INTERNATIONAL
HUMAN
SCIENCE
RESEARCH
NEWSLETTER
Fall 2007
Published
by the Department of Psychology,
|
Editor: |
Steen Halling, PhD |
Phone: |
(206) 296-5392 |
|
|
Fax:
(206) 296-2141 |
e-mail: |
shalling@seattleu.edu |
|
Copy Editor: |
Karen Lutz |
e-mail |
klutz@seattleu.edu |
|
Production Editor: |
Margaret Kaperick |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*******************************************************************************
Table of Contents
*Note from the Editor
*Report on the 2007 Conference, Rovereto Branch
of
*Information for the 2008 Conference,
*Information about the 2009 Conference,
* In Memoriam: Barbro Giorgi and Jan O. Rowe
* Conference Announcements
* Book and Journal Notes
* Links/Connections:
*DEADLINE
FOR SUBMISSIONS TO FALL 2008 NEWSLETTER: October 15, 2008
****************************************************************************************
Please email shalling@seattleu.edu
if your email address changes
****************************************************************************************
Newsletter available online at:
http://www.seattleu.edu/artsci/psychology/ihsr.asp
****************************************************************************************
Note from the Editor
The International Human Science Research
Conference has been in existence since 1982, longer than a generation. As time
passes, we lose colleagues and those whom we love. We have had to say goodbye to a number of
colleagues over the years, including Renata Tesch, Vance Peavy, and Loren
Barritt. This past year has been an especially hard one for many of us with the
loss of Jan O. Rowe and Barbo Giorgi. Let us not take each other for granted.
Steen Halling
(Above,
Please pass the newsletter on to interested colleagues via
e-mail or any other means—it is free to anyone who wants to receive it.
Report on the 2007
International Human Science Research Conference, Rovereto , Italy
The 26th International
Human Science Research Conference was hosted in
It was the very first time
that the conference had been held in
The theme for IHSRC 2007, New Frontiers of Phenomenology: Beyond
Postmodernism in Empirical Research, was a challenging topic with which
keynote speakers and some presenters dealt. It has been discussed
theoretically, methodologically and empirically, what is happening around and after
the post-modern discourse, the implications of this debate in human science
research and the role of phenomenology as a third way between the post-modern
subjectivism and the re-emerging perspectives coming from a hard objectivistic
paradigm, based on natural sciences (e.g., neurosciences).
The conference has been
organized in parallel sessions for presenting papers and symposia and in two
plenary sessions. On June 13th the keynote speaker, Roberta De
Monticelli (San Raffaele,
During the second plenary
session the keynote speaker Amedeo Giorgi (Saybrook Graduate Institute,
About 100 papers and four symposia were presented in six parallel
sessions focused on six different perspectives about the theme of the
conference (each perspective related to a specific local wine). The perspectives
were: postmodernism, phenomenology, psychology, caring, inquiry, and education.
Almost 200 people attended
this conference and about one quarter were from
By the end of this year the
presenters who submitted their papers, will receive a CD –Rom with the
proceedings. Others who would also like to receive it can do so by sending an
email to ihsrc@unitn.it.
2008 Conference, June
11- 14, Ramapo College
Ramapo , New Jersey , USA
Theme: Imagination
and the Human Sciences
We also
encourage theoretical and empirical submissions from a wide variety of topics
pertinent to all aspects of qualitative Human Science research.
The deadline for submission of
abstracts is April 15, 2008. Specific
information about how to submit abstracts will be available around December 15
at the conference website
http://phobos.ramapo.edu/~hsr08ram/
Venue:
Accommodations: Good, comfortable dorms will be
provided at a very reasonable rate of roughly $55 per night. Shared meals will
be of good quality and at a reasonable fixed rate. With sufficient advance
registration we hope to organize an evening boat-dinner ride around
Invited
Speakers:
Fred
Wertz, PhD
Professor
and Chair of Psychology,
Eva
Simms, PhD
Professor
of Psychology,
Mark
Freeman, PhD
Professor
of Psychology, College of the Holy Cross
Co-organizers:
James
Morley, PhD jmorley@ramapo.edu
Emily
Abbey, PhD eabbey@ramapo.edu
2009Conference, June 17-20, Molde
University College ,
Molde , Norway
The 2009 conference will be held at
The city of
http://www.visitmolde.com/?sp=GB
The contact person for the conference is the
President, Solfrid Vatne. You can reach her at:
In Memoriam: Barbro Giorgi ,
1957-2007
Just last month, our community lost a good friend and a dear
colleague. Most tragically, Andy Giorgi, who was one of the founders of the
IHSRC, lost his wife. Barbro Giorgi had been a very active member of the human
science psychology community for quite a number of years. Those of us who
attended the conference at John F. Kennedy University in August of 2006
remember her as the gracious host and co-chair of the conference that year---as
well as an enthusiastic advocate of square dancing. Barbro met her future
husband Amedeo Giorgi at the 1991 HSR Conference in Göteborg, Sweden
Barbro was an immigrant to North America from Sweden. She received her BA and MA from York
University in Toronto, Canada, and went on to complete her PhD at the
Université du Quebec à Montréal; in her dissertation she explored the
psychotherapy process using phenomenological methods. When she moved to the San
Francisco area, she took on a number of positions at local universities. Barbro
was an adjunct professor at the Saybrook Institute, an adjunct research
professor at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto, and was
Director of Research for the Graduate Counseling Psychology Program at John F.
Kennedy University for a number of years. In 2005 she was guest editor of a
special issue of the Journal of
Phenomenological Psychology, 36
(2), on psychotherapy. Together with her husband, she authored two significant
chapters on phenomenology as a research method, one for Jonathan Smith’s 2003
book, Qualitative Psychology: A Practical
Guide to Research Methods [SAGE] and another for Qualitative Research in Psychology, edited by Paul
Camic et al (2003) [American Psychological Association]. Over the years Barbro
Giorgi was a frequent participant at Human Science Research Conferences, a
consultant for students working on their MA thesis or doctoral dissertations,
and a passionate advocate for and presenter on the phenomenological approach to
psychology. Those of us who met her in person will remember her personal
qualities—spirited, congenial, sensitive, and witty. All of us extend our
condolences to Andy and Barbro’s family and her friends and colleagues in the
Bay area.
In Memoriam: Jan Olive Rowe,
1947-2007
Jan Rowe was born in Georgia. She received her
BA in psychology from Georgia State University as well as her MA in Community
Counseling and her doctorate in counseling psychology. The nature of her
dissertation speaks to her creativity and intellectual courage both in terms of
the method used and the topic chosen: she did a qualitative study of widows’
experience with a dying husband and the re-definition of self this involved.
In 1982 Jan Rowe
started teaching in the Psychology Department at Seattle University. From
1988-1998 she was chair of the department and subsequently director of the
graduate program in existential-phenomenological psychology until fall of
2005.
Jan Rowe was a
dedicated and skilled clinician who provided supervision for graduate students
for over twenty years, and taught courses on psychotherapy for both
undergraduate and graduate students. She
was a co-founder of the Psychotherapy Cooperative in Seattle which provides
affordable therapy to the community and co-authored an article on the
Cooperative’s first decade.
As a researcher she
built on her original foray into qualitative research. In the fall of 1994 she
teamed up with me and four graduate students to study the experience of
“forgiving a significant other,” and our group presented our findings at the
1985 International Human Science Research Conference at the University of
Alberta, Edmonton. This study led to the development of what she and her
colleagues called a dialogal approach to research. During the next twenty years
she was involved in six other dialogal research projects, the latest (2005) focusing
on how psychotherapists respond to despair, and she co-authored nine
publications related to this work. She presented at a number of the HSR
Conferences subsequent to 1985, and was co-chair of the organizing committee
when Seattle University hosted the conference in 1988.
Jan was diagnosed with
cervical cancer in the summer of 2005. During the next year while she was
involved in treatment she continued to engage in discussions with her
colleagues and former students about psychotherapy. Then it looked as if the
treatment had been successful. Thus, it was very much of a shock when she was
admitted to the hospital after suffering a seizure in the summer of 2006, and
it was determined that she had small cancerous tumors in her brain. Jan’s
sisters, Jill and Joy, her colleagues and former students rallied around her
during the subsequent months, and savored the remaining time they had with her.
Jan remained very much herself until the end. On Sunday, April 22 Jan Rowe died
in her sleep.
Above all, Jan will be remembered for the
depth of her humanity, her down-to-earth wisdom, and her capacity to be present
to others even in their darkest moments. Jan Rowe is greatly missed by those of
us in the Psychology Department at Seattle University.
Steen Halling
Conference
Announcements
Fourth World Congress of Phenomenology: The theme of
the conference is The Phenomenology and
Existentialism of the Twentieth Century and the site is Jagiellonian
University of Krakow, Poland, August 17-20, 2008. Proposal are due by January
1, 2008. The Conference website is:
The Society for
Phenomenology and the Media (SPM) is an international organization for the
study of all media. The forthcoming
conference is on McLuhan and Beyond,
and will be held at
Puebla, Mexico, February 21 to 23, 2008. The
Society for Phenomenology and Media is accepting abstracts (200 – 400 words)
for its 10th annual international conference to be held in Puebla,
Mexico.
Papers on specific media forms and on the
concept of mediation itself are welcomed.
Papers need not explicitly address the work of Marshall McLuhan although
thoughtful assessment of the relevance of McLuhan’s key ideas is welcome along
with media studies ranging as broadly as McLuhan’s own work.
The Society offers a venue for phenomenological
thinking, broadly conceived, but also encourages interdisciplinary approaches
(with the humanities and the social and natural sciences) and theoretical
diversity (semiotics, hermeneutics, pragmatism, Marxism, critical theory,
cultural studies, speech-act theory and other approaches in philosophy,
contemporary and historical).
Deadline for abstracts is December 1, 2007. Please send to conference host and the
Society President (below).
Conference host: SPM
President:
Alberto Carrillo-Canan Dennis Skocz
cs001021@siu.buap.mx skocz@verizon.net
Book
and Journal Notes
Richard Alapack (2006) Love’s
Pivotal Relationships: The Chum. First Love, Outlaw and the Intimate Partner
[AuthorHouse, 232 pp. $ 20]. This book focuses on intimate relationships, such
as first friendship, first love, and how these relationships transform us and
shape our future relationships. The author uses poetic language and stories to
connect with the reader’s own experience.
http://www.authorhouse.com/Bookstore/ItemDetail~bookid~43564.aspx
Karin Dahlberg, Nancy Drew
and Maria Nyström (2007) Reflective Lifeworld Research, 2nd ed.
[Stockholm: Studentlitteratur]. This new edition
explicates a reflective lifeworld research approach, based on phenomenological
philosophy. The emphasis is on the lifeworld, the human intentionality and its
capacity for seeing meaning and for reflection. The epistemological ideas
presented in the book are transformed into an empirical research approach that
serves as a guiding principle for research. The approach originates from the
aim of allowing the phenomenon to guide the research by which the phenomenon
and its meanings will be illuminated, understood and explicated, and is
supported by an open and “bridled” attitude to the phenomenon and the research.
Based on a solid epistemological presentation and ideas about how an open and
“bridled” approach can be established, some methodological principles are
outlined for data gathering as well as for descriptive and interpretive data
analysis, respectively. Finally, general scientific concepts such as validity,
objectivity and generalisation are discussed in relation to the reflective
lifeworld research approach.
Steen Halling (2007) Intimacy,
Transcendence, and Psychology: Closeness and Openness in Everyday Life [New York: Palgrave Macmillan: pp. 266, *$
60.00]. This book addresses the richness and depth of our intimate
relationships and especially those moments when we come to see ourselves and
the other person in a new way. In such moments we realize that however much we
are influenced by heredity and upbringing, we are also agents with the capacity
for openness and moving forward. Rather than presenting an abstract
argument for transcendence (our capacity for opening up to the new) as
fundamental to human existence, the book draws upon stories and qualitative
research to remind readers of what they already have some sense of in their own
lives. The specific topics addressed include
forgiveness, disillusionment, epiphanies in relationships, seeing the humanity
of the disturbed persons, the nature of transcendence, and phenomenological
method.
(*if ordered from the
publisher with the promo code P356ED or from chains such as Barnes & Noble)
http://www.palgrave-usa.com/catalog/product.aspx?isbn=023060045X
Darren Landrige (2007).
Phenomenological Psychology: Theory, Research and Method [Pearson/Prentice
Hall: 181 pp, c. $ 60.00]. This is a “user-friendly” introduction to
phenomenological psychology. The author, who is a social psychologist, explains
what phenomenology is, where it came
from in terms of major thinkers such as Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and
Sartre, and provides definitions of key terms including the phenomenological
reduction. He provides specific information about major approaches to research
such as descriptive phenomenology and interpretative phenomenological analysis,
and concludes with key issues such as validity, description vs interpretation,
and postmodernism. This book would be
suitable for undergraduates or readers who are new to phenomenology.
http://www.pearsoned.co.uk/Bookshop/detail.asp?item=100000000090830
Ernesto Spinelli (2007), Practising
Existential Psychotherapy: The Relational World [London: SAGE, 232pp. $ 35,
paperback]. This new book by Spinelli examines
the unique qualities and possibilities of an existential approach to
psychotherapy. Drawn from his own experience as an internationally recognized
theorist, lecturer and practitioner, its overall aim is to provide a thorough
and accessible explication of
existential psychotherapy
in practice.
Beginning
with an overview of the theoretical underpinnings and distinguishing features
of existential psychotherapy, the text describes and develops a three-phase
structural model for its practice. As well as describing the key components of
each phase, the text provides descriptive examples and
topic-focused exercises
designed to assist readers in developing their own practice-based understanding
of existential psychotherapy.
http://www.sagepub.com/booksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book227369
Les Todres (2007) Embodied
Enquiry: Phenomenological Touchstones for Research, Psychotherapy and
Spirituality [Basingstoke, UK [Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 224, c $ 60.00]
In this innovative exploration of research,
psychotherapy, and spirituality, Les Todres helps us to appreciate anew our
fundamental embodied connection with the world in which we live. Moreover, he
gives us principles and methods for drawing more deeply upon this connection.
Following in the tradition of the philosopher and psychologist Eugene Gendlin,
Todres makes it plain that concepts such as mind and body and language and
experience should be thought of in relational rather than oppositional terms.
At one point he writes, “Sometimes, the bodily depth of what one has lived
through is ‘more than words can say.’ Yet such experience ‘looks’ for
words.” The three sections of the book,
on research, psychotherapy, and spirituality, shows how embodied enquiry is not
just a philosophical perspective but also an approach with direct implications
for practice.
http://www.palgrave-usa.com/catalog/product.aspx?isbn=0230517757
NEW Journal: Phenomenology & Practice
(formerly Phenomenology+Pedagogy),
is a refereed and free open access human science journal dedicated to the study
of the lived experience of a broad range of human practices. These
practices include everyday life and professional concerns of pedagogy, health
science, psychology, counselling, design, social work, and law.
Phenomenology & Practice invites contributions on phenomenology as a
method
for illuminating practice, and on practices as they are illuminated through
various
phenomenological perspectives and orientations.
Visit and
register at: www.phandpr.org
Encyclopaideia is an international peer reviewed journal founded by
Professor Piero Bertoni in 1996. It published both in English and in Italian.
Acoording to its web site, “It publishes articles representing the. philosophical tradition of European phenomenology and connected with
education, to solicit a critical debate from a multidisciplinary point of view.
Encyclopaideia also welcomes articles about conceptual, theoretical,
methodological, empirical and ethical issues of qualitative research in
education.”
Links/Connections
Center for Applied
Phenomenological Research at the University of Tennessee
The Center represents scholars from a variety of
disciplines including psychology, philosophy, nursing, and literature. The
focus is on utilizing phenomenological and other qualitative methods to gain a
better understanding of human experience.
Center
for Interpretive and Qualitative Research. Located at
Duquesne University, this center has as its purpose the exploration and
development of interpretive and qualitative methods.
Existential-Humanistic
Institute, San Francisco, USA. According to its web
site, edited by Kirk Schneider, the goal of the institute “is to support both
existentially and humanistically informed psychologies and psychotherapies
throughout the world.” Its newsletter is
on its web site as well as a bibliography, a listing of workshops and events,
and a directory of related links.
Gendlin On-line
Library Launched
In mid-October the Focusing Institute launched a
powerful new web-based resource containing over 100 of Eugene Gendlin’s works
from 1950 to present. Gendlin is
distinguished among philosophers and psychologists for his articulation of the
link between logic and felt understanding, which he calls the Philosophy of Implicit Entry. Included in the library are published
articles, chapters, monographs, and many unpublished articles and conference
presentations, all available for free download.
In some instances several chapters from his books or a special
introduction to them are available.
Gendlin’s books are also listed in the library and can be purchased from
the Focusing Institute or elsewhere. The library is a great resource for the
Human Sciences.
The link to the website is:
http://www.focusing.org/gendlin/
Human Science Research
Studies. This web site, which was stated in 2001,
provides published (in the form of articles, chapters, monographs, or books,
but not dissertations) English language human science research studies, that
is, research that is within the phenomenological and hermeneutical/interpretive
traditions, broadly defined. This web
site is made possible by the support of Peter Brawley of artfulsoftware who is
kindly donating his services.
The content of the web site was
published in the winter 2003 edition of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology.
If you know of studies that are not listed, send the complete reference
information (APA format) to shalling@seattleu.edu
http://www.artfulsoftware.com/humanscienceresearch.html
Indo-Pacific
Journal of Phenomenology—this is a peer reviewed
interdisciplinary on-line journal intended to provide scholars in the southern
hemisphere with an avenue through which they can express their scholarship. The
journal is an initiative of the Phenomenology Research Group based at Edith
Cowan University in Western Australia. There are now four editions of
available.
Initiative
in Phenomenological Practice. This is a new web site
and it is described as an “international network connecting anyone who is
interested in the ongoingly open possibility of phenomenology by carrying out
original phenomenological investigations of any theme, in any context, and
using a variety of phenomenological methods.”
Institute of Health and Community Studies at Bournemouth
University in the UK launched its
new Centre for Qualitative Research on September 9th, 2003.
http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/ihcs/rescqr.html
International Journal of Existential Psychology and
Psychotherapy—IJEPP is the official
organ of the International Society for
Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy. It is published online at:
http://www.existentialpsychology.org
International Network of Personal Meaning—is related to both of the above. It is a multidisciplinary,
learned society, dedicated to the advancement of knowledge on the vital role of
meaning in mental and physical health, spiritual development and other areas of
life. It was founded by Dr. Paul Wong and is located in Langley, BC, Canada.
Interest Group on “First Person Science”
This is their statement of
purpose:
“Some
of us are forming a group to bring together the many kinds of knowledge that
now exist about human beings. We are envisioning the possibility of a ‘first
person science’ which should develop along with the two current sciences, 1)
the reductive physical sciences, and 2) holistic ecology. Many kinds of
knowledge about human beings could easily give rise to testable variables, or
have already done so. Social policies, currently based only on the two existing
sciences, need a third science to go along with the other two.” For more
information, please contact Gene Gendlin:
Michigan
School of Professional Psychology, Michigan, USA
Clark Moustakas, founding
member of the Humanistic Psychology movement and originator of Heuristic
Research established the Michigan
School of Professional Psychology,
formerly the Center for Humanistic Studies, in 1981. MiSPP
offers Masters and PsyD degrees in clinical psychology, emphasizing
existential-humanistic principles and
clinical application.
Network for Research on Experiential Psychotherapies
(NREP)
This web site is devoted
to the purpose of stimulating research on experiential/humanistic
psychotherapies. It has been founded to provide an overview of the whole range
of experiential therapy research. It seeks to foster dialogue among researchers
and to provide support for new researchers.
http://www.experiential-researchers.org/
Newsletter of Phenomenology—this free weekly newsletter provides information about
what is going on in the world of phenomenology, including information about
conferences and workshops, lectures, new books. To subscribe, e-mail:
Newsletter_of_phenomenology_subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To submit content, please
e-mail it to:
Newsletter_of_phenomenology@yahoogroups.com
Phenomenology Online
This site provides public
access to articles, monographs, and other materials discussing and exemplifying
phenomenological research. It is edited by Max van Manen. The site has access
to numerous full-text articles, including many from the journal Phenomenology
+ Pedagogy
http://www.phenomenologyonline.com
Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center
Located in San Francisco,
this program offers MA and PhD degrees and has a long-standing tradition of
emphasis on phenomenological and humanistic psychology.
Simon
Silverman Phenomenology Center at Duquesne University--this
web site has almost all of the abstracts of the psychology dissertations done
at Duquesne University, University of Dallas, and a number from Georgia State
University and the Saybrook Institute. The dissertations cover a vast spectrum
of topics including hopelessness, forgiveness, depression, infidelity, magic
and science, psychotherapy, eating disorders, and many more:
http://www.library.duq.edu/silverman/index.htm
Society
for Phenomenology and the Human Sciences—SPHS encourages the
application of phenomenological methodology to specific investigations within
the human sciences. You are invited to join SPHS in its effort to achieve a
deeper understanding of and engagement with the Life-World. SPHS holds its
meetings in conjunction with SPEP (Society for Phenomenology and Existential
Philosophy).
http://pages.slu.edu/faculty/harriss3/SPHS/aboutSPHS.html
Dr.
Hiroshi Yasunaga gave the keynote address at the 2002
conference in Tokyo, Japan. His keynote address, “O. S. Wauchope’s Possible
Contributions to the Next Generation: Pattern, Pattern Reversal, and the
Phantom Theory” is available at: