The poet Austin Robert Smith joins Microcollege for an examination of the current state of higher education and the role of poetry in a liberal arts education and otherwise.

Austin Smith is a poet and formerly a Jones Lecturer at Stanford University. He grew up on a family dairy farm in northwestern Illinois before receiving a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an MA from the University of California-Davis, and an MFA from the University of Virginia. Austin's poems have appeared in The New Yorker, Poetry Magazine, Yale Review, Sewanee Review, Ploughshares, New England Review, Poetry East, ZYZZYVA, Pleiades, Virginia Quarterly Review, 32 Poems and Threepenny Review, amongst others. His most recent collection of poetry, Flyover Country, a celebration of the rural Midwest and small-town life, is available through Princeton University Press.

Flyover Country, Available Now: Flyover Country

Substack: Poem-a-Day

Learn more about Thoreau College and the microcollege movement at https://thoreaucollege.org/

Driftless Folk School: https://www.driftlessfolkschool.org/

Microcollege Podcast Producer: Liam McGilligan

Julie Tomaro and Nicholas WazeeGale are both instructors at the Driftless Folk School in rural southwestern Wisconsin. Their dialogue this week revolves around the Folk School tradition in America, some of their life experiences leading to their involvement in one, and the important role a Folk school can play in helping to build personal and cultural resilience.

Julie Tomaro is the owner of Blue Bobbin Studio in Viroqua. Julie has been sewing and crafting for most of her life, though more recently her journey has led her to take these skills into the world of sustainability and reaching towards zero waste. Through sewing for herself and her community she has found a new platform to empower others reaching for those goals themselves.

Nicholas WazeeGale has been a lifelong student of Nature, traditional culture, and sustainability. He is passionate about Nature observation, living closely with the Earth and natural rhythms, hunting and gathering, craft and handwork, and community. He resides in the Driftless region with his wife and children and has taught for DFS, the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, and independently for almost 20 years. He is a certified wilderness guide, holds a level three track and sign certificate through CyberTracker, and he and his wife earn their livelihood teaching outdoor skills and hand crafts, running summer camps, and selling fine handcrafts through their business, WildRoots HandCrafts.

Blue Bobbin Studio website: https://www.bluebobbinstudio.com/

Blue Bobbin Studio Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluebobbinstudio/

Wildroots Handcrafts website: https://www.wildrootshandcrafts.com/

Wildroots Handcrafts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildroots.handcrafts/

Driftless Folk School: https://www.driftlessfolkschool.org/

Folk Education Association of America: https://www.folkschoolalliance.org/

Microcollege Podcast Producer: Liam McGilligan

Ciarán Willis speaks about his experiences leading up to the foundation of A Place Beyond, a unique approach to the remote learning boom prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ciarán is currently the operations director at Deep Springs College. Prior to founding A Place Beyond, he was born and raised in Portland, Oregon and studied English Literature at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He lectured English at the University of Finance and Economics in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; and he is a faculty member at NOLS, instructing mountaineering, rock climbing, backcountry skiing, and adaptive leadership throughout the Western US and Alaska.

Learn more about Thoreau College and the microcollege movement at https://thoreaucollege.org/

Driftless Folk School: https://www.driftlessfolkschool.org/

Deep Springs College: https://www.deepsprings.edu/

A Place Beyond: https://www.aplacebeyond.com/

National Outdoor Leadership School: https://www.nols.edu/en/

Microcollege Podcast Producer: Liam McGilligan

On this episode of Microcollege, guest Sue Darlington and Jacob discuss the story of Deep Springs College and its subtle but resounding societal impact during its 105-year existence.

Sue Darlington is the current president of Deep Springs College, and former professor of Anthropology and Asian Studies at Hampshire College, where she taught for 30 years. Her research focuses on socially-engaged Buddhism, with particular attention to environmentalism and Buddhism in Thailand.

Deep Springs College: https://www.deepsprings.edu/

Learn more about Thoreau College and the microcollege movement at https://thoreaucollege.org/

Driftless Folk School:https://www.driftlessfolkschool.org/

Microcollege Podcast Producer: Liam McGilligan

Lucien joins Microcollege for a conversation about the intersections between art, spirituality, and education, as well as his artistic process and the divine wisdom with which his work is infused.

Lucien Dante Lazar is a multi-disciplinary artist, musician, essayist, poet, social worker, philosopher, and anthroposophist from Evanston, IL.

Find Lucien on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luciendantelazarart/

Learn more about Thoreau College and the microcollege movement at https://thoreaucollege.org/

Driftless Folk School: https://www.driftlessfolkschool.org/

Microcollege Podcast Producer: Liam McGilligan

Dr. Julie Shackelford discusses the origins of the Scandinavian Folk High School movement and its applications to a wide range of issues facing students and educators today.

Dr. Julie Shackelford is an academic, writer, polyglot, anthropologist, Wisconsin native, and a teacher at the International People’s College in Elsinore, Denmark.

International People's College: https://ipc.dk/

Folk Education Association of America: https://www.folkschoolalliance.org/

Association of Folk High Schools in Denmark: https://danishfolkhighschools.com/

Find Julie on linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/julie-shackelford

Microcollege Podcast Producer: Liam McGilligan

Thoreau College alumni Liam McGilligan and Jacob Rowland outline their educational upbringing and reflect on their experiences at Thoreau College versus other more traditional institutions of higher education.

Jacob Rowland is an alumnus of Thoreau College who is currently enrolled at Oberlin College, with interests in philosophy and literature.

Liam McGilligan is an alumnus of the Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program and Thoreau College, and the producer of this podcast.

Learn more about Thoreau College and the microcollege movement at https://thoreaucollege.org/

Driftless Folk School: https://www.driftlessfolkschool.org/

Microcollege Podcast Producer: Liam McGilligan

Podcast host Jacob Hundt provides an introduction to the concept of “microcolleges” as an alternative to traditional forms of higher education.

Jacob Hundt is the Executive Director of Thoreau College in Viroqua, Wisconsin. Growing up on a dairy farm in the Driftless region of southwestern Wisconsin, and as a founding student at the Youth Initiative High School, Jacob gathered inspiration for transformation in higher education through his studies at Deep Springs College, the American University in Bulgaria, and the University of Chicago.

Learn more about Thoreau College and the microcollege movement at https://thoreaucollege.org/

Driftless Folk School: https://www.driftlessfolkschool.org/

The Microcollege Podcast is produced by Liam McGiligan.