IDEAS, NEWS AND RESOURCES | November 2020
The Taos Institute's mission is to bring together scholars and practitioners concerned with the social processes essential for the construction of reason, knowledge, and human value, and their application in relational, collaborative and appreciative practices around the world.
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The Many Ways to Get Involved! |
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Brief Encounter with The Taos Institute |
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"Our ideas/knowledge about the world are born out of years of living and experiencing, learning and growing, observing and thinking and since everyone’s life trajectories have so many variations it is easy to see how our world means many different things to different people."
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"As social constructionist thinkers, we appreciate a multiverse of perspectives and how they might be played out."
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“Troubling What We Think We Know”
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We all have ideas about the way the world is, how it was, and the way it should be. These ideas moor us to our worlds in ways that keep us oriented with a sense of confidence in our everyday lives. Let us use the events surrounding the US presidential election over the past few days and weeks; as US citizens living in Canada these events have sorely tested our understanding of the United States.
With all of the debate surrounding election procedures, political personalities, and policies related to running a country, what has been most striking and unsettling for us is that in this moment our sense of “what the United States is” or who the citizens are has been tipped over. Our cherished beliefs about US citizens as being welcoming and inclusive of others, cooperative with others to build solutions regarding issues of the day, and upholding democratic traditions and institutions have had to face the cold hard fact that approximately half of the United States citizenry have a very different view and experience of the country of our origin than we do.
Our point here is not a tribal one that tries to make a case that our views are right and others are wrong. This is where a lot of public discourse has been centered and becomes polarized and frozen. Rather, we are saying that “what we thought we knew” about the common values of the people of our home country is now under “further review” (to use a sports metaphor). This is a “wake-up call” for us. Gary Mason of The Globe and Mail states: “What this election showed above all else is that the U.S. is not the place many thought it was. Maybe this is the year America comes face to face with itself” (2020, p. A15).
Our ideas/knowledge about the world are born out of years of living and experiencing, learning and growing, observing and thinking and since everyone’s life trajectories have so many variations it is easy to see how our world means many different things to different people. When we run into others who have organized their thinking about their world and their place in it in ways that differ from ours (or maybe even contradict ours), the stage may be set for defensive digging in and perhaps even counterattacking—this way of relating is usually corrosive and counterproductive—a sort of discursive sinkhole. Political seasons in our countries are fertile grounds for this. But this is the precise moment when we can change course from fighting, being stuck in dichotomies, and alienating those who are different from us to taking stock of our own thinking and commitments.
How often do we ask others how they came to know what they know before we offer our own thoughts? This question goes beyond the specific elements of “what” we know. How often do we take a clear-eyed look at what ideas and beliefs we have incorporated into our lives? Is it possible we are standing up for ideas that have lost their utility and merit? Does our understanding of our world map onto what is happening around us? Do our ideas and positions live up to our expectations of them?
To be fair, close scrutiny could also reaffirm the value of these ideas for us—we may recommit to them upon close review. But can we leave space to wonder if we are “right”? As social constructionist thinkers, we appreciate a multiverse of perspectives and how they might be played out. When our cherished ideas are questioned, do we have the strength to see how our ideas could be seen through others’ eyes? Engaging in such scrutiny could feel like putting ourselves on the line.
This political moment in America is forcing us to reconsider what we have taken for granted. As social constructionists we hold a stance based upon our ethics of relating to others. We hope that that stance is created through listening, considering, reclaiming, and revising through conversations with others, whether that conversation is in the form of reading, talking, watching a performance, hearing a song, or viewing artwork. So it seems that we need to simultaneously claim, articulate, and live from our stance as we listen to others’ and their ideas of difference because rejection of viewpoints that vary from our own can hurt us and those around us. In a previous Taos Brief Encounters essay (“Holding Tensions,” 2017), Dan wrote, “Looking at the ways in which tension can be a friend or a muse invites us to embrace difference as not only desirable, but also generative in our lives”—as raw material to review in order to live better lives so we do not “live in our own echo chamber.” So we urge you to summon the courage to really listen to ideas that are at variance with your own and be prepared to hold your positions gently.
References
Wulff, D. (2017, April). Holding tensions. Brief Encounters with the Taos Institute.
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Celebrate the Launch of Our New Book |
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Come Celebrate with the Editors at the Launch of the New Book
Join us on December 2, 2020
1:00 - 2:00 pm US Eastern (New York) time
Edited by Sheila McNamee, Mary M. Gergen,
Celiane Camargo-Borges, and Emerson F. Rasera
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About the book
The SAGE Handbook of Social Constructionist Practice is a celebration of voices from the Taos Institute. This new book offers a major review of social construction. The volume showcases the latest theory and application of social construction across a range of disciplines. This review of the field is timely while also pointing to future directions in practice. The focus in each chapter is on real-world practice in addition to theoretical work, thus making it useful for advanced students, scholars, and practitioners alike.
About the Launch
Join the editors of the new book as they share the exciting and innovative social constructionist practices in research, therapy, organizational development, education, healthcare, and community development.
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Order your book now and save 25% with promo code TAOS20: Order Here
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Professional Development Opportunities |
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January 28-30, 2021
An Online Seminar
In this 9-hour Zoom seminar spread over 3 days (3 hours each day), Harlene and Sheila will introduce, discuss, and provide opportunities to put constructionist theory to practice. Given the challenges we confront globally, discussion will center on exploring the practical implications of social construction in difficult times. Special attention will be given to participants’ own projects and professional contexts. We will provide ample time for sharing and interacting.
This workshop will be useful for those familiar with social construction and relational practice as well as those new or unfamiliar with these ideas. This is an opportunity to be in conversation with others who are working in or who want to work in relational ways. It is a chance to forge connections that might help us sustain relational practices.
Save $25 when you register before Dec 20, 2020!
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Feb 5-26, 2021
Fridays, 10:00 am - 12:00 noon US Eastern (New York) time
A 4-Session Online Course with
This workshop consists of 2-hour weekly conversations over four weeks using a social constructionist positioning to unpack and exchange ideas from readings and daily understandings of familiar concepts in order to reconsider the merits, utility, necessity, and potentials for continuation and/or change of those concepts. We refer to this deeper and wider examination with the verb, “troubling.” We have found that when we engage in such examinations or what we call, Research As Daily Practice with a team or group, we are able to create new possibilities, effective changes, and understandings for going forward.
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Spanish - March 5-6, 2021
10:00 am - 1:00 pm US Eastern (New York) time
English - March 12-13, 2021
10:00 am - 1:00 pm US Eastern (New York) time
In this 6-hour Zoom seminar spread over 2 days (3 hours each day), Monica will invite participants to examine, discuss and reflect on different contexts in which social movements have emerged in order to resist and challenge violent ways of relating and interacting with each other. These movements have been the result of micro, mezzo, and macro practices of oppression, marginalization, exploitation, and abuse of diverse and vulnerable peoples (Indigenous and Black peoples, Women, etc.), and aim to reclaim alternative relational practices, based on empathy, compassion, tenderness, companionship, respect, and togetherness.
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April 19 - June 6, 2021
This course introduces common premises and orienting ideas central to dialogues on social construction. The ways in which constructionist ideas differ from traditional, realist understandings of the world are explored. This course features videos and writings of Ken Gergen, Mary Gergen, Sheila McNamee, Harlene Anderson, Barnett Pearce, John Shotter, Saliha Bava and more. It consists of: weekly live calls, readings, videos, assignments, activities, learning partner conversations, online commenting, and writing. There will be live conference calls on Mondays from 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM New York time/Eastern US time. An orientation is scheduled for April 20, 2021.
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January 24 - April 25, 2021
A 12-week philosophical exploration led by Director and Co-Founder of the East Side Institute, and Taos Associate Lois Holzman
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Featured Article
By David L. Cooperrider
In the span of several months, the COVID-19 pandemic has irrevocably transformed the world as we knew it. For many, there is a sense of brokenness. But there is one silver lining: It’s in times of disruption that the best in human systems can burst forth. Read on to find out how.
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Featured Journal
Welcome to Issue 10 of the International Journal of Collaborative-Dialogic Practices, “in the time of the pandemic.” Several contributions in this Issue touch on, in one way or another, our current life and world challenges. We hope you will find time to enjoy this Issue.
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ISSUE 10 Available Now!
This free journal brings together members of a growing international community of practitioners, scholars, educators, researchers, and consultants interested in postmodern collaborative practices.
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FREE downloadable books in 12 different languages. With over 30 books in English and many more from around the world, you will enjoy reading about education, spirituality, organizational life, community building, group dynamics, leadership and more.
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By focusing on the positive aspects of aging, and the availability of resources, skills, and resiliencies, research not only brings useful insights into the realm of practice but creates hope and empowers action among older people. By moving beyond practices of repair and prevention, to emphasize growth-enhancing activities, practitioners also contribute more effectively to the societal reconstruction of aging.
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Access hundreds of articles and papers on topics such as:
- Appreciative Inquiry
- Collaborative Practices
- Dialogic Practices
- Creativity and Change
- Narrative Practices
- Relational Learning
- Relational Research
- Qualitative Research
- and so much more!
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The Mary Gergen Memorial Fund
In loving memory of Taos Institute co-founder and board member Mary Gergen, Ph.D.. Mary was an innovator in feminist theory, social constructionism, and qualitative methods. She was an inspiration and mentor to thousands of people around the world. She deeply cared about making the world a better place and her contributions will be felt for generations. Read more
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Donate to the Taos Institute
Given the current global context, the work in which we are engaged is more important than ever. You can make a difference by supporting our mission to create promising future through social construction. Read more
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John Shotter Memorial Fund
John Shotter's death on December 8, 2016, was a profound loss for the scholarly world, for the Taos Institute, and for many of us personally. Read more
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Jane Magruder Watkins Memorial Fund
We remember Jane as an avid educator. This fund will support students who apply for a need-based scholarship to attend the various Taos programs. Read more
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Peggy Penn WorldShare Fund
Supports the publication of new WorldShare Books on topics related to the work and interests of Peggy Penn, Ph.D. Read more
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