The Possibilities of Rhizomatic Imagination and Ecopedagogy Amid the End of an Era
César "CJ" Baldelomar is Visiting Lecturer in Religion at Mount Holyoke College, where he teaches classes on religion and ecology. CJ is also an adjunct professor at Boston College, where he is currently a Doctoral Candidate in Theology and Education working on his dissertation. An interdisciplinary scholar, CJ has two law degrees from St. Thomas College of Law (J.D. and LL.M) and two master's degrees from Harvard University (one in education and one in theological studies). He is also working on his first book, titled Fragmented "Theological Imaginings" (Convivium Press).
*Note: This essay is adapted from its original version as a script for a presentation delivered at the Spirituality and Sustainability Conference in Assisi, Italy, on 10 June 2023.
First, a vignette that encapsulates the main themes of the essay.
During early May 2023, just as the weather started feeling like spring in New England, I noticed a dove nesting in my neighbor’s gutter. For three weeks, I observed with fascination and admiration as the dove diligently remained in place, awaiting the next generation to emerge from its shell of comfort. Then one day rain and thunder suddenly interrupted the weather pattern. A flash rainstorm—more common during summer—washed away the nest. The eggs, the very promise of new life, now lay cracked on the concrete ground. The dove would periodically return to where its nest once stood over the next three days or so. Was it hoping the rainstorm never happened... hoping the eggs were there or even hatched? Or did it forget about the deadly rainfall? Or was it mourning? Perhaps all of the above and more.