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.

[Ambo Suno]

David, these two articles by Alfonso Montuori were excellent to my taste. Cool that your presentations is informed by them and by him.

His first cited piece on self-reflection around integral theory had a very smooth and pleasing build-up, framing, through which after a modest beginning I discovered the surprising breadth and depth that he was coming with.

The second one that looked at our common cultural polarities, one being around the nature of creativity, resonated deeply with me. I've gotten in the habit (maybe a bit contrived) of often saying following one point of view that I make, "on another hand...", rather than, "on the other hand..." in order to cultivate a sense of more than the usual duality. I suppose I am wanting myself and others to stay open to a plurality, though we tend (deeply for various understandable reasons) to go automatically to opposed dualities. The Hindu image of a deity-monster that has more than two hands has come to mind. A minor point :)

In my past psychology studies, I remember an organizational research issue that was also to be a board exam question that related to the relative creative effectiveness of individual work vs team collaboration (including brainstorming.) I didn't go to the original sources nor did I research this further to confirm the likely validity and reliability and completeness of the conclusion, but I did register clearly that, surprise, it depends on the situation - context dependent.

I liked Alfonso's exploration of the musical and theatrical arts as variable possibilities for creativity as individual, as dyad, and as group. It depends. On ... (TBD)

Thanks D

[DavidM58]

Ambo,

Yeah, I tend to resonate strongly with what Montouri puts out, and I especially like that we both have a background in jazz. On that note, you might like his paper on The Complexity of Improvisation and the Improvisation of Complexity.

[Edward theurj Berge]

Today I read the following passage from Bryant's Onto-Cartography, relevant to recent FB discussions noted above.

"We wish to say that belief is what is in our heart of hearts, but following Zizek, belief seems to reside more in what we do than in how we theorize or conceptualize what we do in our hearts. Our beliefs are not inside here, in our minds, but rather out there in the actions we engage in, the institutions we support and participate in, the authorities we recognize, etc. I might wish to tell myself that I support the theory of evolution, that I don't share my church's positions, yet in contributing to the church, participating in its events, and so on, it is actually the creationist standpoint that I advance in the world, not evolutionary theory" (90-91).

[Edward theurj Berge]

For those not on FB the following is a reply from Mark Fabionar, the Director of Sonoma State University's Integral Center for Diversity, Vitality, and Creativity. It's good to know he and ITC are aware of the issues and have considered them deeply. And are working to address those aspects of the system not conducive to having integral impacts. That's all we can ask. Mark's response:

"It felt appropriate to offer my perspective in this conversation about SSU and ITC. I'm the Director of Sonoma State University's Integral Center for Diversity, Vitality, and Creativity (affectionately called "The HUB" on campus). I am the SSU employee who suggested to the MetaIntegral team that ITC be held on campus. Sean Esbjorn-Hargens and I decided to partner, and the team has been working on the conference for nearly a year.

I have similar concerns about the corporatization of public education - and SSU in particular - and appreciate the sincere inquiry into the integrity of having ITC at SSU, given Danny Weil's thought-provoking article, among others. Like many universities, SSU is largely a decentralized collective of multiple systems and cultures, and as a whole its tensions and conflicts reflect an entity that has been through many internal battles and transitions. The larger context of California's ongoing economic insecurity presents challenges for most state entities and SSU's executive team has responded to these conditions over the last several years in a manner that reflects their core value systems and worldview. That the executive team has worked to enact largely modern and market-driven responses - discursive practices championed outside of SSU as well - does not surprise me. And as Weil and others have noted, these priorities, as well as how they've been enacted and whom they've involved, have been a source of frustration and anger for a number of faculty and student affairs professionals, including me at times. (I am both management and faculty at SSU, but I am not part of the president's executive team nor am I paid what they are paid.)

Still, to the notion that having ITC at SSU primarily supports the corporate agenda of the powers-that-be, I offer (and know) that there are multiple agendas and bottom-lines being considered and played out simultaneously - albeit in contradictory ways at times - by students, faculty, staff, and members of the executive team. Many of them are good and reflect social justice research and praxis that focuses on serving the public good and the development of the whole student. There are individuals, projects, and whole programs informed by this impulse and approach to serve, to connect, and to become more accessible, relevant, and just. My sense is that there is a want within the University to better align these siloed individuals and fragmented initiatives into something more culturally and energetically robust. SSU is not a static entity - it is a dynamic, messy, living system that is going through some intense transitions, and will continue to do so over the next couple of years, as radical changes in executive leadership are anticipated. And while we don't necessarily know who will becoming in, those of us on the ground feel we have a real opportunity to do some cultural work that truly impacts.

When discussing the possibility of having ITC on campus over a year ago, I shared with Sean my perspective on some of the cultural/structural dynamics at play at SSU, and in particular how those in positions of power tended to privilege modern/market-driven solutions. I mentioned that I found some of their processes/moves useful for the University and others short-sighted, if not deeply problematic. But what I shared the most with Sean was that the dissonance and transitions at SSU felt like a great opportunity to help shape the University in a positive way. And it has proved so thus far for my work there. The HUB has spearheaded a number of programs and initiatives these past three years that focus on the overall development of the student and community, especially those that are underserved. Most of these have been deeply informed by integrative thinking and praxis, which for me includes important conversations about intersectionality, inclusion, and expanded notions of social justice/change. (I will be talking about the HUB's work at ITC, and am happy to share more about it later on this thread.)

This is all to say that the partnership between MetaIntegral and the HUB at SSU developed in a thoughtful, informed, and intentional manner. The partnership and design of ITC is deeply informed by a shared desire to be more on-the-ground, relevant, inclusive, engaging, and, well - impactful.

Thanks for the important questions and opportunity to offer my perspective. I definitely welcome the opportunity to learn about your integrative and social justice work: What are you all doing within and/or outside of existing systems/structures that enacts the kind of social change you feel we need at this time?

Warmly,
Mark"

[Balder]

This is a link to SSU's HUB webpage.

[Balder]

Nice ... Layman got a shout-out on the new Meta-Integral email.

Integral metatheories attempt to mesh and make connections between smaller, more specific theories and their practical applications across dozens of fields. The study and application of metatheory is at the very heart of the Integral Theory Conference, with ITC being one of the only conferences in the world where metatheory is welcomed, celebrated, and built upon. Going further, our commitment since the inception of our first conference in 2008 has been to challenge the Integral/AQAL community to push forward in its vision of metatheory; to see that Wilber’s particular AQAL metatheory – while rich, elegant, and powerful – is only one of several notable expressions of integral metatheory now arising in our world culture.   Mark Edwards – a two-time ITC presenter and one of the Integral community’s most skilled voices on the topic of metatheory – challenged us to ask the following questions about metatheory:   How do we know that our metatheories are accurate, based on extant theory and internally consistent? How do we know that we have correctly represented the approaches included within the metatheory? Have we sampled an adequate range of perspectives in building our metatheory? To what extent is our metatheory inclusive of other perspectives? Are all the relevant explanatory lenses present within our metatheoretical system? How do we know if the relationships between those lenses are consistent and logical? How do we evaluate our metatheory according to rational standards of reliability and validity?    Many of our presenters have worked to address these questions at each and every ITC, in a variety of ways, by bringing new theoretical formulations and new critical perspectives. In our last conference we invited two major European integral metatheorists – the UK’s Roy Bhaskar and France’s Edgar Morin – to keynote and address conference attendees. Alongside these initiatives and key inquiries, we have added a new one that may be the most important of all: Why does metatheory matter? What is the power and purpose of well built Integral metatheories?   Truly speaking, every presentation given at the ITC is touched by metatheory in some way. However, here are the conference sessions for 2015 that directly look at the power, promise, peril, and impact of metatheories in general and integral metatheories in particular.   Pre-Conference Workshops   Nick Hedlund-de Witt with Sean Esbjörn-Hargens: Introduction to Critical Realism   Jeff Cohen: Integral Theory 101: Putting AQAL to Work   Terri O’Fallon and Kim Barta: StAGES: An Integrative Meta-theory that Catalyzes Effective Change in the Fields of Psychotherapy, Coaching, Spiritual Direction, and Clergy      Academic Presentations   Sean Esbjörn-Hargens: Integral Theory 2.0 : Reframing the Quadrants, Expanding the Zones, and Actually Including Second-Person.   Zak Stein: Desperate Measures: Global Crises of Measurement and Their Metatheoretical Solutions   Terri O’Fallon and Kim Barta: Shadow to Spirit: An Integrative Meta-theory and Practice Based Upon the Developmental Model of Terri O’Fallon’s StAGES Theory, Ken Wilber’s Integral Theory and Timeless Ancient Spiritual and Healing Practices   Michael Schwartz: An Integrative Philosophy of Art and Aesthetics: Prolegomena to Art’s Transdisciplinarity   Layman Pascal: What the F@%K is Metatheory??? The Summarized Principles, Teleological Ethos & Impact-Orientation of the (so-called) Bible of Metatheory

Register now for ITC 2015

[Balder]

Feeling amused, honored, and screwed all at once:  I just found out I've been slotted to present during the 'integral pioneers' slot, which means my presentation will be at the same time as presentations by Don Beck, Gail Hochachka, Terri O'Fallon, Sean Esbjorn-Hargens, Elliot Ingersoll, and Roger Walsh.  I guess I don't need to worry about getting my paper perfect; I'll be speaking to an empty room!  Pioneering off by myself somewhere in some remote corner of the unpopulated wilderness...

[Ambo Suno]

Sorry to hear that, B.

Hopefully, there will be at least a few people interested in your topic and you! You give a good presentation - I remember.

Though I'm not so deeply interested in Elliot's psych topic, I'll probably be there for the continuing education units.

Maybe you can quickly add some key words into your title - "bliss", "sex", "totally new", "little known secret", and "incidentally occurring wealth", to override the anticipated direction of hoofbeats.

Seriously, may your presentation flourish!



Balder said:

Feeling amused, honored, and screwed all at once:  I just found out I've been slotted to present during the 'integral pioneers' slot, which means my presentation will be at the same time as presentations by Don Beck, Gail Hochachka, Terri O'Fallon, Sean Esbjorn-Hargens, Elliot Ingersoll, and Roger Walsh.  I guess I don't need to worry about getting my paper perfect; I'll be speaking to an empty room!  Pioneering off by myself somewhere in some remote corner of the unpopulated wilderness...

[DavidM58]

"Sex, Sophia, and Spirituality: An Astonishing and Startling Brandspanking New Role for Post-Meta-Spirituality in the Modern and Postmodern World."

Ahh, so easy to pick a good title for someone else, why am I having such a hard time with the title for my own presentation?

Ambo Suno said:

Maybe you can quickly add some key words into your title - "bliss", "sex", "totally new", "little known secret", and "incidentally occurring wealth", to override the anticipated direction of hoofbeats.

Seriously, may your presentation flourish!

[Edward theurj Berge]

I think you might be surprised. While the other presentations are by 'big' names, they're all old hat in the movement. You alone among them are the only one pioneering something novel, while they just add to the same old stuff. So it depends on who goes to the ITC and what they want. If they want to be comfortable with what they think they already know, they go to the old hats. If they're interested in learning something new and innovative, they attend your presentation.

[Balder]

Thank you, theurj.  :-)  I am excited about my topic and look forward to introducing it (empty room or not!).  I am not sure about many of the others, because I don't know their topics, but I do think Sean will be bringing something quite new (I've seen some of it). 

LOL, Ambo and David!  I like your suggestions for sexing up my title.  Maybe "Sex, Sophia, and Spirituality: 69 Startling Tips for Achieving Post-Grammatical Orgasm."

[DavidM58]

69 Positions for Ontic Orgasms!

I just found out that my talk will be competing with integral internet rock star Layman Pascal, forcing IPS fans to choose between us. I'm going to have to up my game. How can I outdo his strategic move of using "F#ck" in the topic title? Such flummery!

I gave a version of my presentation last night to a local Institute of Noetic Sciences group, where about 40 to 45 people showed up. It went well, but I had the common problem of having more material than fit into the 2 hour time slot. I'll really have to spend some time honing things down into 20 minutes for my triad presentation.