ITC 2015

[Balder]

Meta-Integral has just sent out the call for papers for the upcoming 2015 Integral Theory Conference.  The theme for the conference is Integral Impacts: Using Integrative Metatheories to Catalyze Effective Change.

See here for details.

[Layman Pascal]

I share Theurj's ethical objections and have a few aesthetic ones besides!  But community, new experiences, enlivening the collective field, etc., etc....

Anyway here'sthe facebook group

[Balder]

Your photo for the group more than makes up for any aesthetic deficiencies the conference may have.

[DavidM58]

If anything significant gets posted to the facebook group, please repost here.  I don't do facebook (am I the only one left on the planet that doesn't do facebook?).

[Balder]

I just posted a link there to what I believe will be the accommodations for conference attendees (unless folks select the local homestay option or arrange for their own housing):  http://seawolfsuites.sonoma.edu/maps_photos.html

[Joseph Camosy]

Thank you David, and Congratulations!

Joe

DavidM58 said:

Congrats Layman and Bruce and "Red Lion"! My proposal was also accepted, so I will hopefully see you all there! Maybe we can have an IPM meet-up.

[DavidM58]

It's well past November 1st.  Has anyone heard any detail yet on registration for the conference?

[Balder]

It will begin pretty soon, I believe.  There were some delays, as I understand, getting things worked out on the conference and housing pricing and arrangements.

[Balder]

Announcing the Keynote Speakers for ITC 2015

 

ITC proudly announces the keynote speakers for this year’s conference. Each of these integral leaders will inspire us with their experience and insight into the impact of integral on some of the most important issues currently facing humanity. 

 

Friday, July 17

Karen O’Brien, PhD
Professor of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo, Norway

Integral in Action: Climate Change and Transformations to Sustainability

What do we mean by transformation in the context of climate change, and why is it both personal and political? This talk discusses the importance of framing climate change as an adaptive challenge rather than merely as a technical problem, and considers the implications for science and society. It explores the impacts of an integral approach on the types of responses that we prioritize when responding to global environmental challenges. In particular, it draws attention to the importance of adapting to climate change from the inside out.  

Karen O’Brien has been working on climate change impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation research for more than 25 years. In the 2007 she shared in the Nobel Peace Prize award to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. She is interested in how transdisciplinary and integral approaches to global change research can contribute to a better understanding of how societies both create and respond to change, and in particular how beliefs, values, and worldviews influence human responses to climate change and transformations to sustainability. 

 

Saturday, July 18

Bill Torbert, PhD
Principal, Action Inquiry Associates

The Kinds of Inquiry, Power, and Love Required for Timely, Developmentally Transforming Practice

Timely, developmentally transforming practice requires a combination of first-, second-, and third-person inquiry into the past, present, and future that generates single-, double-, and triple-loop feedback. Such practice also requires the exercise of less and less unilateral power and more and more of the four kinds of mutually transforming power, along with non-possessive love.  What do all these words mean? And how is our impact as change leaders increased with these kinds of inquiry, power, and love? Let's find out together on July 18!

Bill Torbert is an award-winning teacher, international consultant, board member, and author of a dozen books. He taught at Southern Methodist University, Harvard, and Boston College, where he is now Professor Emeritus of leadership. In 2013, he received the Center for Creative Leadership’s Walter F. Ulmer Lifetime Award for Applied Leadership Research, and in 2014, the Chris Argyris Career Achievement Award for his work on Collaborative Developmental Action Inquiry.


Sunday, July 19

Elza Maalouf, CEO and Co-founder
Center for Human Emergence Middle East

Integral Design in the Midst of Chaos, Bloodshed, and Revolution

How does one navigate the treacherous landscape of Middle Eastern politics and corporate practice? This talk reviews the crucial design elements of large-scale systems in Israel/Palestine, informed by hands-on experiences with feudal and tribal leaders, who hold the key to the future development of the region. Learn how the impact of integral principles in a mid-size Middle Eastern corporation elevated consciousness levels and empowered key individuals to redefine responsible profit while simultaneously capturing higher market share.

Elza S. Maalouf is a Lebanese-American futurist, theorist, author, and public speaker. She is one of the foremost experts on the memetics of the Middle East and pioneered the use of the value systems framework and Integral Theory practices in Middle Eastern politics and business. Her newest book is Emerge! The Rise of Functional Democracy and the Future of the Middle East. She is president of the international consulting firm Integral Insight. 


 

SPECIAL EVENT

Sunday, July 19

Ken Wilber, Founder
Integral Institute

At the Frothy Edge of Geopolitical Impact: Nation Building in Ukraine (and a Brief Look at Pluralistic Ontology)

For the last eighteen months a select group of integral leaders representing the Integral Institute has been working closely with a team in Ukraine to develop applied integral materials across a range of civil and government contexts to support the development of rebuilding the nation of Ukraine. Learn the latest updates about the leadership role that Integral Institute is taking in this historic initiative and the kinds of impact it will have not only in Ukraine but around the globe. Ken will also discuss the ontology problem and how Integral Theory resolves it and the role that developmental studies plays in addressing a number of issues facing various forms of realism. (Via video)

Ken Wilber is the author of over twenty books. He is the chief architect of integral theory and is founder of Integral Institute, a think-tank for studying integral theory and practice. His most recent book, The Religion of Tomorrow, will be available in late 2015.


 

WELCOME ADDRESS

Thursday, July 16

Sean Esbjörn-Hargens, PhD
Founder and Executive Director, MetaIntegral Foundation

Integral Impacts: Using Integrative Metatheories to Catalyze Effective Change

Discover the top ten integral projects on the planet and learn about the kind of impact they have had and what they tell us about the future of integral applications. This talk frames the theme of this year’s conference and its keynote addresses. An emphasis is placed on the kinds of questions the integral community must ask itself and how we can learn from the successes and failures of integral approaches over the last 20 years. Particular attention is paid to the issues of how integral approaches can have more impact, what unique kinds of impact we can have, and how we might not only measure those impacts, but actually change the conversation around designing and assessing for impact.

Sean Esbjörn-Hargens is founder of MetaIntegral, a purpose-driven virtual and physical global network of professionals and visionary organizations collaborating to create a thriving planetary civilization. Sean is a leading scholar-practitioner in integral metatheories. His most recent book is the co-edited volume Metatheory for the 21st Century: Critical Realism and Integral Theory in Dialogue.

[Balder]

Highlights of the 2015 Academic Presentations

 

Once again, we are pleased to host the world’s best and brightest Integral scholars and practitioners at the Integral Theory Conference. More than 100 of the leading lights from our worldwide community will gather to present their work and engage in dialogue from July 16-19, 2015 at Sonoma State University in beautiful Northern California.

You can register for the conference here!

 

This year’s academic presenters will share the cutting edge of real-world Integral applications, research, and advances in critical thinking and perspectives that are impacting our society now and well into the future. All of this is in addition to outstanding:

• Keynote speakers: Karen O’Brien, Bill Torbert, and Elza Maalouf 
• Special plenary speakers: Ken Wilber, Sean Esbjörn-Hargens
• Pre-conference workshops
• Panel discussions
• Evening cultural performances
• First International Integral Art Exhibit

 

 

Here is a sampling of the themes and academic presentations at ITC this year:

 

[Balder's Note:  Layman Pascal's presentation on integrative metatheory is not listed here, but it should be highlighted...]

Change and Transformation

• Bill Torbert and AI Fellows — Collaborative Developmental Action Inquiry: Practicing Timely Action Research for Efficacy and Transformation
• Beena Sharma — What is Developmental Coaching Really? A Discussion of Principles and Considerations to Guide our Efforts in Facilitating Vertical Development

 

Politics and Business

• Carter Phipps and Steve McIntosh — Depolarizing the American Mind
• Randy Martin, Jeff Cohen, Mark Fischler, and Lynette Lee  — Enacting Integral Justice to Catalyze Systemic Change: Barriers and Leverage Points
• Mariana Bozesan — De-Risking Venture-Capital Investing Using the Theta Model: An Interdisciplinary Approach toward the Integration of People, Planet, and Profit

 

Leadership Development 

• Theo Dawson, Aiden Thorton, Joel Rothaizer, & Sandra Hill — Cultivating the Integral Mind: The Relationship between Development and Perceptions of Performance in a Large-scale Leadership Program
• Niki Vincent — Evolving Consciousness in Leaders: Promoting Late-Stage Conventional and Post-Conventional Development

 

Education

• Zak Stein — Desperate Measures: Global Crises of Measurement and Their Metatheoretical Solutions
• Thomas Brophy — Bringing the Education Institution-horse to the Integral-water: An Insider’s View on the Ongoing Odyssey of an Institution

 

Spirituality

• Bonnitta Roy — Out of the Sangha and into the Streets: Spirituality as Collective Participatory Power
• Bruce Alderman — Integral In-Dwelling: A Prepositional Theology of Religions

 

Psychotherapy

• Andre Marquis — How Can We Assess the Impact of Integral Psychotherapy? Results and Implications from the Integral Psychotherapy in Practice Study
• Keith Witt — Defensive States and States of Healthy Response in Integrally Informed Psychotherapy: An Interpersonal Neurobiological Contribution to Shadow
• Joanne Rubin — Integral Theory's Impact on Psychology and Psychotherapy

 

Community and International Development

• Marie Pace — Towards an Integral Peace for Ukraine
• Kate McAlpine — Enabling More Tanzanians To Do The Right Thing To Protect Children: An Application Of An Integral Activist Research To Understanding What It Means To Be A Responsible Citizen In A Changing Country

 

Sustainability

• Shanti Om, Theo Dawson, and Howard Drossman — Development of an Integral-Motivated: Lectical Ecological Stewardship Assessment
• Simon Divecha — Sustainability Action Logics: A Methodology for Better Understanding, and Application, of How We Make Sense of Sustainability Issues to Assist in Dynamically Generating Successful Outcomes

 

Health and Wellness

• Joel Kriesberg — Integral Healing, Transformation and Descending the Spiral
• Elliott Ingersoll — On Being Integrally Stoned: Cannabis and the Further Development of the Integral Movement

 

Art and Culture

• Ed Sarath — Jazz as Integral Lens and Change Agent
• Michael Schwartz — An Integrative Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics: Prolegomena to Art’s Transdisciplinarity

 

 

[Balder]

I’m very pleased to announce that I’ll be co-leading a half-day pre-conference workshop on July 16 at the Integral Theory Conference, which will be held at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California, July 16-19, 2015.  This workshop is the first event to be sponsored by the newly incorporated Foundation for Integral Religion and Spirituality.

The name of the workshop is "Impacting Religion: Integral and Participatory Spiritualities in Dialogue."  Here's a brief description of what it will be about:

"In this experimental dialogical encounter, Integral and Participatory practitioners will engage in spirited discussion and debate of the strengths and weaknesses of each approach for responding to the unique religious and spiritual challenges of our time — to validate the religious impulse for a post-secular culture, support religious diversity, facilitate interreligious relationships, foster frameworks for trans-lineage practice and understanding, meet the many ethical challenges of a world in crisis, and respect and cultivate the radical potentials of human being. Participants in the workshop will have opportunities to practice experiential exercises and to participate in breakout discussion groups on important themes covered in the opening panel discussion."

I’d love to have you join me and attend ITC! It’s the world’s largest academic conference devoted to the field of integral theory and practice, and it only happens every other year. This year’s conference theme is Integral Impacts: Using Integrative Metatheories to Catalyze Effective Change. Integral and Participatory models both aim to effect change in, and positively impact, contemporary (inter-)religious understanding, study, and practice, but they differ in a number of significant ways on the best ways to achieve this.  During the initial panel discussion, representatives of both approaches will clarify the respective strategies and points of difference among these approaches. and the remainder of the workshop will be given to generative dialogue around, and experiential exploration of, the salient and most pressing themes raised in the panel discussion, in the interest of fostering greater rapprochement between the Integral and Participatory communities.

The primary organizing principle for this year’s ITC is building community. The conference organizers have created a truly integrative event that is as much academic conference as it is an experiential retreat. Registration includes full conference access, village-style accommodations on campus, meals, parking, evening cultural performances, an integral art exhibit, and much more. SSU is one of the most beautiful college campuses on the west coast, and this idyllic container will enable a deeper embodiment of learning, inspiration, and creativity to emerge from our community.

I encourage you to register soon. Space is limited at the workshop and at ITC. Early registration prices end on April 13. An extra night of lodging is available on July 15 for those who arrive early for the workshops.

For more information and to register, go to 2015 Integral Theory Conference.

I look forward to seeing you at ITC this summer!

[Edward theurj Berge]

This event is even stronger bait for me to attend the ITC. The problem is finances. Registration is $825. Then there's travel, lodging, food. The total would be well over $1200 for a weekend and that's out of my limited retirement budget. I can read the ITC papers afterward like the last time, but that's not the same as attending. And last time I don't think they had papers for the pre-conference workshops. I'm sure there will be video of this event that perhaps you could share?

[Edward theurj Berge]

PS: Ah, I just noticed that the registration fee included lodging and meals, so it would just be travel as an extra cost. But the pre-conference workship is $80 for half day, $150 for full day? Is this half or full?