IHSR Newsletter, Fall 2023

Table of Contents

• Greetings from the editor
• Reflections on the 2023 40th IHSR Conference Dinner from doctoral Student, Tomokatsu “Tomo” Konu
• Report on the 2023 40th IHSR Conference from Conference Organizer, by
  Shogo Tanaka
• Business Meeting Notes from the 2023 Conference, Tokai University, Japan, by Steen Halling
• Information on the 41st International Human Science Research Conference Summer of 2024 Conference, Molloy University, Long Island, New YorkCall for iVenues and Dates for the 2025 42nd International Human Science Research Conference
• In Memorium: Lane Gerber (1939-2023)
• Qualitative Research Publications 
• New Edition to European Journal of Qualitative Research in Psychotherapy (EJQRP)
• Transdisciplinary Phenomenology Research Group
• ICNAP – Interdisciplinary Coalition of North American Phenomenologists – May 20th – 23rd – Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA
• European Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (ECQI) 
• Symposium on Ecophenomenology & the Semiotics on Complex Systems Adaptation
• Latest Edition of Environmental and Architectural Phenomenology
• Job Posting: Seattle University Assistant Professor of Psychology
• Book Reviews and More
• Links/Connections

Additional Items of Note:

• Deadline for Submissions for F all 2024 Newsletter:  October 1, 2024
• Please email Dr. Claire LeBeau if your email address changes or if you wish to unsubscribe; also email her with material for the 2024 edition.
• Please forward the newsletter on to interested colleagues—it is free to anyone who wants to receive it. 

Welcome to the 2023 IHSR Newsletter

One cannot get beyond history and time, all one can do is manufacture a private eternity in their midst, as artificial as the eternity of the madman who believes he is God. There is no vital spirit in gloomy isolated dreams; spirit only appears in the full light of dialogue. (p. 49)

There is only one evil, war itself, and one duty, refusing to believe in victories of right and civilization and putting an end to war. So this solitary Cartesian thinks ---but he does not see his shadow behind him projected onto history as onto a wall, this sense, this figure that his actions assume on the outside, this Objective Spirit that is himself. (p. 47)

Merleau-Ponty (1945/2007). The War Has Taken Place. In The Merleau-Ponty Reader. Northwestern University Press. (Original work published in 1945 in an editorial written for the first issue of Les Temps Modernes)

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

I have been reflecting a great deal, as I am sure you all have and regularly do, on the place we occupy in this world and the time we are living through in the arc of human temporality.  In his 1945 essay, The War Has Taken Place, Merleau-Ponty was also beginning to reflect on the state of the world after both WWII and the previous war of consciousness that was inaugurated by Descartes’ Cogito Ergo Sum, I think therefore I am, doctrine of dualism and separation; mind/body, self/other, us/them, etc. Merleau-Ponty dedicated his life work to trying to re-member, embody again, our original condition of our human relational interdependence and intersubjectivity.  In our work in this human science community, we also strive to overcome the “gloomy isolated dreams” of these illusions of separation.  That this is an illusion reflects the deepest thread in our research, a longing for expressions of our living experiential interconnection. Again, this is the work that the Human Science community has been committed to exploring for the last half century.  I am excited to see what else we can do.  

Last August for the 40th IHSR Conference, we were able to meet and gather once again in person at Tokai University to explore the theme of Intercorporeality: (Re) Connecting people beyond social distance.  As you can read from the messages below, this gathering was incredibly moving and inspiring for the participants.  This next Summer, June 9th through the 13th, we look forward to meeting at Molloy University, Rockville Center, New York for our 41st IHSR Conference exploring the theme of Advancing International Human Science Research: Creating Gracious Space. Hoping to see you there!  

Over the last three years, we have been working hard to update the IHSR Newsletter listserv.  It is important to note that, due to confidentiality and online privacy standards at many institutions, presenters and participants at the conferences are not automatically added to the IHSR emailing listserv, so please make sure to reach out to let us know that you would like to be included and what your preferred email contact is.

Once again, thank you for all of your strivings and for continuing to reach for these moments when something new can grow within and between us.    

If there is anything I can do to help you share your work and participate in this network, please let me know by emailing me at lebeauc@seattleu.edu.  Hope to see you again this next June in New York.  Until then, take such good care of yourselves.  

Gratefully,

Claire LeBeau

Reflections on the 2023 40th IHSR Conference Dinner – Tokai University, Japan – August 2023

Submitted by Tomokatsu Kono

Dear IHSR members,

My name is Tomokatsu Kono. I work as a medical doctor in Japan, where I sometimes engage in bodywork (the method I use as a therapist can be considered as a kind of body-oriented psychotherapy). In addition, I am a doctoral fellow at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and a PhD student at Hokkaido University, where I am studying the philosophy of science, with a focus on 4E cognition in the field of psychiatry, especially as it relates to attention-deficit hyperactive disorder.

I recently had the opportunity to attend IHSRC 2023 Tokyo, which was held at the Shonan Campus of Tokai University. The conference was organized by Shogo Tanaka, a professor of philosophy and psychology at Tokai University and one of my mentors and supervisors. Professor Takana told me that he will be submitting a detailed report of the conference to be published in this newsletter, so instead of doing the same thing, in my report, I would like to focus exclusively on one particular scene that remains etched in my memory, namely, the conference dinner.

The dinner took place on the fourth day of the conference at a villa named Genjikan, which is located on the grounds of Jinya, a traditional Japanese inn close to the conference venue. Genjikan is a gorgeous building filled with a deep sense of mysterious tranquility and a powerful sense of history. According to Jinya’s website, the villa is a renovated 300-year-old building.

A few months before the conference, I asked Professor Tanaka what the conference dinner would be like. He said, “Conference banquets at IHSRC have a distinctive meaning for all the members of the community. They are not mere dinner parties; they function instead as reunions for many of the members and are considered to be an essential part of the long tradition of the IHSRC. The members place a great deal of importance on it. So, if you can, I urge you to attend.” I remember replying that I would, without thinking much about it at the time. It was actually after the banquet when I finally grasped what he meant by the words “a distinctive meaning.” From my own perspective as a bodyworker, the banquet seemed to have a therapeutic meaning. It looked and felt like one massive, high-quality bodywork group session based on the intercorporeal interaction and resonance between the participants (and I think it fits perfectly with this year’s theme: “Intercorporeality: (Re)connecting people beyond social distance”). This interesting feeling of similarity between the banquet and a therapeutic session became especially evident to me soon after Dr. Akihiro Yoshida (I refer to him as “Aki-sensei” here with great respect), who was one of the eldest and most long-standing members at the conference, started to give a speech about his academic life and his beautiful memories of past IHSRC experiences. In that speech, he said that the IHSRC had been his “intellectual home” (if I remember him correctly). Although it was the very first time for me to attend the conference, I could already, at least in part, understand what he meant—this conference somehow felt like “home” and it was cozy, even to a first-time attendee such as me.

When Aki-sensei’s heart-warming speech came to an end, there were many in the audience, including Professor Tanaka, who were moved to tears. One of them, another first-time attendee, confessed to me right after the speech, “I was really moved by his words as well as the tender, welcoming atmosphere of this banquet. I’ve been desperately searching for a long time for a place like this where I can feel safe and do my own research. Now, I’ve finally found it! The warmness of this place has saved me, really. I have no other words…!” Another young member who was also moved to tears by Aki-sensei’s speech told me later, “I normally feel tense and become defensive when I give my presentation at conferences because I am afraid of receiving academic criticism from the audience. But today, because of the friendly and welcoming atmosphere of this conference and banquet, I have come to feel that it would be okay for me to act in a more relaxed and less defensive manner when I present my thoughts in front of others.”

 

As you can see from their words, Aki-sensei’s speech and the whole atmosphere of the banquet hall helped a number of attendees develop their own therapeutic processes of awareness and emotional discharge, nurturing a profound sense of safety and relaxation inside them.

Lastly, on a personal note, I would like to talk about a therapeutic effect of the banquet that I personally experienced. Quite interestingly, the effects I noticed included not only mental ones like those that took place inside the participants, as I mentioned earlier, but also a physical one. Unfortunately, I have had acid reflux for many years, and during most of the conference I experienced severe throat discomfort as a result. Because of this, it was nearly impossible for me to speak for any length of time. As you might know, acid reflux symptoms are often exacerbated by eating and drinking alcohol. Although as a medical doctor I knew I should not, I could not help myself during the banquet because the taste and the quality of the Japanese cuisine and drinks served at Genjikan were outstanding. In addition, because someone who had been assigned to my table was absent, I was asked to eat their portion. I happily took on this responsibility and ate the better part of two full dinner courses. Naturally, I expected my symptoms would get worse after the banquet because of what I had done. However, to my surprise, my symptoms somehow got better and better as the banquet drew to a close. It was while engaged in a lively conversation over tea after the dinner with a new friend I had made at the conference that I noticed my throat discomfort had almost entirely disappeared and that I was speaking without being interrupted by the annoying symptoms in my throat (although I must add that I relapsed soon after the conference ended).

In this way, the banquet became an unforgettable “therapeutic” experience for me. I believe that many of the other attendees who spent time together at Genjikan on that day would likely agree with me to some extent.

It is my great hope that we can see each other again soon at a future IHSRC. Until then!

Best regards,

Tomokatsu “Tomo” Kono

P.S., If anyone has any comments or thoughts on my report, I would be delighted if you would share them with me by email: philosophia.scientiarum@gmail.com.

Report from Conference Organizer on the 2023 40th IHSR Conference – Tokai University, Japan – August 2023

Report on the 40th IHSR Conference

Tokai University, Tokyo, Japan, August 7-11, 2023

Submitted by Shogo Tanaka, Conference Organizer

Tokai University in Tokyo hosted the 40th International Human Science Research Conference from August 7-11, 2023. The conference was postponed twice due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I encountered numerous challenges since I proposed at the 38th conference in Molde to hold the 40th meeting at the Tokai University. One significant challenge concerned the venue. I initially reserved the PIO (Ota Industrial Plaza) near Tokyo International Airport but canceled it after the first postponement. I then secured the Takanawa Campus of Tokai University for the 39th IHSR conference business meeting. However, a decision in February 2023 (made by the university chancellor) to renovate the Takanawa Campus forced me to relocate again. Ultimately, we settled on the Shonan Campus on the western edge of Tokyo, which isn't easy to access, even for domestic attendees. I apologize for any inconvenience this change may have caused and express my gratitude to the participants and organizing committee members for their unwavering support. Despite the issues regarding the venue's accessibility, we welcomed more participants than anticipated, leading to a rich diversity of discussions and perspectives. Here are some details:

Conference Theme: Intercorporeality: (Re) Connecting people beyond the social distance

Total Participants: 112

Individual Sessions: 79 (representing academic institutions of 11 countries)

Keynote Lectures: Four lectures by Dr. Tadashi Nishihira, Dr. Asa Ito, Dr. Scott Churchill, and Dr. Vanessa Heaslip.

Organized Symposia: Three Symposia led by Dr. Shogo Tanaka/Dr. Tsuneo Watanabe, Dr. Tetsuya Kono/Dr. Yumi Nishimura, and Dr. Kayoko Ueda.

The IHSR conference brought together familiar and new faces. Many attendees from Japan and Taiwan participated, marking the second IHSR conference in Japan/Asia since 2001. We hope they will bring fresh insights to future meetings based on their experience in Tokyo. Regular participants, vital for maintaining the conference's phenomenological spirit, also attended in significant numbers. I must extend special thanks to Dr. Akihiro Yoshida and Dr. Steen Halling for their memorable speeches at the conference dinner.

Together with my colleagues, we named the conference theme "Intercorporeality"

and subtitled it "(Re)Connecting people beyond social distance." The pandemic saw people adapting to socially distant communication. Many embraced online communication platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. However, these interactions often felt limited to facial and vocal exchanges. We chose our theme, hoping to revive the dynamic, lived experiences of real-space interactions. Reflecting on the conference and the heartwarming dinner at Jinya, I firmly believe we achieved our goal. My heartfelt thanks go out to all participants!

IHSR Business Meeting Notes from the 2023 Tokai University Conference

Submitted by Steen Halling, Seattle University

Report on the Business Meeting, 2023 International Human Science Research Conference,

Tokai University, Japan, Friday, August 11.

Shogo Tanaka Tokai University, the chair of the 2023 conference organizing meeting, led the meeting. About a dozen participants attended.

The first order of business was a presentation by Dr. Randy Pellew, via ZOOM, from Molloy University (Rockville Centre, New York), the host for the 2024 conference.

As indicated on the flyer for this event, the dates for the conference will be June 9 to June 13, 2024, with the theme, “Advancing International Human Science Research: Creating Gracious Space.” The University has dormitories that participants can use and there are numerous hotels nearby. There will be excursions and events planned for New York City for those who are interested. Molloy became a university two years ago and has about 10,000 students. The University is providing some funding for this conference, and the organizing committee is working on identifying keynote speakers. The email address for the conference is ihsrc41@molloy.edu

Second, Professor Tanaka reported on this year’s meeting. One of the challenges the organizing had to deal with was that the originally proposed site for the conference, the campus in downtown Tokyo, became unavailable because of campus renovations. The proposal for the conference was originally made at the 2019 conference in Molde, Norway, but because of Covid, the date was extended to 2023. Since Takai University at the current location does not have dormitories, the participants had to stay at nearby hotels and take the train to the university. (note from Steen Halling: As it turned out the hotels available were inexpensive and the train ride was quite easy).

By numbers: there were 112 participants, 4 keynote speakers, 79 paper presentations, and 9 symposiasts. There were 15 auditors. The total budget for the conference was around 3,500, 000 Yen ($ 25,000 US dollars). Most of the money came from registration fees but there were grants in the amount of 1,100.000 Yen and support from Tokai University in the amount of 400,00 Yen. The conference broke even with income equaling expenses. The grants covered the cost of bringing in the keynote speakers. The speakers were chosen by individual members of the organizing committee.*

The participants applauded and thanked Shogo Tanaka and his colleagues for running such an excellent conference. Several participants suggested that the business meeting would get better attendance if it were not scheduled for the very last day of the conference, hoping that Molloy organizers would keep this idea in mind.

Third, there was a brief discussion about possible sites for the 2025 conference. There was no one present who was able to offer to host in 2025 but three possibilities in Northern Europe were mentioned and would be explored in the months to come.

Finally, Steen Halling spoke briefly on behalf of Claire LeBeau, the editor of the International Human Science Research Conference Newsletter. He reminded the participants that the

newsletter would be available in the fall and that all of those attending this conference would have their email addresses added to the newsletter list so that they would be notified when the newsletter was available. Also, we would welcome information about new books to include in the newsletter.

Members of the 2023 Organizing Committee:

• Tetsuya Kono. Philosophy, Professor of Rikkyo University, Tokyo
• Masahiro Nochi, Clinical Psychology, Professor of the University of Tokyo, Tokyo
• Yumi Nishimura, Nursing, Professor of Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo
• Wei-Lun Lee, Clinical Psychology, Professor of National Chengchi University, Taiwan
• Naoko Murai, Pedagogy, Professor of Kyoto Women’s University, Kyoto
• Kayoko Ueda, Social Work, Associate Professor of Kawasaki University of Medical Welfare, Okayama
• Haruka Okui, Pedagogy, Associate Professor of Doshisha University, Kyoto

IHSR 2024 – 41st IHSR Conference

Molloy University – Rockville Center, NY 
Sunday June 9th – Thursday June 13, 2024

Advancing International Human Science Research: Creating Gracious Space captures the focus of the conference. We bring together researchers, scholars, and qualitative experts from around the world to engage in academic discourse that transcends borders and cultures. We welcome all types of qualitative designs. By fostering collaboration, embracing diversity, and promoting open dialogue, we will hope to maximize a holistic understanding of complex human phenomena, that will provide unique insights into humanistic scientific exploration and innovation.

We are pleased to invite you to submit an abstract of your research for presentation at the International Human Science Research Conference. We invite you to join our vibrant community of researchers, scholars, and scientists dedicated to advancing international human science research. Together we create a gracious space where diverse perspectives thrive, are supported, and embraced. The conference will bring together international researchers, professors and doctoral students to share their qualitative research ideas. This interdisciplinary research conference will take place from Sunday, June 9 to Thursday, June 13, 2024, at the Rockville Centre, NY campus of Molloy University. The conference will bring together international researchers, professors and doctoral students to share their qualitative research ideas.

More Detailed information can be found here:

• Official Link: The 41st International Human Science Research Conference 2024 | Molloy University
• Alternate Link (Full URL)

Abstract Guidelines:

• Abstracts should be limited to 500 words
• On a separate page, please include:
• Author's name with credentials
• Author's contact information (Phone, E-Mail, Mailing Address)
• Affiliation Information
• Biography limited to 200 words
• Presentation Title
• Deadline for Submission: Monday, January 15, 2024
• Decisions will be sent out by Thursday, February 15, 2024
• E-Mail for submission: IHSRC41@molloy.edu
• Each presentation will be 20 minutes with an additional 10 minutes for Questions and Answer/Discussion (total 30 minutes per presentation).

Please indicate the category for your Abstract from the list below:

1. A study that reveals the epistemological characteristic of the design.
2. A transformative study that exemplifies the opening up of unique possibilities for conducting qualitative research.
3. A study that demonstrates an appreciation of the role of humanistic research values such as diversity, equity, and inclusion.
4. Other
5. Please email IHSRC41@molloy.edu with any questions. The conference web site will be updated with any new information that is available.

Call for Venues and Sponsors for the 2025 42nd IHSR Conference

At the 2023 Business Meeting in Japan, there was a brief discussion about possible sites for the 2025 conference. There was no one present who was able to offer to host in 2025 but three possibilities in Northern Europe were mentioned and it was said that these would be explored in the months to come. Please reach out to me to let me know if your organization would like to sponsor the 2025 IHSR Conference by emailing lebeauc@seattleu.edu. 

In Memoriam

In memoriam: Lane Anthony Gerber (1939-2023) 

Dr. Lane Anthony Gerber, our beloved friend and mentor from the Seattle University Master of Arts in Existential-Phenomenological Psychology, passed away on Sunday May 21st, in the late afternoon. He was surrounded by his friends and family, his wife Joanna, his daughter, Jennifer, and his son Matt.  As an original founder of the MAP program in 1980 with Dr. George Kunz and Dr. Steen Halling, Lane brought a profoundly compassionate and welcoming presence to generations of students and therapists in training. Lane was a regular presenter at the International Human Science Research Conference throughout the years, especially sharing his clinical work and research with Cambodian survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime. Lane kept a clinical practice until days before he passed away as he continued to live into his mission of integrating political-social-environmental justice priorities in his therapeutic work with his patients. For his students, during the brief Thanksgiving break each year, Lane was known for inviting students who could not make it back home to his home to share a potluck feast and fellowship. For his colleagues, Lane was a trusted advisor and light-hearted friend who offered outrage for our misfortunes, understanding and solidarity for our struggles, and wisdom for our transcendence. For his therapy patients, he was in truth a saver of lives. As a father and husband, he was beloved beyond measure. In short, he offered a calm and steadying loving presence to everyone who had the great fortune of meeting him and being with him. He wrote this of his belief in the philosophical foundations for psychology:

“According to an old fable, all the truths of the world were once locked up in a large bag. When someone tried to unlock this bag, all of the truths got out and were scattered to the ends of the earth. Each person was left to find a bit of truth for him/herself--and to remember that whatever is found is but one of the pieces in the bag. Psychology is one path to a deeper understanding of who I am, how others feel, and what it's like to be in this world.”

As a gatherer of our truths and our light, he is deeply missed and will be long remembered. His memory is indeed a blessing.

-Claire LeBeau

European Journal for Qualitative Research in Psychotherapy

We are delighted to announce the first seven articles of 2023 have just been uploaded. We hope you enjoy reading the different articles with their diverse topics and methodologies. A few more articles are planned for publication later this year.

Linda Finlay, Editor, EJQRP

Also, EJQRP has joined Twitter. Look for us on Twitter under our handle - @ejqrp

The mission of the European Journal for Qualitative Research in Psychotherapy (EJQRP) is to provide an accessible forum for research that advances the theory and practice of psychotherapy and supports practitioner-orientated research.

We, the Editorial Team, appreciate the limitations that currently govern opportunities for research and academic scholarship, including restricted access to international research journals. The hope is that the freely available, online format will help make research more widely available to practitioners.

We celebrate our qualitative values of being open and inclusive by welcoming all forms of qualitative research and respecting diverse approaches and understandings. We are mindful of the many cultures and languages within Europe, and we appreciate the challenge of writing in English when it is not the author’s first language. We encourage authors to submit parts of their research (data set, summary of findings, appendices) in the authors' first language if that is helpful. Extra support with writing and editing is available to all authors, particularly if English is not the author's first language. 

The journal offers a space for any qualitative research which aims to explore psychotherapeutic practice, whether in Europe or further afield. We welcome contributions from different methodological and theoretical standpoints, as well as relevant literature reviews, critical explorations of methodology and philosophical research. Submissions of qualitative empirical research examples are particularly encouraged. 

We also wish to encourage dialogue and debate within our relatively young profession. As we see it, this involves not only exploring the richness of psychotherapy practice but also supporting and challenging one another. To this end, the Editorial Team will try to make themselves available to positively encourage a new generation of writers/researchers to share their research experience. If you have an idea for a possible article but you are unsure about how to proceed, please feel free to contact us. 

A new book titled Supporting Research in Counseling and Psychotherapy: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Research has just been published by Palgrave Macmillan (2022). Edited by two of our editorial board members - Sofe Bager-Charleson and Alistair McBeath - it offers a valuable foundation and guide to research in psychotherapy spanning both science and art.

Transdisciplinary Phenomenological Research Group,

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA

Because our meetings have been conducted via Zoom technology for several years, the Transdisciplinary Phenomenology Research Group has been able to continue our regular Tuesday sessions despite the pandemic. At present the TPRG has 25 faculty and students from 9 universities. Most TPRG participants are from psychology, nursing, or education, but we also have group members from social work and child and family studies. At a typical Tuesday meeting, we usually have at least 12-15 in attendance. 

The transdisciplinary phenomenology research group at University of Tennessee in Knoxville offers collegial critique and support to faculty and students conducting phenomenological research. The diverse ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds of group members contribute to lively discussion. Weekly TPRG meetings, taking place via Zoom technology, currently involve people from 6 universities. Disciplines include education, nursing, clinical psychology, and child and family studies. The two-hour meetings allot time to one or more researchers who would like feedback on a question, assistance with a bracketing interview, or aid with analysis of interview transcripts. Transcripts are read aloud because hearing a text is different from reading it. One member takes the part of the interviewer, and another takes the part of the participant. The reading continues until a group member asks the reading to stop because something stands out regarding the meaning of the phenomenon. Alternate perspectives are discussed until the group is ready to move on. The group serves a mentoring function for the novice phenomenologist, and more experienced researchers discover how much more illuminating the group discussion is, in contrast to solitary reading. More information about the TPRG, including publications and dissertations, reach out to Sandra Thomas. To visit a Zoom meeting of the TPRG, contact Sandra Thomas to obtain permission and log-in information: sthomas@utk.edu.

Sandra P. Thomas, PhD, RN, FAAN

Editor, "Issues in Mental Health Nursing"

Sara and Ross Croley Endowed Professor in Nursing

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

College of Nursing

1200 Volunteer Blvd.

Knoxville, TN 37996-4180, USA

Interdisciplinary Coalition of north American Phenomenologists (ICNAP)

https://icnap.org/

Phenomenology at the Borders

The Society of Phenomenology and the Human Sciences (SPHS) &

The Interdisciplinary Coalition of North American Phenomenologists (ICNAP)

 

2024 Joint Meeting

May 20th-23rd, 2024

Hosted by Duquesne University

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Submission of abstracts is now open for the joint meeting of the Interdisciplinary Coalition of North American Phenomenologists (ICNAP) and the Society of Phenomenology and the Human Sciences (SPHS) next May 2024 at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Given the proliferation of conflicts around borders as a present and pressing concern, the time is ripe for phenomenology to bring to bear the very lived consequences of borders – internal, institutional, and geopolitical. Paper proposals on the phenomenology of borders—be they philosophical, psychological, rhetorical, sociological, anthropological, religious and theological, political, or disciplinary—are particularly welcome. Possible topics include the following:

• How are borders experienced? How do they shape lived space and time?
• What unique resources can the methods of phenomenology bring to reflection on borders?
• How are borders experienced in the body? In the mind? In intersubjectivity?
• What are the benefits and limits of disciplinary borders? Are these borders porous or solid?
• Does phenomenology itself have borders? Are some kinds of thought “inside” or “outside” it?

While we welcome submissions relating to the phenomenology of borders, we also invite submissions on other topics within the scope of phenomenology in the human sciences and interdisciplinary phenomenology. Whereas we will be featuring renowned scholars from around the world, we are especially encouraging beginning researchers and students to submit papers as well.

Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words for twenty-minute paper presentations to phenomenology24@gmail.com by 11:59 PM EST on January 15th 2024. Please include the name of the author, affiliation, and the title of the presentation. Speakers must be members of either ICNAP or SPHS before delivering their paper. Please see the websites of ICNAP (www.icnap.org) and/or SPHS (www.sphs.info) for ongoing updates about the conference.

ICNAP is a scholarly organization committed to fostering interdisciplinary connections with original works in phenomenology across the full spectrum of disciplines. Planned in 2008 by colleagues from Architecture, Communicology, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology, ICNAP has been enhanced in annual conferences since 2009 through an infusion of colleagues in Literature, Nursing and Health Care, Psychiatry, Social Work, Education, Musicology, Ecology, and other fields that continue to expand its interdisciplinary scope.

ICNAP is committed to bringing expert and novice phenomenologists together. We welcome scholars new in their explorations of phenomenology and offer special workshops on the philosophical foundations of phenomenology, phenomenological methodology, and phenomenology in clinical practice. The goal is to bring more scholars and practitioners into phenomenological work, and to broaden the work of phenomenologists beyond textual exegesis.

For more information about the Interdisciplinary Coalition of North American Phenomenologists, contact the President of ICNAP, Athena Colman, at president@icnap.org.

European Congress of Qualitative Inquiry 

Save the date for the seventh edition of ECQI:
January, 10-12th 2024

Congress Theme:

Participation, collaboration and co-creation: Qualitative Inquiry across and beyond divides!

Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland

 

https://www.europeannetworkqi.org/european-congress-qualitative-inquiry-2024

Participatory research, citizen science, co-creation, research creation, collaborative ways of knowing: the range of participatory approaches in qualitative inquiries has expanded in recent years, with such approaches being applied in an increasing number of disciplines as well as across paradigmatic boundaries. The ECQI 2024 engages with these developments with an aim to foster dialogues across and in-between disciplinary and paradigmatic divides. We invite engagement with questions such as: What does it mean to practice or enact participation in research? How are participation, voice and agency linked? What are the conditions of possibility for participation in different disciplines and among participants who are differently positioned in society? What unites and what separates differently labeled approaches with roots in different traditions of thought – and efforts to break free from them? Is participation always innocent? How can we work against the various hierarchising forces that shape academic research and the positions afforded to researchers and co-inquirers? It is timely to ask: Participation - but who is invited? By whom? For whom? With what kinds of consequences? 

We welcome submissions which engage directly with the congress theme but also those that reach beyond it and focus on timely topics within qualitative inquiries more broadly. We also welcome submissions from researchers at all stages of their careers, including undergraduate students and doctoral researchers.

https://www.helsinki.fi/en/conferences/7th-european-congress-qualitative-inquiry

Symposium on Ecophenomenology & 
the Semiotics on Complex Systems Adaptation
 Exploring Experiential Alterations of Sign Processes in Natural and Cultural Milieus. 

Powsin-Warsaw, Poland

August 27 (Tuesday)–30 (Friday), 2024

https://ogrod-powsin.pl/en/about-garden/

An international symposium organized by The Research Federation of WSB–DSW Merito Universities, Gdańsk, & The Faculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, in Cooperation with The Polish Academy of Sciences Botanical Garden Center for Biological Diversity Conservation in Powsin, Poland, under the Auspices of The International Communicology Institute, Washington, D.C., USA.

Environmental & Architectural Phenomenology 

The 2023 summer/fall issue of Environmental and Architectural Phenomenology is attached as a PDF and is available at this link.

The issue includes four essays: 

1. Zoologist Stephen Wood examines jizz—the singular presence of a living being instantly recognizable without the involvement of conscious attention; Wood’s focus is the jizz of birds.
2. Geographer Edward Relph considers aspects of a phenomenology of climate change by examining how the phenomenon is understood and experienced via both every day and extreme environmental situations and events.
3. Philosopher Robert Josef Kozljanič overviews the study of genius loci (sense of place), giving particular attention to recent phenomenological research on the topic, including the “New Phenomenology” of philosopher Hermann Schmitz.
4. Artist and place researcher Victoria King recounts her Australian experiences with indigenous women of the Outback and their work in sand painting. 
    

You are welcome to forward the PDF to anyone you think might be interested. A complete digital EAP archive (1990-2023) is available at this link.

David Seamon Editor, Environmental and Architectural Phenomenology 

Job Posting

Assistant Professor – Master of Arts in Psychology (MAP) Program 

The Department of Psychology at Seattle University invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position, with familiarity and appreciation of Humanistic and Existential- Phenomenological Clinical Psychology beginning September 1, 2024.

The MAP program seeks candidates with a record of excellence in clinical teaching, mentorship, and practice, and a demonstrated commitment to work with ethnically diverse and underserved communities. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in qualitative research methods and skills in either collaborative assessment or the study of psychological development in rich social and cultural contexts. The primary responsibilities will be teaching in the graduate program with the possibility of teaching undergraduate psychology courses, progressive and continuing scholarly and intellectual contributions, and service to the department, college, and university.

Books and More

• Jennifer Nicole Bacon (2023). These Black Kids: Culturally Responsive Poetry and the Lived Experience of African American Adolescent Girls. [University Professors Press, $ 27.85 pp; $ 88.95 hb].

The following endorsement by Professor Francine Hultgren captures the essence of this book well: “Dr. Bacon’s study is an amazing work in drawing out the lived experiences of adolescent girls who were able to name themselves through the poetry writing process she engaged them in through her poetry writing group. The writing of the adolescent girls is so very powerful in displaying what their lived experiences are as African American adolescents struggling for a voice. Dr. Bacon is fast becoming a leading scholar in this area.”

• Bill Brennan and Alex Belser (2024). EMBARK Psychedelic Therapy for Depression: A New Approach for the Whole Person [Oxford University Press, 352 pp. $ 39.95; also available as E Book]. Will be available April 2024 but can be preordered from the publisher.

This book provides a comprehensive guide to psychedelic therapy for depression and addresses identified gaps in existing models of psychedelic therapy. Incorporates the EMBARK model, a unique therapeutic framework for psychedelic therapy and contains leading-edge instruction by experienced professionals on how to conduct psychedelic integration support. [The EMBARK model is based on evidence-based treatments and has been applied to various psychiatric disorders, including depression].

• Isaac E. Catt (2023). The Human Image in Helmuth Plessner, Pierre Bourdieu, and Psychocentric Culture. [Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefield, 234 pp. $ 100 hb. $ 45.00 E book] 

In The Human Image in Helmuth Plessner, Pierre Bourdieu, and Psychocentric Culture, Isaac E. Catt offers a unique criticism of naturalistic reductions of humans to animals, to neuro substrates and to DNA. Catt explores a new interpretation of Plessner and Bourdieu, revealing the combinatory logic of semiotic phenomenology in both and their common problematic of communication. Through an emergent synthesis of philosophical anthropology and communicology, this book provides a basis for criticism of the failed mechanistic medical model in psychiatry, a fresh argument for reconceptualizing psychiatry as a human science, and for construction of a new ecological image of communicative being. Throughout the book, alternative attempts to transcend dualisms such as cybernetics, anti-anthropocentrism, and biosemiotics are revealed to risk reification of the very objects of their analysis. Scholars of communication, semiotics, philosophy, psychiatry, cultural studies, mental distress, and psychology will find this book of particular interest.

• Enrico Gnaulati (2023). Flourishing Love: A Secular Guide to Lasting Intimate Relationships [Karmac Press, $19.95 pp. 244 pages].

Based on personal and clinical experience, as well as extensive review of relevant literature, Gnaulati, a noted author and clinical psychologist, provides us with a guide to long term committed relationships. Kirk Schneider, another well-known existential psychologist, writes,” Replete with examples and humanistic sensibilities, Flouring Love is a must for everyone yearning for deep and enduring partnership.” The flyer for the book states that it “is a secular defense of marriage and long-term intimate partnership, It rejects a religious code to govern love lives and instead puts its faith in the human potential for couples to be benevolent, loyal, and forgiving to preserve and enhance their romantic union.” Anyone who has read Enrico Ganulati’s books knows that he is a compelling and engaging writer.

• Steen Halling (Editor). (2023). The Lived Experience of Forgiveness: Phenomenological and Psychological Perspectives. Contributions by Irene Gillian Bowman; Peter Costello; Steen Halling, Anne Kubai, Claire LeBeau, Gabriela Mihalache, and Milo Milburn. [Lexington Press., 248 pp. 978-1-66692-612-5 • Hardback • $ 70 if ordered from ordered from Lexington website, using the code LXFANDF30, https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781666926132/The-Lived-Experience-of-Forgiveness- Phenomenological-and-Psychological-Perspectives. 978-1-66692-613-2 • Similarly, the eBook version is available for $31.50 if ordered from the website.

This book remedies the absence of systematic research on the experience of forgiveness by bringing together the work of five psychologists, one philosopher, and one theologian. The contributors have researched various aspects of forgiveness through interviews and field work, allowing for a clarification of this topic and providing a basis for evaluating the often-contradictory assertions of the existing literature. This volume demonstrates the value of careful study of human experience by examining forgiveness in its various manifestations within a phenomenological framework that strives to set aside and question presuppositions—whether they be religious, philosophical, or psychological—and look at phenomena with fresh eyes. This approach enables a more creative and productive dialogue among the disciplines of psychology, theology, and philosophy, with experience as a common reference point, and thereby leads to a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of forgiveness.

• Finn Thorbjørn Hansen, Solveig Botnen Eide, and Carlo Leget (Editors). (2023). Wonder, Silence and Human Flourishing: Toward a Rehumanization of Health, Education and Welfare. [Lexington Press, 224 pages. Hardback :ISBN 978-1-66691- 120-6 March2023. $70.00. Ebook: ISBN 978-1-66691-121. $31.50, (These are discount prices if you order from Lexington, as with the above book.)

This distinctive and engaging book is true to the phenomenologist Jan Patocka’s vision of philosophy as care of the soul. The editors have brought together researchers who have a firsthand knowledge of the life-giving possibilities of approaching ordinary and professional life in a mode of openness and wonder. These possibilities are explored through consideration of a vast range of thinkers, from Buber, Wittgenstein, Marcel to Løgstrup and Gadamer. What makes this volume especially valuable is that the contributors are immersed in education, literature, and nursing and bring experiences of wonder and stillness to the forefront of their dialogue with these philosophers. Readers will be moved by vivid accounts of the experience of being overtaken by wonder. Further, they will come away with an appreciation of the humanizing power of philosophy as a practice that both confronts the estrangement of our times and shows this estrangement is interrupted through spiritual connection with other people and nature.

• Gunnar Karlsson (2023). Psychoanalytic and phenomenological reflections on masculinity, {Routledge. $ 170 Hardback; 39.95 pp.} https://www.routledge.com/Psychoanalytic-and-Ph-enomenological-Reflections-on- Masculinity/Karlsson/p/book/9781032402772 

In this highly original volume, Gunnar Karlsson offers new answers to the question concerning the relationship between belonging to a specific sex as a male and striving for a masculine identity. This book offers a uniquely psychoanalytic and phenomenological perspective on masculinity. Karlsson considers masculinity and traditional masculine ideals through a psychoanalytic lens before taking phenomenological concepts to chisel out the relationship between sex and gender. This perspective is developed throughout the volume to inspire readers to further their understanding of traditional gender assignment – female, male and intersex – in light of gendered characteristics such as femininity and masculinity. Chapters span topics such as the characteristics of typical, so-called “phallic masculinity”, its allure and psychogenetic explanation, as well as looking at what phallic masculinity disregards. Throughout, Karlsson maintains that phallic masculinity is unattainable, as it seeks to escape the existential conditions of helplessness, vulnerability, and dependence. He makes the case for the importance of considering the notion of ego-identity in the field of sex/gender studies, encouraging a liberation from gender stereotypes. Psychoanalytic and Phenomenological Reflections on Masculinity will be of great interest to researchers, clinical psychoanalysts and psychotherapists, as well as anyone  interested in masculinity, gender studies and the relationship between sex and gender.

• Leswin Lauscher (2023). Levinas for Psychologists [Routledge, NY. 171 pp. $ 32 paper]. ISBN 9781032320083

Levinas for Psychologists provides a rigorous, yet accessible, examination of Emmanuel Levinas’s philosophy and its implications for psychology and the human and social sciences. Comprehensive in scope, this book traces Levinas’s thought across the arc of his oeuvre, from the earliest works to the last interviews and essays. Laubscher provides numerous examples of how Levinas’s thought challenges current clinical and psychotherapeutic work, psychological theory, social science research, and social theory but also offers promising alternatives. Such alternative ways to think and practice psychology are richly illuminated by accessible examples from therapy, research, and the social everyday. The volume makes Levinas’s dense and demanding philosophical language comprehensible and accessible, without losing the radical, profound, and poetic qualities of the original. Issues of justice, racism, and nature are addressed throughout, and these insights and conclusions are placed within a contemporary context. This book is essential reading for psychologists, philosophers, and anyone interested in the legacy of Levinas’s work.

• David Seamon (2023). Phenomenological Perspectives on Place, Lifeworlds, and Lived Emplacement: The Selected Writings of David Seamon. [Routledge, London. 294 pp. $47.65 ebook] ISBN 9781032357294 

Phenomenological Perspectives on Place, Lifeworlds and Lived Emplacement is a compilation of seventeen previously published articles and chapters by David Seamon, one of the foremost researchers in environmental, architectural, and place phenomenology. These entries discuss such topics as body-subject, the lived body, place ballets, environmental serendipity, homeworlds, and the pedagogy of place and placemaking. The volume's chapters are broken into three parts. Part I includes four entries that consider what phenomenology offers studies of place and placemaking. These chapters illustrate the theoretical and practical value of phenomenological concepts like lifeworld, natural attitude, and bodily actions in place. Part II incorporates five chapters that aim to understand place and lived emplacement phenomenologically. Topics covered include environmental situatedness, architectural phenomenology, environmental serendipity, and the value of phenomenology for a pedagogy of place and placemaking. Part III presents a number of explications of real-world places and place experience, drawing on examples from photography (André Kertész’s Meudon), television (Alan Ball’s Six Feet Under), film (John Sayles’ Limbo and Sunshine State), and imaginative literature (Doris Lessing’s The Four-Gated City and Louis Bromfield’s The World We Live in).

• Eric R. Severson and Kevin C. Krycka (Editors). (2023). The Psychology and Philosophy of Eugene Gendlin: Making Sense of Contemporary Experience. [Routledge, New York, 245 pp. $40.00]

This book brings together a collection of essays written by scholars inspired by Eugene Gendlin’s work, particularly those interested in thinking with and beyond Gendlin for the sake of a global community facing significant crises. The contributors take inspiration from Gendlin’s philosophy of the implicit, and his theoretical approach to psychology. The essays  engage with his ideas for our era, including critiques and corrections as well as extrapolations of his work. Gendlin himself worried that knowing about a problem is too often conflated with actions that might lead to change; the essays in this book point to a form of understanding that is activated, an embodied and immediate way of thinking about today’ s problems. Throughout the volume, the contributors creatively engage with Gendlin’s work and its applicability to the complex, pressing crises of our time: the Covid-19 pandemic, environmental/climate issues, racism, sexism, economic inequality, and other factors threatening human persons and communities. Gendlin’s theoretical approach to psychology is naturally interdisciplinary, making this book an essential read for anyone interested in moving to the boundaries where psychology meets philosophy, theology, art, environmental studies, science, technology, and much more.

Links and Connections

International Human Science Research Conference Network. The Internet Facebook page set up by Zdzisław Wąsik the convener of the 36 IHSRC in Jelenia Góra https://pl-pl.facebook.com/ihsrcn/ 

Friends Who Like the International Human Science Research Group. The Internet Facebook page set up by Zdzisław Wąsik the convener of the 36 IHSRC in Jelenia Góra. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/292116307832985/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/1812936158927821/ 

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. Interpretive and Qualitative Research (duq.edu) 

Encyclopaideia: Journal of Phenomenology and Education. This is an international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes articles representing the philosophical tradition of phenomenology and its connection with education. Articles about conceptual, theoretical, methodological, empirical and ethical issues in education are welcome. Contributions are accepted both in Italian and English. The journal is published by the University of Bologna. https://publons.com/journal/24878/encyclopaideia-journal-of-phenomenology-and-educat 

Environmental and Architectural Phenomenology (EAP). This newsletter has been in existence for twenty years. Edited by David Seamon, the newsletter is published three times a year. EAP is a forum and clearing house for research and design that incorporates a qualitative approach to environmental and architectural experience. The 2022 winter/spring issue is available at the following link: https://www.academia.edu/63030511/ENVIRONMENTAL_and_ARCHITECTURAL_PHENO MENOLOGY_winter_spring_2022_ 

Back issues are now available on the website. https://krex.k-state.edu/dspace/handle/2097/1522 

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. http://www.ehinstitute.org/ 

Gendlin Online Library. The Focusing Institute has 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 downloading. 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. http://previous.focusing.org/gendlin/gol_intro.asp

The Humanistic Psychologist. This long-established journal is devoted to reflective inquiry into humanistic psychologies, broadly defined. It publishes papers on qualitative research; humanistic, existential, and constructivist psychotherapies; transpersonal/spiritual psychology and psychotherapy; as well as phenomenological, feminist, and multicultural perspectives. In the spirit of a forward moving field, its editorial board welcomes submissions representing both modern conceptions and postmodern critiques of humanistic psychologies. http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/hum/index.aspx

Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology. This is a peer reviewed interdisciplinary online journal intended to provide scholars in the southern hemisphere with an avenue through which they can express their scholarship. IJEPP is the official organ of the International Society for Existential Psychology and Psychotherapy. Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology | Taylor & Francis Online (tandfonline.com) 

Interdisciplinary Coalition of North American Phenomenologists (ICNAP). See notice under calls for papers, above. http://icnap.org/

International Network of Personal Meaning. This network 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. http://www.meaning.ca/

Journal of Phenomenological Psychology. This journal publishes articles that advance the discipline of psychology from the perspective of the Continental phenomenology movement. Within that tradition, phenomenology is understood in the broadest possible sense including its transcendental, existential, hermeneutic, and narrative strands and is not meant to convey the thought of any one individual. https://brill.com/view/journals/jpp/jpp-overview.xml

European Journal of Qualitative Research in Psychotherapy. The journal offers a space for any qualitative research which aims to explore psychotherapeutic practice, whether in Europe or further afield. We welcome contributions from different methodological and theoretical standpoints, as well as relevant literature reviews, critical explorations of methodology and philosophical research. Submissions of qualitative empirical research examples are particularly encouraged. http://www.ejqrp.org

Middle Voices. Middle Voices is a peer-reviewed journal, which aims to carry forward the critical spirit of the human-science tradition of psychology in contemporary form. We seek original articles, including qualitative and quantitative research, critical and theoretical work, and symposium-based papers. Exceptional creative or experiential work may also be considered if it significantly engages with themes from human-science psychology. We invite scholarship from the social sciences and humanities, as well as post-graduate, faculty, and independent research. https://dsc.duq.edu/middle_voices/

Michigan School of Professional Psychology. Clark Moustakas, Michigan, USA, 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. https://mispp.edu/

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, and new books. You can subscribe and submit content via e-mail. https://newsletter-phenomenology.ophen.org/

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. [or] https://www.facebook.com/Newsletter-of-Phenomenology-128221887227929/

Psychotherapy Action Network. This organization, founded in 2017, is run entirely by volunteers. It is free to join and they truly welcome new members. PsiAn has three main purposes: 1) support psychotherapists who do in-depth work, 2) inform the public about the nature of psychotherapy, and 3) advocate, at the level of public policy and legislation, for psychotherapy. https://psian.org/

Saybrook University. Located in San Francisco, this program offers MA and PhD degrees and has a long-standing tradition of emphasis on phenomenological and humanistic psychology. https://www.saybrook.edu/areas-of-study/

Simon Silverman Phenomenology Center at Duquesne University. This website 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. https://www.duq.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/simon-silverman-phenomenology-center/index.php

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://www.sphs.info/

Society for the Phenomenology of Religious Experience. Available at: http://sophere.org