Resources for Teachers and Students on Robert Redford
Prepare: In addition to being a renowned actor,
director and filmmaker, Robert Redford has extensive credentials
as an environmentalist, and in the quest for environmental
peace has served on the boards of directors of some half-dozen
environmental institutes and agencies. Those interested,
can read his online
biography.
Read:
Robert Redford wrote an
original essay for the Architects of Peace project.
In it, he theorizes that modern society is experiencing
a crisis in feeling and imagination.
Explore: Robert Redford has long been a supporter
of the National
Resources Defense Council, NRDC, serving on their
board of directors and taking active part in many NRDC advocacy
projects. Considerable resources are available on the NRDC
website, covering a range of environmental concerns from
global warming to nuclear weapons and waste.
Write: In his Architects of Peace essay, Robert
Redford writes that if our humanity "is overtaken by
the material and the cosmetic, there will be no hope of
peace." Is this true? Defining materialism as a concern
about material possessions with little interest in ethical
or spiritual values, what exactly is the relationship between
peace and materialism? If materialism leads us away from
peace, what alternative values would assist humanity in
the achievement of peace? Write a two-to-four page reflection
paper on the relationship of materialism and peace.
Expand: In 1981 Robert Redford founded the Sundance
Institute, which sponsors the Sundance
Film festival. A great number of the independent
films entered into the festival deal with peace issues.
Not many people realize that there is now an online edition
of the festival, which allows registered users to preview
shorts from the various entries.
Additional Resource: Robert Redford is a board member
for the Gaylord A. Nelson Environmental Endowment at the
Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of
Wisconsin. The institute's Center for Sustainability
and the Global Environment has an excellent website
containing research summaries, educational materials, and
extensive links.
Biography of Robert
Redford