September 24 - 26, 2010
Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts

Fees/Registration | Location | Agenda | Accommodations | Travel Information | Ride Share and Room Share

A broad range of investigations on the use of contemplative practices in various disciplines and co-curricular initiatives will be represented at this year’s conference, which advances the development of “The Contemplative Academy,” a contemplatively oriented college or university that includes reflective and experiential methods across the campus. Over 60 presentations from all sectors—music and geology departments to health and counseling centers—will run in concurrent sessions on Saturday and Sunday, including a number of workshops about specific practices.  Selected presentations are listed below.

Stephen Prothero, Professor of Religion at Boston University and author, most recently, of God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World--and Why Their Differences Matter will give the keynote address on Friday, September 24th at 8 pm.  His topic, "The Art of Doing Nothing: Wandering as Contemplative Practice," presents wandering as a theme in the world's spiritual traditions, and an antidote to our contemporary preoccupation with efficiency and productivity.

 

 

Amishi Jha, Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania will present “Bringing Attention to Mindfulness Research” on Saturday September 25th at 9 am.  Professor Jha will discuss the hypothesis that changes in the neurocognitive system of attention may underlie a broad range of the benefits of mindfulness training, including stronger immune function, reduced rumination, improved mood, and larger working memory capacity.  The experiments she will present describe work her laboratory has conducted on changes in attentional alerting, orienting, conflict monitoring, conflict adaptation, and sustained attention with mindfulness training in medical, educational, military, and prevention contexts.

 

Ed Sarath, Professor of Music and Director of the Program in Creativity and Consciousness Studies at the University of Michigan, will give an evening performance with a group of his students on Saturday, September 25th at 8 pm.  Ed Sarath is actively nationally and internationally as performer, composer, and recording artist, and author and founder and president of the International Society for Improvised Music.

 

 

Panel Discussion Sunday, September 26th:
Do contemplative approaches simply add value by enhancing learning and creativity in the discipline’s customary subject matter, or do they change, expand, or even transform, the academic disciplines themselves?  “Contemplative Pedagogy and the Academic Disciplines: Value Added or Changes Everything?,” a plenary panel on with faculty from four different academic disciplines (English, Art History, Religious Studies and Psychology), will address this question and explore the intersections of contemplative and academic modes of inquiry in their teaching and scholarly work.  Thomas Coburn, Visiting Scholar, Brown University and President Emeritus, Naropa University, will serve as the discussant.

 

Attendance and Conference Fees

Attendance is restricted to Association Members.  New members may join at the conference attendance rate of $50 for a one-year faculty membership/$30 for a one-year graduate student, part-time, or retired membership. If you're not yet a member, you can complete the membership application as part of the conference registration process.

Conference Fee
$250 regular/$190 student, part-time, or retired. 
The fee includes meals from reception Friday evening through mid-morning break on Sunday.

No-meals option: $200 regular/$140 student, part-time, or retired
The fee does not include meals except for the Friday reception and light refreshments during breaks.

Cancellation Policy
Before August 13th: Full refund, less 10% processing fee.
After August 13th: Due to contractual obligations, we will be unable to provide refunds on cancellations made after this date.
Payment is due by Friday, August 13, 2010.  No refunds will be made due to cancellation after the due date. 

 

Location

All conference events will take place on the Amherst College Campus.  Converse Hall, where there is registration and a reception on Friday, September 24, 2010 at 7:00 pm, is shown on the campus map at https://www.amherst.edu/map/camp_map-3-1.html.

 

Agenda

View/download a .pdf of the conference agenda.
View/download a .pdf of detailed schedules and locations of the parallel and plenary sessions.

 

Accommodations

The conference has a group booking agreement with two nearby hotels (in Hadley, MA):

Holiday Inn Express
$151/night
413-582-0002

Econolodge
$124/night (includes breakfast)
413-582-7077

Guests make their own reservations. In order to receive the discounted group rates, you must reserve by August 9, 2010 and mention the Contemplative Academy.  This tends to be a very busy weekend, so please book your room as soon as possible.

 

Travel Information

By Air
The nearest airport is Bradley International Airport (Windsor Locks, CT) , which serves both Hartford, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts. Bradley is approximately an hour from campus; Logan Airport (Boston, MA) is two and a half hours from campus. Shuttle transportation from either airport to campus is available (see "Shuttle Services" below). If you're driving from Bradley, follow the Driving Directions.
Other airports within approximately two or two and a half hours from Amherst are Green Airport (Providence, RI), Manchester Airport (Manchester, NH) and Albany International Airport (Albany, NY).

By Bus
Peter Pan Bus Lines, in partnership with Greyhound, has regular service to Amherst. Call (800) 237-8747.

Within the Five College area, the University of Massachusetts Transit System, in conjunction with the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, offers a bus service between the Five Colleges and surrounding towns.’

By Train
Amtrak has limited service to Amherst and extensive service to Springfield, Massachusetts, just 30 minutes from campus. If arriving in Springfield, transportation to campus is available through Peter Pan Bus Lines, (800) 237-8747, or by shuttle (see below).

Shuttle Services
Valley Transporter provides shuttle service between the campus and nearby airports and train stations. Call (800) 872-8752 or (413) 253-1350 for information on rates, schedules and reservations.
Seemo Shuttle provides service in the Pioneer Valley and to Bradley, Logan and JFK airports. Call (800) 908-2829 or visit their Website to make reservations.
Bluebird Airport Shuttle and Car Service is located in South Hadley. Call (413) 221-4512.
GottaGoTaxi provides service to Bradley and Logan. Call (413) 461-3070.
Limousine Services
Carey Worldwide Chauffeured Services may be reached at (800) 336-4646.
Exclusive Car Service, Inc. may be reached at (877) 695-4665.
Michael's Limousine Service may be reached at (800) 533-8470.
Royal Coach Limousines may be reached at (800) 325-1976 or (413) 592-1000.

Driving Directions

BY CAR FROM EAST/WEST
(Rhode Island, Boston, Brown)

From Brown take Rt. 146 north/west to I-90 west
Take I-90 (Mass Turnpike) to Exit 4 (I-91)
Take I-91 north to exit 19 (Rte. 9)
Take Rte. 9 east to Rte. 116 south
These roads intersect at a stoplight at the top of a hill. Converse Hall is across the intersection and on your right; downtown Amherst is on your left.

BY CAR FROM NORTH/SOUTH
(New York, Dartmouth, Trinity, Middlebury, Wesleyan, Williams, Yale)

From Williams take Rte. 2 east to I-91 south
From Middlebury take Rte. 7 south to Rte. 103 south to I-91 south
Take I-91 to exit 19 from south, or exit 20 from north (you'll be on Rte. 9 east)
Take Rt. 9 east to Rt. 116 south

These roads intersect at a stoplight at the top of a hill. Converse Hall is across the intersection and on your right; downtown Amherst is on your left.

BY CAR FROM NORTHEAST
(Maine, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby)

From Bates take I-495 south to I-95 south
Take I-95 south to I-495 south
Take I-495 south to exit 29B (Rte. 2 west)
Take Rte. 2 west to Rte. 202 south
Take Rte. 202 south to Amherst Rd. in Pelham (turn right)
Take Amherst Rd. toward Amherst. (The road changes names to Pelham Rd. and then to Main Street.)

In downtown Amherst, turn left on South Pleasant Street. Continue for two blocks to the stoplight at the intersection with Rte. 116. Go left at the light and Converse Hall will be on your right.

Parking

Parking for the conference is available in the lot adjacent to Converse.  The lot is marked for faculty and staff, but we have permission to use it during the weekend for the conference. Signs will be posted for “Contemplative Academy Parking.”

 

Ride Share and Room Share

After registration, attendees will receive access to Ride Share and Room Share listservs to facilitate transportation and housing. Please contact beth@contemplativemind.org if you wish to join the listserv and have not received information about how to access it.