IDEAS, NEWS AND RESOURCES
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January 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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A social constructionist orientation invites a certain humility, a tempering of critique with curiosity, and working together across the spectrum of differences in creating a nourishing future
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From Hindsight to Insight to Foresight: Entering the New Year with 20/20 Visions
By Kenneth Gergen, Taos Institute President
Entering the second decade of the century brings with it a sense of excitement. A new chapter is about to begin… Yet, whatever our gains in optimistic energies they will be urgently needed in the year to come. We confront a world condition in which antagonism, polarization, and deadly conflict are everywhere at our doorstep. It is to just such conditions that the kinds of activities nourished and shared by Taos Institute participants speak most cogently. A social constructionist orientation invites a certain humility, a tempering of critique with curiosity, and working together across the spectrum of differences in creating a nourishing future.
And we can make a difference! The energetic and creative efforts of the many participants in Taos Institute activities over this past year are formidable. Our educational programs have permitted us to share ideas and practices with learning colleagues the world over. Five participants in the PhD program graduated this year from our collaborating universities in Europe, with dissertations ranging over such topics as relational leading, collaborative process, whole system change, and the construction of trauma. The two-year Diploma program in Social Construction and Professional Practices flourished. The program is especially inviting, as it allows participants to work in tutorial relationship with a Taos advisor on a topic or project of special interest to them - with multiple language options. The International Certificate program in Collaborative-Dialogic Practices (ICCP) remained robust, with 11 different programs offered in 16 countries. The Taos on-line
courses and workshops
have continued to draw participants from around the world, including our first from Russia.
The on-line options for engaging with relevant ideas and practices have also vibrated with energy. The Relational Research Network offered free virtual learning/support calls to researchers wishing to explore their research from a relational perspective.
See the videos here.
We are especially indebted to Mark Greene of ThinkPlay Partner for putting together a series of 14 videos on relational theory and practice, with interviews in both English and Spanish. The entire series is available on our
YouTube Channel
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The
WorldShare Books
initiative, which offers books in multiple languages, free for downloading, added 5 new works, on such wide ranging topics as working with Syrian refugees, collaborative therapy, systemic consulting, political rhetoric and a book which includes papers from the Taos Institute 25th Anniversary Conference program. The newest book this year,
Thriving Women, Thriving World,
spearheaded by Diana Whitney, was published to rave reviews.
While officially functioning as a non-profit organization located in the U.S., the Taos Institute is essentially an international network without a geographical center. This was especially apparent in the work of Taos Associates in China, who organized an October conference in Nanjing on constructionist theory and practice; in our collaboration with Joint Action consulting in Denmark, in offering a summer conference on relational welfare; and in the 4th International ICCP Congress in Brno, Czech Republic. Small grants were also awarded to Associates in Kenya, India, Ecuador, Chile, and Spain for local research and social change projects.
To be sure, there have been many challenges along the way, but outcomes such as these restore both vision and vitality. Let us then, look back with appreciation and ahead with anticipation. We can make a difference!
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Professional Development Opportunities
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Upcoming Events
April 21 - June 8, 2020
A 6-week online course with Celiane Camargo-Borges
See what participants are saying about this online course:
"I would like to thank you all for the learning journey. I learned a great deal and it feels more as a beginning then an ending. A begin that is longing for more to explore and to process."
"I would like to say how unexpectedly powerful this course has been for me. In fact I took the course without knowing exactly what it was about, trusting my intuition as I bought Ken’s book 'The saturated self'."
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April 21 - June 8, 2020
A 6-Week Online Course
with Celiane Camargo-Borges, Ph.D.
This 6-week online 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. The course is facilitated by Taos Institute Board Member, Celiane Camargo Borges, Ph.D.
This course features videos and writings of Ken Gergen, Mary Gergen, Sheila McNamee, Harlene Anderson, Barnett Pearce, John Shotter, Saliha Bava and more.
The course consists of:
Weekly live calls, assignments, readings, videos, 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. Orientation to the course is April 21.
Everyone is welcome! Some people even take this course several times and get something new from each experience.
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Applications due February 1
Do you want to expand your professional potential, explore a vision, follow your curiosity, bring about an innovation for a more promising future? Would you like a mentor, coach and conversation partners who will support, inspire, and challenge you to reach your goals? Would you like to work from the comfort of your own office, home or work environment and be part of a global community of learners?
At the Taos Institute, we support and mentor creative practitioners to form the future through relationship, collaboration, and ethical action. The International Diploma in Social Construction and Professional Practices exposes you to expertise from multiple disciplines, all focused on collaborative and relational approaches to generating meaning, values, and practices of significance. Your advisor, mentor or coach works with you to design a learning plan that addresses your goals, with feedback and learning tailored to your situation and project. You will receive support and inspiration from a broad network of conversation partners.
- There are no grades.
- You create your own deadlines.
- You design your own learning goals.
- You work virtually with scholars/practitioners around the world.
- You join a cohort of learners that support each other.
- You participate in a learning relationship with an advisor, mentor, coach.
Apply by February 1!
Spring semester begins March 1, 2020.
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News from Asia
On October 14-15, 2019 Taos Associates in China organized a conference at Nanjing Normal University on
Social Construction and High Quality Development in China
. Owing especially to the creative efforts of Professors Liping Yang, and Xinping Zhang, a rich menu of lectures and workshops was offered to a large number of enthusiastic students, educators, and practitioners.
Also exciting was the official opening of the Positive Aging Research and Extension Center, at the National Pingtung University in Taiwan. Headed up by Taos Associate, Prof. Su-Fen Liu. The center will deal with social problems affecting an aging population. Through research and extension activities, an emphasis will be placed on constructing more positive views of aging and developing the abilities needed to adapt to rapidly changing society. The Center will also provide public courses on health and nutrition.
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Featured Book
Rhetoric in Action:
Philosophy, Psychology, and Politics
by Herbert W. Simons
This WorldShare book is a collection of some of Herb Simons’s most important articles. For a good number of years Simons has been a leading figure in the study of rhetoric and communication. Simons has been instrumental in the movement to transform rhetoric from being a dusty, dry and backward looking discipline into one which is at the forefront of new developments in the study of human communication. This work celebrates the spirit of questioning orthodoxies of thought. And the new, revived discipline of rhetoric has provided an ideal home for Herb Simons. This is a free download book.
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Be in dialogue with the author
- a free webinar!
Unlocked: Discover How to Embrace the Unexpected
by Madelyn Blair, PhD
February 24, 2020 at 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM New York time
The book presents a clear definition of resilience that readers have found accessible and feasible for themselves. Written for the individual who wishes to learn how to become comfortable in discomfort, each chapter is written with an explanation of an aspect of building resilience, one or more real-life stories of people who have used that aspect, and a practice that develops that aspect followed by several strategies that enhance the practice. Early reviews find it inspiring for the individual, and several have already begun to see the link to organizational settings.
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International Journal of Collaborative-Dialogic Practices
This free journal brings together members of a growing international community of practitioners, scholars, educators, researchers, and consultants interested in postmodern collaborative practices. Issue 8 is now available.
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WorldShare Books
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.
Order your free book today!
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Positive Aging Newsletter
FREE
newsletter
in 9 languages sent right to your email.
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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Manuscripts for Downloading
Access hundreds of articles and papers on topics such as:
- Appreciative Inquiry
- Collaborative Practices
- Dialogue
- Appreciative Cultures
- Creativity and Improve
- Narrative Practices
- Relational Learning
- Relational Research
- Qualitative Research
- and so much more!
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Donate to the Taos Institute
Given the current global context into which we are moving, the work in which we are engaged is more important than ever. We invite you support the work of institute.
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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