilization. She advocates for Indigenous wisdom to guide humanity through crises, asserting that the West often waits until catastrophe strikes to take action. Vanessa explores the emotional processing necessary for communal healing and emphasizes the importance of 'black belt aunties' in navigating resilience. Their conversation blends reflections on loss and hope, inviting listeners to celebrate human connections even amidst chaos.
Dr. Vanessa Andreotti emphasizes the need to adopt a hospice-like approach to support the decline of modernity while nurturing new systems.
The podcast highlights the importance of accepting collective pain through communal practices, inspired by traditional Indigenous rituals for healing.
Indigenous wisdom and the concept of entanglement advocate for recognizing our interconnectedness, promoting gratitude and shared responsibility for all life.
Deep dives
Transitioning from Modernity
The concept of modernity is framed as a deteriorating structure in society that is fundamentally flawed. It is portrayed as a house built on a weak foundation of separation between humans and nature, with the illusion of infinite growth on a finite planet leading to existential crises. The invitation is to not only acknowledge modernity’s demise but to actively support its transition by adopting a hospice-like approach, providing care as it crumbles. This process involves recognizing the necessity to use remaining resources wisely while prioritizing the well-being of humanity over the outdated models entrenched in modernity.
Pain and Collective Understanding
There is an emphasis on the need to face collective pain through the lens of emotional maturity, rather than attempting to hide or suppress it. The dialogue explores how individuals can be taught to accept and process pain in a communal manner, akin to traditional rituals found in many indigenous cultures. The notion of 'phantom limb pain' illustrates the invisible struggles people endure beneath their surface appearances, advocating for a shared response to this collective existential suffering. It is suggested that communal gatherings, shared experiences, and bodywork can facilitate healing and understanding of this shared grief.
Embracing Entanglement
The podcast discusses the importance of recognizing and embracing entanglement—the interconnectedness of all life—as a way to redefine our existence. Modernity encourages a sense of separateness that strangles not only our relationships but also diminishes our understanding of our role within the larger ecological web. Indigenous wisdom, which underscores the idea of shared responsibility with the land and each other, illustrates this notion beautifully. It encourages individuals to move beyond anthropocentric views and foster a sense of gratitude and interdependence with all forms of life.
Hospicing Modernity
The idea of hospicing modernity captures the essence of supporting the decline of outdated systems while nurturing the emergence of new ones. Rather than hastily abandoning old structures, this approach emphasizes the importance of patience and careful disinvestment to minimize resulting chaos. Holding space for what is dying without attempting to resuscitate it becomes vital, enabling the exploration of new forms of living. The podcast highlights the need to transform our viewpoints from individualistic success to a collective flourishing, aligning with a more relational and compassionate understanding of existence.
The Role of Elders and Community
The discussion highlights the significance of elders and community in reestablishing connections that have been disrupted by modernity. Elders serve as guides in the navigational process toward relational maturity, emphasizing long-term responsibility across generations. The podcast suggests that in the absence of traditional structures, we can cultivate community by embodying roles similar to 'aunties' and 'uncles,' focusing on emotional support and shared experiences. This encouragement to foster new forms of community and connection can help in reimagining a future that values both ecological balance and social harmony.
Dr Vanessa Andreotti (Indigenous Knowledge advocate; author) is a Brazilian academic who has developed a radical thesis for how to move through the multi-crises we face. In her book Hospicing Modernity: Facing Humanity's Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism she draws on Indigenous wisdoms and entanglement theory to steer humanity through the destruction, grief and uncertainty as democracy, the growth model, “the West” crumbles around us.
Dr Andreotti is the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria, Canada where she is also one of the designers of the Facing Human Wrongs: Climate Complexity and Relational Accountability course. She has written 100-plus papers on climate education, global justice and race.
In this chat – the last in the current Wild series – she talks through how modernity is the most “adolescent” civilisation in history, how Indigenous cultures have the knowledge to assist us, how the West won’t act until “the water is up to their bum” and the value of “black belt aunties”.