Description
Using the core book “Mycophilia - Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms” and the documentary film “Fantastic Fungi”, we will explore the biology of mushrooms and the much larger systems that mushrooms support and that support mushrooms (ie, fungi), the different types of mushrooms (edible and poisonous), the worlds of mushroom gathering and mushroom gatherers, and the possibility or reality that mushroom systems and other plant systems have the capacities of sentient and sapient functions or communication and of responding to changes in their environments. We will additionally explore human uses of mushroom and mushroom systems in dealing with pollution, in manufacturing, in dealing with cancer and other diseases and other medicinal uses, and the uses of, consumption of, benefits of and histories of psychedelic mushrooms.
Weekly Topics
Week One - Fantastic Fungi Documentary, Mycophilia Introduction pp xi to xix and other Introductions
Week Two - Forays and Festivals, pp 1 to 37
Week Three - Conferences and Collectors, pp 38 to 63
Week Four - Mutualists, Decomposers, and Parasites, pp 64 to 93
Week Five - Hunters, Gathers, and Thieves, pp 94 to 125
Week Six - The Exotics, pp 126 to 139
Week Seven - Truffles, pp 140 to 163
Week Eight - All About Buttons, pp 164 to 182
Week Nine - The New Superfood, pp 183 to 204
Week Ten - Fungi That Make You Well and Fungi That Make You Sick, pp 205 to 235
Week Eleven- Shrooms, pp 236 to 264
Week Twelve- Mycotechnologies, pp 265 to 282
Week Thirteen- Edible Mushrooms & Poisonous Mushrooms of California
Week Fourteen - Favorite Mushroom Recipes
Bibliography
“Mycophilia / Revelations from the Weird World of Mushrooms” (2011) by Eugenia Bone
Documentary ”Fantastic Fungi” (2019) Directed and Produced by Louie Schwartzberg
Additional voluntary readings:
”Fantastic Fungi / How Mushrooms Can Heal, Shift Consciousness & Save The Planet” (2019) Edited by Paul Stamets
”Entangled Life / How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures” (2020) by Merlin Sheldrake