What we’re about
The Forest Way: Re-visioning Western Outlooks on Nature, Society, and Self
Europeans have lost touch with their roots—with their sense of community and heritage, with their natural environments and mystery traditions.
In their place, we’ve seen the rise of cosmopolitan mindsets, of technocratic regimes, of dictated ‘sameness’ and universalist discourse.
This group is meant for those who wish to reconnect with their roots, rediscovering allegiances to ‘people’ and ‘place,’ and cultivating a love for the European longue durée.
Whether through cultural outings, nature-based activities, or text-centred discussions, we seek to step off the train of homogenising futures to walk a forest path—the ‘way of the woods’ that leads back to our roots and on to an alternate future, there to encounter a new sense of vitality and purpose.
Please join us!
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Terms of Service
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Disclaimer
In no instance will organisers be held liable to any party for any direct, indirect, consequential, or other damages arising from his or her attendance at one of our events. Attendance is at your own risk. The organiser, co-organiser, host, and Meetup are not responsible for loss, damage, theft, injury to oneself or equipment, allergic reactions, traffic or parking violations, or accidents with your vehicle.
RSVP Etiquette
Some circumstances and venue settings necessitate that we limit the number of attendees. In that case, we’ll create a waiting list for anyone who would like to participate should a space become free.
If you’re unable to attend an event that you’ve registered for, please be courteous in updating your RSVP the night before so as to enable organisers to prepare accordingly, potentially allowing others the opportunity to sign up in your place.
If you mark yourself as attending but fail to turn up, we will record this as a ‘no-show.’ Organisers reserve the right to discontinue membership of those who have accrued two or more ‘no-shows’ for this meetup’s events, or who have remained inactive in the group for more than a year.
Thank you!
Upcoming events (1)
See all- For Love of Land and PeopleScott Monument , Edinburgh
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For this event, we’ll concentrate upon two readings that discuss the benefits of attaching oneself to a place and a people.
In the first reading, Scott Donald Sampson focuses upon one’s developing an attachment to a land, which he explores through the concept of topophilia, defined in the essay as “an emotional bond with place…including both living and non-living components.”
Sampson proposes that “a meaningful sense of place has four primary dimensions—emotional/affective, spatial/geographic, ecological/interconnections, and temporal/ historical. A true place-sense includes the intertwining of all four.”
In the second reading, Avram Davis also affirms the wisdom of developing an allegiance to a land, but as coupled with an attachment to a nation, people, or tribe.
Davis writes that
“The heart of the particularistic and the tribal consists of the close and the intimate… It rejects rhetoricians who speak of ‘healing-the-planet’ when they are without any specific responsibility to family, group, or land…
“The strength of the tribalist vision resides in three major areas. In the notion of a specific region, by which I mean a specific consecrated acreage. In the notion of kinship… And in the notion of a common past which moves toward a common future.”
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Find the readings here:
Scott Donald Sampson, “The Topophilia Hypothesis” (please focus on highlighted passages):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wixmUMNNIMlD6oM0jwPJa_FFcNExppxl/view?usp=sharing
Avram Davis, “Tribalism”:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cqEqOqFdmFB67RbUOTeb-wyMb-AgL50L/view?usp=sharing
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Weather permitting, we’ll aim to meet outside for this event.
Please join us for a lively discussion of these texts!
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Best wishes,
Sonja and Christopher
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* Please note that the quality of our discussion depends upon the informed participation of attendees. By signing up you agree to complete the readings and come ready with a few thoughts or questions for the group. Thank you!
** Please also note that this will be a joint event with the Scrutopia Edinburgh (https://www.meetup.com/scrutopia-edinburgh/) and New Culture Forum Edinburgh (https://www.meetup.com/new-culture-forum-edinburgh-meetup/) Meetup groups, with an invitation extended to members of the NCF Locals platform as well.
