The Presentation of Self and the Encounter Culture

Dartmouth Outward Bound Center and the rise of experiential education, 1957–1976

“…At its core was an ontology of the person as radically autonomous and a conviction that personal disclosure, sensory exploration and emotional revelation provide evidence of human authenticity, and therefore create the basis for self-knowledge and so should be maximized (see Howard, 1976). Its most conspicuous artifact was the encounter group, retreat-style gatherings employing various procedures to help people “remove their social masks, get relief from overdoses of their culture, and search for alternatives to traditional roles, values, and behavior” (Glass, 1973, p. 50; see also Alderfer, 1970; Middleman and Goldberg, 1972). Humanistic psychologists like Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers provided the movement's intellectual underwriting, and centers such as Esalen in the US and the Tavistock Institute in England organized its consumption (Anderson, 2004).…”

Reviewing An Old Profession

“…This orientation emphasizes human dignity and worth, holds that social science cannot and should not be value free, rejects mechanistic and overly deterministic theories and methodologies, and is concerned with the use of social science knowledge for the enhancement of human well-being (Glass, 1971a(Glass, , 1971bGlass and Staude, 1972;Lee, 1973Lee, , 1978. This orientation emphasizes human dignity and worth, holds that social science cannot and should not be value free, rejects mechanistic and overly deterministic theories and methodologies, and is concerned with the use of social science knowledge for the enhancement of human well-being (Glass, 1971a(Glass, , 1971bGlass and Staude, 1972;Lee, 1973Lee, , 1978.…”

“…Role and reference group theory, socialization theory, symbolic interactionism (Blumer, 1969), and such concepts as &dquo;definition of the situation,&dquo; &dquo;self-fulfilling prophecy,&dquo; &dquo;verstehen,&dquo; and &dquo;de-bunking&dquo; are most relevant to the sociological practitioner. Group and family therapy can be seen as settings where the participants are actively engaged in creating and exploring their social world.5 Meanings are examined; norms and values clarified or questioned; identities, facades, and assumptions about reality are exposed, examined, or changed (Glass, 1973). Group and family therapy can be seen as settings where the participants are actively engaged in creating and exploring their social world.5 Meanings are examined; norms and values clarified or questioned; identities, facades, and assumptions about reality are exposed, examined, or changed (Glass, 1973).…”