Finding Myself in My Story with Dasha Lis

From the Short Course Series

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

Understanding oneself is an essential part of being human. We create meaning in our lives by interpreting our experiences. This interpretation relies on our memories of the past and is also inevitably grounded in our present. We recreate ourselves every time we tell our story to ourselves or to someone else. Our fast-paced, interconnected, information and other-people’s-lives-loaded life of today may leave little time for us to ponder about who we are.

Who we are now. Who we were before. And how we got from “what I was” to “what I have become”.

Understanding oneself is not possible without placing one’s life in context. For example, when we come across art objects, although we sense their emotional effect on us, it is the understanding of their context — their unique stories — that provides us with the most incredible insights and a sense of deep appreciation. One’s life can be looked at in a similar way. The sense of awe that your own life can evoke in you when you look at it with new understanding is a powerful and enriching experience.

Join this course if you are:

• Interested in examining the past: both personal and shared
• Wondering about the role of cultural identities on one’s life
• Curious about the interplay of memory with other ways of knowing
• Looking for means of personal expression: evocative narratives and their creative alternatives

Come and discover your story.

WHEN & WHERE WILL YOU LEARN?

The course sessions will be online on Zoom or Google Meet. Contact us to commission a date and timeline.

Recommended age group of cohort: Between 16 and 65 years of age

• No. of sessions: 06
• Session duration: 60 minutes
• Course capacity: 20
• Time commitment (session hours): 7 hours (min)

HOW WILL YOU LEARN?

This course is for you if you have been needing time, space and the company of others to explore, reflect and discuss questions of identities, history and meanings.

The course is designed to span six weeks: each week addresses a question that works as an invitation to examine one’s life journey from a particular angle.

We will weave together ideas from psychology, philosophy, ethnography, history and the arts, and any other areas of knowledge that you bring with you!

Every week you will complete an assignment — written or creative exercise — which you will share with your co-learners. We will build succeeding sessions on the insights that are relevant to you and your group.

Prior Requirements: Willingness to learn and expand your perspective

WHO WILL YOU LEARN WITH?

Dasha Lis is an educator, curator, and a curious learner. Her passion is to create beautiful learning experiences that go beyond the bounds of disciplines in the pursuit of meaning and connections. She holds a Master’s degree from the University of Leicester, UK, in Heritage and Interpretation, specialising in curating that invokes hope and social agency in museum learners. Dasha was born and raised in Belarus; then studied at Mahindra UWC India. She spent 12 years living in the Philippines, where she completed her first degree in Educational Pscyhology and taught a range of subjects, including history and psychology. She then worked at UWC Maastricht, teaching Theory of Knowledge and World Arts and Cultures. She now lives in the Netherlands with her wife and children. With an eclectic mix of experiences she often finds she doesn’t tick regular boxes. And she prefers it that way!

CRITERIA FOR CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

To receive the certificate of completion, you need to attend 75% of the sessions.

OUR SLIDING SCALE

We offer a sliding scale of contributions as we are open to members from both the Global South and the Global North, or somewhere in transition. While we ask you to look inward, please don’t stress about it. Pay what feels right. We offer three levels of pricing (per person):

• $99 for Global North and some Global South
• $59 for Global South and some Global North
• FREE for those who need it to be free

Let’s get started. Contact us to commission a date and timeline.