A Path Through Tumultuous Times
Affordable and available to take whenever you’re ready, this flexible, interactive, online course demystifies the interlocking ecological, economic, and social crises of our often frightening and confusing times.
And offers a tantalizing cultural vision of how we might respond — reclaiming much that we miss — in the context of the diverse realities we face today.
“Forward movement is not helpful if what is needed is a change of direction.”
— David Fleming
These are trying times for humanity: it is hard to avoid awareness that things are already bad and rapidly getting worse. And yet, this time is our lifetime — the only time we have to make sense of things and carve the stories of our lives.
Perhaps we have a hazy understanding of what’s gone wrong, of why so many lives feel hollow, so many futures seem hopeless. Perhaps we recognize that economic systems and social structures are collapsing around us, under the weight of their own deep flaws. But we’re less sure of how we might prepare ourselves to weather this period of great transition, or how we might change direction to collectively survive — and even thrive — in the future.
This flexibly-paced online offering is grounded in the insights of the late David Fleming, who presciently understood that the market economy was doomed, yet — exploring how cultures throughout history achieved community, music and joy — crafted a compelling vision that birthed a global movement through its rare ability to inspire grounded hope and action.
Whether you’re completely new to exploring these issues, or perhaps have been engaging with them for decades while gradually watching things worsen, A Path Through Tumultuous Times offers just that.
Exploration
This unique offering offers a menu of 70+ hours of content, to draw from and engage with as suits you, your lifestyle and your learning style. Including:
- The full content of the book Surviving the Future: Culture, Carnival and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy (as audio, text or both)
- Videos from course creator and facilitator Shaun Chamberlin guiding you through, and reflecting on the contents
- Pre-recorded webinars from distinguished guest contributors (see below)
- Supplementary articles and reading, selected to draw out deeper nuances
- Video segments — ranging from original film clips to songs! — created or curated to cast further light on the subjects at hand
- Entertaining audio clips from the late David Fleming
- Live sessions hosted by Shaun and/or StF alumni
- Discussion questions to explore with Shaun and other participants/alumni in the StF forums
- Guided (and open) access to LeanLogic.online
After moving through which, you will…
Possess new perspective on — and deepened understanding of — what is unfolding on our planet and in our cultures.
Be aware of a range of meaningful pathways that might be walked in response.
Guests
Nate Hagens
Vandana Shiva
Kate Raworth
Mark Boyle
Helena Norberg-Hodge
Rob Hopkins
Kali Akuno
Isabelle Frémeaux
David Abram
Community
In creating A Path Through Tumultuous Times we have tried to honour two seemingly contrary impulses.
On the one hand, we heard the calls for an offering that would be available to people year-round, to take in their own time, at their own speed and in their own style.
On the other, conversation and community are at the heart of all the Surviving the Future offerings, and we didn’t want to lose that magic…
Our solution is to offer you options! As you move through the course you will find that you can treat it entirely as a solo experience, fitting it into your lifestyle as you will.
Or if you’re keen to, you’ll find many opportunities for meaningful interaction with others, beyond the pre-recorded. Course facilitator Shaun Chamberlin will be engaging with your posts in our forum and at LeanLogic.online (as will other participants), Shaun and our alumni host optional live spaces almost every day for you to join, and we have a 24/7 videocall room where you can set up live conversations of your own. There is also a live gathering of StF participants past and present on the first Friday of each month, to which you will be invited for more chances to connect with our warm and active global community.
As ever with community, what you get out will have a lot to do with what you put in!
While those walking a more solitary path are warmly welcomed and provided for.
Testimonials
“It was one of the most important experiences I’ve had the privilege of participating in ever. I found that what I learned was relevant to understanding the obstacles and options towards shaping a viable future and useful to share with the growing number of people realizing our predicament.”
“In preparing the content and engaging with our forum discussions and questions, it was soon apparent to me how much work and love Shaun puts into this program.
I would enthusiastically recommend it to anyone wishing to engage with the challenges and opportunities our civilization will be faced with in the coming times.”
“I have received a solid grounding in the visionary work of David Fleming along with inspiration and insight from numerous and diverse guest speakers as well as all the wonderful quotes and songs included in the eight modules.
Above all — a wonderfully unexpected surprise — I have become part of a community. A group of like-minded souls where I feel safe enough to be vulnerable amid catastrophe. I have tried to give back to this community and will continue to do so.”
“The online format of the course was excellent! It flowed very smoothly and was user friendly.”
“This course was so much more than I expected it to be. Such an inspiration!”
“Learning online isn’t as scary or difficult as I thought it might have been.”
“Months after finishing the course, I am thinking and talking about it weekly.”
“There is a path forward, and there is hope.”
“Thank you for this course. When I started it 18 months ago, I felt desperate and lost. Especially during the first months, it helped me a lot to get better, allowing me to grieve and to find my way to move forward.“
“This course has vastly improved my understanding of the world we currently live in and our predicament. It has also given me inspiration for my future life and lots of further resources to engage with to keep me on this new path.”
“The course offers so much more than can be succinctly described; and it immediately offers a sense of community. No matter when you take the course, or how you go through it, it is always a living and shared journey.”
“When I started, I expected to find a path forward, which I did.
Unexpected was the scale of and commitment I feel towards this vision, reflecting how empowering this course can be.”
“I have learned a lot of uncomfortable truths through this course, but rather than plunging into a state of depression and futility, it has inspired me and I feel I am ready for action. I feel more alive.
Perhaps being made aware that we are on the brink of a massive change has made me reevaluate my life and the things that are important to me. Let’s do this!!”
“This was my first experience of online learning, and I didn’t leave with a single disappointment. The course curates an extraordinary line-up of thinkers, writers and do-ers, interweaving them all into a compelling journey of deep thought and bonanza of possibility.
What a privilege! I am inspired, and in awe, and eternally grateful to all that contributed. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this course.”
“David Fleming’s works on their own are well worth studying, but this course adds so much more to the experience. The core reading assignments from Fleming’s works are well-structured, with options for different learning styles.
The guest speakers build on ideas or themes in the text of Surviving the Future and add dimension and context while providing additional food for thought to the really pleasurable discussions in the forums.”
“It changed the way I think, broke through some of my fixed perspectives, brought comfort.”
“Before taking A Path Through Tumultuous Times, I had been making small, incremental changes to my lifestyle like using less plastic and buying locally produced, organic food…
I had been increasingly upset by a sense of cognitive dissonance, but now see a way to live in alignment with my values and greater integrity.
More than a path, the course has given me a purpose for the future.”
“I will, without doubt, remember that this course was the catalyst for my epiphany: suddenly it came to me, this is why I’m on the Earth…
My life up-ended, my habits amended, my knowledge extended, my abilities enlisted, my instincts respected, my passion rekindled, my courage emboldened, my ambition ignited. Watch out world!”
“You are doing a fantastic job at holding space for people in transitioning and the process of learning, letting go and move beyond. This work is dearly needed and will be more so in the near future.”
“If I could dance on a tabletop to
prove my appreciation for the course,
I would do it… (and I can’t dance a lick!)”
— Surviving the Future participant
Inclusive pricing — your choice!
Our Surviving the Future courses are available worldwide, and financial resources are far from evenly or fairly distributed within societies or across the world.
So to reduce financial barriers to education and participation, we are pleased to offer a sliding-scale pricing model, encouraging enrollees to consider and choose their price based on their individual circumstances.
This relies on honesty and trust. We do not ask for proof or explanation of any sort for your choice of price level. We do, however, ask that your choice is based on thoughtfulness and integrity as you consider your actual financial position. For payment by installments or any queries, please contact us.
Under “Payment options” below, you can pay at the price that feels right for you. Here is some sense of our costs and context, to inform your choice:
Higher tier: USD $150 / €125 / £110
This pricing level reflects the actual cost to setup, run and sustain the course. We ask you to pay at this level if you have above-average financial resources and will not be disadvantaged or face any type of insecurity in meeting your basic needs. Your full price payment helps support those who would otherwise have a hard time accessing the course.
Because our Surviving the Future courses attract participants from every continent, when considering whether you fall into the “above average” category please think more broadly than your local context and milieu. And we are grateful to those who have even given more than the higher-tier price, in solidarity and support of inclusive pricing for others!
Middle tier: USD $100 / €85 / £75
This pricing level reflects a reduced price for the course. When choosing your price below, we invite you to pay at this pricing level if you have enough financial resources to contribute to the course cost, but not at the full level, and are able to comfortably meet your basic needs.
Lower tier: USD $50 / €43.00 / £37.00 (or less)
This is a supported price for the course. When naming your price below, we invite you to pay at this level if your currency conversions are distinctly unfavorable, or you are unemployed or experiencing other hardships that affect your ability to meet your needs.
If this lower tier pricing represents a barrier to your participation, we invite you to instead apply for a Surviving the Future scholarship.
Scholarships
If, after considering the above options, finances remain a meaningful barrier to your participation, please complete our simple trust-based application for a Surviving the Future scholarship. Again, no proof of need is required.
Our scholarship fund is limited and awards are made on a rolling basis, after review of applications.
Payment options
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(no processing fees, additional currencies arrangeable on next page)
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Pay by Credit/Debit Card
(charges us a 3% processing fee)
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Meet Shaun Chamberlin.
Shaun was involved with the Transition Towns network from its inception, co-founding Transition Town Kingston and authoring the movement’s second book, The Transition Timeline, in 2009.
In exploring the cultural narratives charting society’s course, he has since been one of Extinction Rebellion’s first arrestees, chair of the Ecological Land Co-operative, a director of the campaigning organisation Global Justice Now and (for his sins) an advisor to the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change.
He has written and edited diverse publications, including conceiving and creating the book Surviving the Future: Culture, Carnival, and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy from the work of his late mentor David Fleming, and spoken at venues from Occupy camps to Parliaments.
He was also executive producer of 2020 film The Sequel: What Will Follow Our Troubled Civilisation? , and puts the theory into practice as part of the community around legendary free inn ‘The Happy Pig‘.
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