Schedule

Friday 23 May 2008

4:00 - 7:00, Press conference and "V.I.P." Supporter's Reception, KdE, ul P. Mansfelda 4

Saturday 24 May 2008
Conference Events take place in Wojewoda Wielkopolski, Al. Niepodleglosci 16.

Each hour session to be follwed with 15 minutes of panel and audience questions.

Forward from The Organizers: 8:57 - 9:00
Introduction, 9:00 - 9:15:

James A. Wolfe, Cultural Affairs, The United States Embassy, Warsaw

A word From The Wojewoda Wielkopolski, 9:15 - 9:20

Mary Catherine Bateson: 9:20-10:05; 10:35-11:35

EDUCATION AS REPLICATION OR DIFFERENTIATION
(CULTURE & CONVICTION)

Early understandings of Darwinian evolution led to social theories such as Social Darwinism that emphasized competition, whereas ecological thinking suggests the values of differentiation and complementarity. Education presents different faces when looked at in the light of these two different approaches. As a species, our capacity for learning has meant that human evolution has become synonymous with cultural evolution, and the distinctive human capacity (one might almost say drive or instinct here!) to teach has become a powerful part of the pattern of self-replication, leading all too often to efforts to proselytize or enforce conformity of thought or behavior and, in its absence, to what Erik Erikson called pseudospeciation. Yet if we look at education and at intercultural relations in the light of ecology, it becomes possible to value difference and recognize shared humanity in spite of different beliefs and behaviors. This however is not simply a matter of changed curriculum but a matter of educating at a different logical level, and is related to what Gregory Bateson called deuterolearning.

Richard A. Shweder: 12:30-1:45; 2:00-3:15

"Customs Control: 'Un-American Activities' and the Challenge in Cultural Migration"

The moral challenge of coming to terms with cultural diversity is one of the most pressing public policy projects for liberal democracies in the early 21st century. This session will address the question "how much of global cultural diversity is domestically viable within a liberal pluralistic democracy such as the United States?"

Commentary and Presentation:
3:15 - 3:30, Professor Michal Buchowski
Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Department of Ethnology & Cultural Anthropology

W. Barnett Pearce: 3:30-4:45; 5:00-6:15

In what minds can we construct an ecology of cultures and peoples?
And, how can we attain these minds?

The questions in the title are based on three premises: 1) forms of communication and ways of being human co-evolve (this relationship is argued at length in my book Communication and the Human Condition); 2) material and social conditions have changed rapidly in recent decades (in The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman described three stages of globalization since 1990); and 3) there is a radical disconnect between the complexities of the challenges we face and the qualities of the patterns of communication and minds in which we confront them.

We could, of course, simply wait for the evolution of minds and communication patterns to catch up to contemporary conditions (our children have different minds than their parents). However, I believe that this policy would entail prohibitive costs to individuals, humankind, and the physical environment. We are interdependent and the tools and weapons we use are powerful. The alternative is to take mindful steps in promoting the next phase of social evolution.

Commentary and Presentation:
6:15 - 6:30, Professor Andrzej Zaporowski
Adam Mickiewicz Universtiy in Poznan

6:45 "V.I.P." Supporter's Dinner, Sala Konferencyjna (132), Wojewoda Wielkopolski

Sunday 25 May 2008

Kenneth J. Gergen: 10:30-11:45; 12:45-2:00

“From Identity to Relational Being”

The traditional understanding of antagonism or conflict presumes the existence of separate identities - persons, groups, nation sates, religions, and so on. Such an approach harbors fundamental limitations in terms of its potentials for the future. I shall propose an alternative orientation that presumes relational process as a necessary prior to the establishment of identities. From this perspective I shall consider the potentials of newly emerging forms of dialogic practice in the present conditions of global conflict.

Richard J. Bernstein: 2:30-3:45; 4:15-5:30

"Incommensurability Reconsidered"

Incommensurability began a major theme in twentieth century thought with the publication of Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. But the fascination with incommensurability spread quickly to many fields including philosophy, anthropology, sociology and political science. I will explore the varied meanings and uses of incommensurability and will seek to evaluate what is insightful and what is confusing about the use and abuse of this concept.

Group Presentation: 6:30-8:30

Richard A. Shweder, Mary Catherine Bateson,

Kenneth J. Gergen, W. Barnett Pearce and Richard J. Bernstein

8:30-8:45
Closing Ceremony

If you are interested in the conference, move on to on-line non-paying ticket pre-registration.