Rehearsing the revolution: theatre as a reflective social practice

Scholte, Tom

doi:10.1108/k-09-2016-0261

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 6 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This tendency of which I accuse both Glanville and Sweeting of is one of which I am also most guilty is the past writing I have done regarding theatre, acting and cybernetics, including my own contributions to the New Horizons and Design Cybernetics volumes (Scholte, 2017, 2019). I suspect it stems, partly, from the difficulty we have in laying full claim to our identity as cyberneticians in an era when there are no academic departments bearing the name of that discipline and we must continue to appear to our colleagues as responsible and well-balanced members of the home disciplines in which we are actually employed (be they design or performance related or any other).…”

Section: The Design Cybernetics Positionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Elsewhere, I have written about Conflict Theatre (CT) (Scholte, 2017, 2018), a program of which I am the Faculty Lead/Artistic Director using the techniques of Theatre for Living (TfL) (adapted from Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed). Along with the kinds of structural diagnoses of organization that are the purview of systems thinking (a separate and distinct agenga from SOC), CT is designed to develop individuals’ capacities for second-order observation in situations of workplace conflict.…”

Section: The “White Whale” As “Macro”mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A proposal for the role of the arts in a new phase of second-order cybernetics

Scholte

2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to suggest a more central role for reflexive artistic practices in a clarified research agenda for second-order cybernetics (SOC). This is offered as a way to assist the field in the further development of its theoretical/methodological “core” and, subsequently, enhance its impact on the world. Design/methodology/approach The argument begins by reviewing Karl Müller’s account of the failure of SOC to emerge as a mainstream endeavor. Then, Müller’s account is recontextualized within recent developments in SOC that are traced through the Design Cybernetics movement inspired by Ranulph Glanville.” This alternate narrative frames a supposedly moribund period as a phase of continuing refinement of the field’s focus upon its “proper object of study,” namely, the observer’s mentation of/about their mentation. The implications of this renewed focus are then positioned within Larry Richard’s vision of the cybernetician, not as “scientist” per se but rather as a “craftsperson in and with time” capable of productively varying the dynamics of their daily interactions. Having centered widespread capacity building for this “craft” as a proposed research agenda for a new phase of SOC, the paper concludes by pointing to the unique and necessary role to be played by the arts in this endeavor. Personal reflections upon the author’s own artistic and theoretical activities are included throughout. Findings The development and application of artistic methods for the enhancement of individual capacity for second-order observation is consistent with the purpose of SOC, namely, “to explain the observer to himself.” Therefore, it is in the field’s interest to more fulsomely embrace non-scientific, arts-based forms of research. Research limitations/implications In a truly reflexive/recursive fashion, the very idea that first-person, arts-based narratives are seen, from a mainstream scientific point of view, as an insufficiently rigorous form of research is, itself, a research limitation. This highlights, perhaps ironically, the need for cybernetics to continue to pursue its own independent definitions and standards of research beyond the boundaries of mainstream science rather than limiting its own modes of inquiry in the name of “scientific legitimacy.” Practical implications A general uptake of the view presented here would expand the horizon of what might be considered legitimate, rigorous and valuable research in the field. Social implications The view presented here implies that many valuable contributions that SOC can make to society take place beyond the constraints of academic publication and within the realm of personal growth and social development. Originality/value The very clearly defined and “refocused” vision of SOC in this paper can be of substantial utility in developing a more robust, distinctive and concrete research agenda across this field.

show abstract

Section: The Design Cybernetics Positionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The “White Whale” As “Macro”mentioning

confidence: 99%