Coming to Our Senses: Everyday Landscapes, Aesthetics, and Transformative Learning

Drawing upon phenomenological and arts-based approaches, the author explores everyday encounters with landscapes that call attention to the potential of place as sites for evoking mindfulness and transformative learning experiences. Theoretical perspectives within and across art education, aesthetics, contemplative education, holistic education, and transformative education inform the inquiry into two selected everyday landscapes. Arguing that aesthetic experience can evoke transformative learning, the author proposes and models a three-step model and arts-based methods for exploring and interpreting place that support the development of awareness/consciousness, discernment, and integration. Insights garnered from the author’s experiences with everyday places are discussed in the context of transformative learning. Implications of the model for other contexts are explored