Kepler College
Encyclopedia
Kepler College is an institution of higher learning which was permitted by the state of Washington to grant degrees between March 9, 2000 and March 9, 2010. It focused on interdisciplinary liberal arts with an emphasis on the history of astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...

. However students attending Kepler College after March 9, 2010, unless they are completing a course of study, are not awarded degrees but certificates of completion of a course of study. Kepler is located in Lynnwood, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, and is named after Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler
Johannes Kepler was a German mathematician, astronomer and astrologer. A key figure in the 17th century scientific revolution, he is best known for his eponymous laws of planetary motion, codified by later astronomers, based on his works Astronomia nova, Harmonices Mundi, and Epitome of Copernican...

. The degrees granted by Kepler are not recognized by national or regional accrediting agencies.

Description

Kepler College was founded in 1991 in Seattle as a private, liberal arts college http://www.kepler.edu/mission.html. Kepler College's integrated and coordinated programs of study focus on a cross-cultural comparison of the history, astronomy, social and cultural role of astrology for the past 3000 years, including how it has been used in the sciences, politics, medicine, literature and other social institutions. As part of this study, the mathematics and application of astrology is examined using techniques ranging from the Vedic to Western systems and from the Hellenistic period through to modern day http://www.kepler.edu/Catalog2006-2008.htm. Kepler awarded its first 8 Bachelor of Arts degrees in Astrological Studies in 2004.

The Kepler College faculty have a background in both historical and modern practices of astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...

.http://kepler.edu/newsletter/faculty.htm Some are actively involved in re-examining the role astrology has played in history and in translating ancient texts. For example, Robert Hand, MA helps translate and preserve historical texts through Arhat.http://www.robhand.com/about.htm Another faculty member, Nicholas Campion
Nicholas Campion
thumb |upright |Dr Nicholas CampionNicholas Campion , is an historian with particular expertise in cultural history and the history and contemporary culture and practice of astrology. He is the author of a two volume history of Western Astrology.He is a native of Bristol, England...

, PhD, is the author of the two-volume History of Western Astrology and, in conjunction with Patrick Curry, PhD, edits the Culture and Cosmoshttp://www.cultureandcosmos.com/ journal, on the history of astrology and cultural astronomy. Others are interested in modern practices, both Eastern, such as Gary Gomes, MA http://www.astrologyguild.com/jaimini.htm and Western, such as Georgia Stathis, MBA http://www.hpleft.com/stathispro.htm.

The Kepler College board consists of prominent astrologers, educators, and business leaders http://kepler.edu/main/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=31&Itemid=120.

Criticism and controversy

The school and the Higher Education Coordinating Board approval have been criticized due to Kepler's focus on astrology. One critic affiliated with the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

 compared the study of astrology to the study of tae kwon do or quack medicine. The school's name also has been a subject of comment. John Silber
John Silber
John Robert Silber is an American academician and former candidate for public office. From 1971 to 1996 he was President of Boston University and from 1996 to 2003 Chancellor of the University. Since 2003 he has been its President Emeritus. In 1990, Silber took a leave of absence from the...

, the chancellor of Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...

 suggested that the name "honored Kepler not for his strength but for his weakness, as if a society advocating drunkenness named a school for Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...

." Silber noted, "The fact is that astrology, whether judged by its theory or its practice, is bunkum. In a free society there is no reason to prevent those who wish to learn nonsense from finding teachers who want to make money peddling nonsense. But it is inexcusable for the government to certify teachers of nonsense as competent or to authorize — that is, endorse — the granting of degrees in nonsense."

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK