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Audrey E. Kitagawa, J.D.
President and Founder
"In the seemingly ordinariness of daily living is the power of transformation. Individual transformation arises out of awareness, and a willingness to change to become a better person right where we are. We each have personal responsibility and collective responsibility to make positive changes here and now."
Background
Ashok K. Gangadean, Ph.D.
Margaret Gest Professor of Global Philosophy, Haverford College
Director of the Margaret Gest Center for Inter-Cultural Dialogue
Founder-Director of the ((Global Dialogue Institute))
https://www.haverford.edu/users/agangade
Ashok Gangadean is Margaret Gest Professor of Global Philosophy at Haverford College where he has taught for the past fifty-three years. He completed his Ph.D. in Philosophy at Brandeis University and his early work focused on Logic (Science of Thought) and Ontology (Science of Being). Throughout his career he has been in quest of the primal integral logic at the heart of human reason, and in bringing to the fore the deep dynamics of communication and dialogue between diverse worldviews. In this quest over four decades to clarify and excavate the common ground across and between widely diverse worlds, cultures, ideologies and disciplines he has emerged as a pioneer of the new frontier of global reason, global ethics and global wisdom. His courses range over Philosophy of Logic and Language, Global Ontology, Global Ethics, Hindu, Buddhist and Zen Thought in Global Context and Global Wisdom.
Ashok has participated in widely diverse professional conferences around the globe and has published numerous essays and several books seeking to demonstrate that human reason is essentially, global, holistic, integral, dialogic and intercultural in scope and power. His book, Meditative Reason: Toward Universal Grammar attempts to open the way to global reason, and a companion volume, Between Worlds: The Emergence of Global Reason explores the dialogical common ground between worlds and disciplines. A third volume, Meditations of Global First Philosophy: Quest for the Missing Grammar of Logos builds on his earlier work seeking to clarify the fundamental Logos or Universal Grammar underlying all cultures, religions, philosophies and ideologies. His forthcoming book, The Awakening of the Global Mind further develops these themes for the general reader, and Sounds True recently released a six CD audio set in which he performs the central insights of this Awakening volume. Ashok has also published extensively on the deepening of liberal arts education and is now preparing a volume on The Renovation of Liberal Arts Education.
Ashok has sought to bring his findings on the fundamental Logos in human cultures, experience and life to the wider academy and public in diverse ways. He is Founder-Director of the Global Dialogue Institute which seeks to embody the powers of Deep Dialogue in all aspects of cultural life. He collaborated with certain colleagues to convene the World Commission on Global Consciousness and Spirituality which brings eminent world leaders together in sustained deep dialogue to cultivate global vision and wisdom for the new millennium. He is also Co-Chair of the World Wisdom Council which is focused on bringing the transformative power of wisdom to addressing the crises facing humanity today. Ashok has also been a television host in the Greater Philadelphia Region for five years where his show “Global Lens” has reached out to the public in cultivating global literacy. He has also played a leading role in the development of the Margaret Gest Center since its launching in 1972. And over the past three years he has functioned as Director of the Gest Program. He was appointed to the Distinguished Gest Professorship in 2010.
Further Details Relevant to Ashok’s current focus on ((Global Education for All Humans))
- PhD. in Philosophy from Brandeis University 1970; Research Assistant to Professor Fred Sommers (Distinguished Professor at Brandeis) on three year full fellowship at Brandeis in Ph.D. Studies 1965 thru 1968.
- B.A from City College of New York 1963
- Appointed as Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Haverford College July, 1968. Promoted to Associate Professor with tenure l973; promoted to Full Professor l979.
- Appointed as first Director of Margaret Gest Center for Cross Cultural Dialogue at Haverford 1979 to 1982, and has remained in leadership role in developing the Gest Center since l972 and is now, again current Director of Gest Center.
Selected Recent Fellowships
- ACLS Fellow (American Council of Learned Societies) in l997 – selected among first in the Nation for the then new Contemplative Mind in Higher Education Fellows to introduce meditative and contemplative intelligence into liberal arts education.
- Faculty Fellow of the Haverford Humanities Seminar 1997-98 exploring with ten faculty from the Humanities fundamental hermeneutical themes in the Humanities.
- Supported for Sabbatical Leave in l998-99 by Annenberg Funds for Intercultural Studies and Whitehead Faculty Development Funds
Professional Positions
- 1995- (to Present) Founder-Director of the Global Dialogue Institute (at Haverford College) to cultivate literacy in Deep Dialogue in all aspects of cultural life and in the discourse of the Academy
- l999 thru 2002- Elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the Greater Philadelphia Philosophy Consortium (Consortium of the philosophy departments of thirteen major colleges and university in the Greater Philadelphia area.)
- 1995 thru Present- Convenor of the Public Issues Forum (of GPPC) focused on bringing Philosophy to Public Issues, especially the deepening of education K-12 and beyond. This Annual Philosophy Forum has been continuous for over 15 years at Haverford College and brings Philosophy and Dialogue to the Public Conversation.
- 2009- Faculty Fellow of the Mellon Center Seminar for Teaching-Learning: exploring the most advanced pedagogic innovations for the advancement of the liberal arts.
- 2011 thru present- Appointed the Distinguished Margaret Gest Professor In Global Philosophy – recognizing innovations in the frontier of Global Philosophy, Global Reason and the renovation of Global Literacy for all students and all majors.
- 2015- Nominated (and applied) for the prestigious Right Livelihood Award (considered the “alternative Nobel Prize” honor
- 2020- to present – Director of the Margaret Gest Center for Inter-Cultural Dialogue- celebrating diversity between diverse religions, worldviews, cultural traditions and ideologies while exploring common ground and unity in diversity
Books and Publications serve as key resources for the ((1776 Now)) initiative:
1) Meditative Reason: Toward Universal Grammar, Peter Lang, l993 (Revisioning Philosophy Series, Volume 14)
2) Between Worlds: The Emergence of Global Reason, Peter Lang, l998 (Revisioning Philosophy Series, Volume 17)
3) Meditations of Global First Philosophy: Quest for the Missing Grammar of Logos,
SUNY Press (State University of New York) 2008 (SUNY Series in Western Esoteric Traditions)
4) Awakening the Global Mind, Audio Book by Sounds True (2009) in 6 CD Discs (printed book forthcoming, many portions already published in essays and recorded in public performances)
5) Awakening Global Enlightenment: The Maturation of our Species (forthcoming, several portions published as essays and recorded in public performances). A double CD audio summary of this book was produced and published in 2015 through Saith Studios. See awakeningmind.org
6) Web Publications Relevant to Public Education and Activism
My www.awakeningmind.org website presents a range of public outreach initiatives presenting my innovative work over the past two decades. This site makes a wide range of public performances, creative essays, and public issues events accessible to the public. Here you will also find numerous Youtube performances in widely diverse settings seeking to ((communicate)) my findings to the wider global public.
((1776 Now: Our UnFinished American R-Evolution))
Perhaps most relevant to the current proposal is this recently published HumanUp.tv initiative intended to make accessible to the widest possible audience the vital importance of facing the inter-dimensional (( /Code/ )) issue in gaining deeper access to the ((Logos Code)). This becomes a highest priority educationally in ((Healing)) our chronically /fragmented/ Culture and Democracy.
Global Declaration of Interdependence: http://awakeningmind.org/document/1.pdf
As part of a worldwide 2012 initiative on cultivating global literacy and activism I composed here in Philadelphia this Declaration based upon our 1776 Declaration of Independence. My draft seeks to clarify an implicit Declaration based upon the ((Logos Code)) this is the Foundation of our 1776 Founding. My Declaration in included here as a “sample writing” along with my Seven Stages of Deep Dialogue which has been performed in widely diverse contexts over the past two decades. These Seven Stages also highly relevant to educating the public in inter-cultural literacy and intelligence. This is also shared in “sample writing”. My Declaration was performed in December 2012 as part of a worldwide live streaming event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DETthcr_AJo.
See also our related podcast “A Perfect Union” - ((A Perfect Union))
Selected Key Published Essays relevant to Upgrading Public ((Education))
1) “Encountering the (W)hole: Integral Education as Deep Dialogue and Culture Medicine” (with Matthew C. Bronson) in Integral Education: New Directions for Higher Learning, edited by Sean Esbjorn-Hargens (and others), SUNY Press, 2010 (SUNY Series in Integral Theory) (This volumes as a whole is relevant to my project)
2) “Awakening Global Mind: Our Maturation as a Species” in Forgiving and Reconciliation, ed. Ingo Benjamin Jahrsetz, Holotropos Publishing, 2008, Germany
3) “((Circling the /Square/:Reframing Integral Education Discourse through Deep Dialogue” (with Matthew C. Bronson) in ReVision: A Journey of Consciousness and Transformation (Winter 2006, Vol. 28, Number 3)
4) “The Quest for a Global Grammar Mythos and Cosmology” (with commentary from Matthew Bronson) in ReVision, (Winter 2004, Volume 26, Number 3)
5) “Spritual Transformation as the Awakening of Global Consciousness: A Dimensional Shift in the Technology of Mind” in Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science, Volume 41, No.2, June 2006
6) “The Awakening of Global Reason: The Logical and Ontological Foundation of Integra Science” in World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution (ed. Ervin Laszlo) (Routledge, 62, 2006)
7) “Why Trans-Personal Awakening of our Cultures is Highest Priority” forthcoming 2016 in Metamorphosis: Dis-Integration, Re-Integration, Conscious Living: Transpersonal Perspectives from Theory, Practice and Research, (Eds) Lindy McMullin, Regina U. Hess, Marcie Boucouvalas, Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Organization
Institution
Social
Background
Audrey E. Kitagawa, JD, is the President/Founder of the International Academy for Multicultural Cooperation, the President of the Light of Awareness International Spiritual Family, the former Advisor to the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Children and Armed Conflict at the United Nations.
She is a United Nations Representative for the United Religions Initiative, and Chair Emerita of the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns, A Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. She has been enstooled into the royal family as the Nekoso Hemaa, (i.e. Queen Mother of Development), of Ajiyamanti in Ghana, West Africa, and has a school which she helped to build named after her in her African name, the Nana Ode Anyankobea Junior Secondary School.
She wrote the chapter, Crossing World Views, The Power of Perspective in the Hawaii Japanese American Experience, which was published in a book about multiculturalism, communication and Asian women entitled, Learning In The Light. Her chapter, Globalization As The Fuel For Religious And Ethnic Conflict has been published in the book, Globalization And Identity, Cultural Diversity, Religion and Citizenship. Her article, The Role Of Identity In The Rise And Decline of Buddhism In Hawaii, The 50th State Of The United States Of America, has been published in Sambodhi, a Buddhist Journal. She published articles in World Affairs The Journal Of International Issues, entitled, The Power of Om: Transformation of Consciousness, and Practical Spirituality. She wrote the chapter, The US In Foreign Affairs: Source of Global Security, Or Source of Global Fear? in the book, America & The World The Double Bind. She is currently writing a chapter on Space Ethics for a legal, academic book on Space Law.
She has been listed in Who's Who Of American Law, Who's Who Of American Women, Who's Who In America, Who's Who In The World, and Prominent People of Hawaii. She is the recipient of the Medal “Pride of Eurasia” and a Diploma from the Republic of Kazakhstan Ministry of Education and Science L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University for her outstanding contribution to the development of spiritual culture and education in Eurasia. She is the recipient of the Spirit of the UN Award which is given to outstanding individuals who have demonstrated the vision and spirit of the United Nations as expressed through the UN Charter, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She was conferred an Honorary Interfaith Minister degree by the New Seminary.
“Regardless of the name a person uses for the Infinite Force that holds us together, it is the source of our miraculous, unpredictable creativity and our dignity.”
Biography
Ashok K. Gangadean, Ph.D.
Margaret Gest Professor of Global Philosophy, Haverford College
Director of the Margaret Gest Center for Inter-Cultural Dialogue
Founder-Director of the ((Global Dialogue Institute))
https://www.haverford.edu/users/agangade
Ashok Gangadean is Margaret Gest Professor of Global Philosophy at Haverford College where he has taught for the past fifty-three years. He completed his Ph.D. in Philosophy at Brandeis University and his early work focused on Logic (Science of Thought) and Ontology (Science of Being). Throughout his career he has been in quest of the primal integral logic at the heart of human reason, and in bringing to the fore the deep dynamics of communication and dialogue between diverse worldviews. In this quest over four decades to clarify and excavate the common ground across and between widely diverse worlds, cultures, ideologies and disciplines he has emerged as a pioneer of the new frontier of global reason, global ethics and global wisdom. His courses range over Philosophy of Logic and Language, Global Ontology, Global Ethics, Hindu, Buddhist and Zen Thought in Global Context and Global Wisdom.
Ashok has participated in widely diverse professional conferences around the globe and has published numerous essays and several books seeking to demonstrate that human reason is essentially, global, holistic, integral, dialogic and intercultural in scope and power. His book, Meditative Reason: Toward Universal Grammar attempts to open the way to global reason, and a companion volume, Between Worlds: The Emergence of Global Reason explores the dialogical common ground between worlds and disciplines. A third volume, Meditations of Global First Philosophy: Quest for the Missing Grammar of Logos builds on his earlier work seeking to clarify the fundamental Logos or Universal Grammar underlying all cultures, religions, philosophies and ideologies. His forthcoming book, The Awakening of the Global Mind further develops these themes for the general reader, and Sounds True recently released a six CD audio set in which he performs the central insights of this Awakening volume. Ashok has also published extensively on the deepening of liberal arts education and is now preparing a volume on The Renovation of Liberal Arts Education.
Ashok has sought to bring his findings on the fundamental Logos in human cultures, experience and life to the wider academy and public in diverse ways. He is Founder-Director of the Global Dialogue Institute which seeks to embody the powers of Deep Dialogue in all aspects of cultural life. He collaborated with certain colleagues to convene the World Commission on Global Consciousness and Spirituality which brings eminent world leaders together in sustained deep dialogue to cultivate global vision and wisdom for the new millennium. He is also Co-Chair of the World Wisdom Council which is focused on bringing the transformative power of wisdom to addressing the crises facing humanity today. Ashok has also been a television host in the Greater Philadelphia Region for five years where his show “Global Lens” has reached out to the public in cultivating global literacy. He has also played a leading role in the development of the Margaret Gest Center since its launching in 1972. And over the past three years he has functioned as Director of the Gest Program. He was appointed to the Distinguished Gest Professorship in 2010.
Further Details Relevant to Ashok’s current focus on ((Global Education for All Humans))
- PhD. in Philosophy from Brandeis University 1970; Research Assistant to Professor Fred Sommers (Distinguished Professor at Brandeis) on three year full fellowship at Brandeis in Ph.D. Studies 1965 thru 1968.
- B.A from City College of New York 1963
- Appointed as Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Haverford College July, 1968. Promoted to Associate Professor with tenure l973; promoted to Full Professor l979.
- Appointed as first Director of Margaret Gest Center for Cross Cultural Dialogue at Haverford 1979 to 1982, and has remained in leadership role in developing the Gest Center since l972 and is now, again current Director of Gest Center.
Selected Recent Fellowships
- ACLS Fellow (American Council of Learned Societies) in l997 – selected among first in the Nation for the then new Contemplative Mind in Higher Education Fellows to introduce meditative and contemplative intelligence into liberal arts education.
- Faculty Fellow of the Haverford Humanities Seminar 1997-98 exploring with ten faculty from the Humanities fundamental hermeneutical themes in the Humanities.
- Supported for Sabbatical Leave in l998-99 by Annenberg Funds for Intercultural Studies and Whitehead Faculty Development Funds
Professional Positions
- 1995- (to Present) Founder-Director of the Global Dialogue Institute (at Haverford College) to cultivate literacy in Deep Dialogue in all aspects of cultural life and in the discourse of the Academy
- l999 thru 2002- Elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the Greater Philadelphia Philosophy Consortium (Consortium of the philosophy departments of thirteen major colleges and university in the Greater Philadelphia area.)
- 1995 thru Present- Convenor of the Public Issues Forum (of GPPC) focused on bringing Philosophy to Public Issues, especially the deepening of education K-12 and beyond. This Annual Philosophy Forum has been continuous for over 15 years at Haverford College and brings Philosophy and Dialogue to the Public Conversation.
- 2009- Faculty Fellow of the Mellon Center Seminar for Teaching-Learning: exploring the most advanced pedagogic innovations for the advancement of the liberal arts.
- 2011 thru present- Appointed the Distinguished Margaret Gest Professor In Global Philosophy – recognizing innovations in the frontier of Global Philosophy, Global Reason and the renovation of Global Literacy for all students and all majors.
- 2015- Nominated (and applied) for the prestigious Right Livelihood Award (considered the “alternative Nobel Prize” honor
- 2020- to present – Director of the Margaret Gest Center for Inter-Cultural Dialogue- celebrating diversity between diverse religions, worldviews, cultural traditions and ideologies while exploring common ground and unity in diversity
Books and Publications serve as key resources for the ((1776 Now)) initiative:
1) Meditative Reason: Toward Universal Grammar, Peter Lang, l993 (Revisioning Philosophy Series, Volume 14)
2) Between Worlds: The Emergence of Global Reason, Peter Lang, l998 (Revisioning Philosophy Series, Volume 17)
3) Meditations of Global First Philosophy: Quest for the Missing Grammar of Logos,
SUNY Press (State University of New York) 2008 (SUNY Series in Western Esoteric Traditions)
4) Awakening the Global Mind, Audio Book by Sounds True (2009) in 6 CD Discs (printed book forthcoming, many portions already published in essays and recorded in public performances)
5) Awakening Global Enlightenment: The Maturation of our Species (forthcoming, several portions published as essays and recorded in public performances). A double CD audio summary of this book was produced and published in 2015 through Saith Studios. See awakeningmind.org
6) Web Publications Relevant to Public Education and Activism
My www.awakeningmind.org website presents a range of public outreach initiatives presenting my innovative work over the past two decades. This site makes a wide range of public performances, creative essays, and public issues events accessible to the public. Here you will also find numerous Youtube performances in widely diverse settings seeking to ((communicate)) my findings to the wider global public.
((1776 Now: Our UnFinished American R-Evolution))
Perhaps most relevant to the current proposal is this recently published HumanUp.tv initiative intended to make accessible to the widest possible audience the vital importance of facing the inter-dimensional (( /Code/ )) issue in gaining deeper access to the ((Logos Code)). This becomes a highest priority educationally in ((Healing)) our chronically /fragmented/ Culture and Democracy.
Global Declaration of Interdependence: http://awakeningmind.org/document/1.pdf
As part of a worldwide 2012 initiative on cultivating global literacy and activism I composed here in Philadelphia this Declaration based upon our 1776 Declaration of Independence. My draft seeks to clarify an implicit Declaration based upon the ((Logos Code)) this is the Foundation of our 1776 Founding. My Declaration in included here as a “sample writing” along with my Seven Stages of Deep Dialogue which has been performed in widely diverse contexts over the past two decades. These Seven Stages also highly relevant to educating the public in inter-cultural literacy and intelligence. This is also shared in “sample writing”. My Declaration was performed in December 2012 as part of a worldwide live streaming event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DETthcr_AJo.
See also our related podcast “A Perfect Union” - ((A Perfect Union))
Selected Key Published Essays relevant to Upgrading Public ((Education))
1) “Encountering the (W)hole: Integral Education as Deep Dialogue and Culture Medicine” (with Matthew C. Bronson) in Integral Education: New Directions for Higher Learning, edited by Sean Esbjorn-Hargens (and others), SUNY Press, 2010 (SUNY Series in Integral Theory) (This volumes as a whole is relevant to my project)
2) “Awakening Global Mind: Our Maturation as a Species” in Forgiving and Reconciliation, ed. Ingo Benjamin Jahrsetz, Holotropos Publishing, 2008, Germany
3) “((Circling the /Square/:Reframing Integral Education Discourse through Deep Dialogue” (with Matthew C. Bronson) in ReVision: A Journey of Consciousness and Transformation (Winter 2006, Vol. 28, Number 3)
4) “The Quest for a Global Grammar Mythos and Cosmology” (with commentary from Matthew Bronson) in ReVision, (Winter 2004, Volume 26, Number 3)
5) “Spritual Transformation as the Awakening of Global Consciousness: A Dimensional Shift in the Technology of Mind” in Zygon: Journal of Religion & Science, Volume 41, No.2, June 2006
6) “The Awakening of Global Reason: The Logical and Ontological Foundation of Integra Science” in World Futures: The Journal of General Evolution (ed. Ervin Laszlo) (Routledge, 62, 2006)
7) “Why Trans-Personal Awakening of our Cultures is Highest Priority” forthcoming 2016 in Metamorphosis: Dis-Integration, Re-Integration, Conscious Living: Transpersonal Perspectives from Theory, Practice and Research, (Eds) Lindy McMullin, Regina U. Hess, Marcie Boucouvalas, Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Organization
Institution
Content
Social
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