Unscharfe Konturen – kritische Standortbestimmung eines Beratungsnetzwerks

In our article, we discuss the field of network consultancy—from the perspective of a consultancy network. In the beginning, we focus on the phenomenon “network”: What is a network, what is its function? Which challenge do we have to deal with? We talk about our own experiences as a network organisation und discuss relevant topics, which also refer to ourselves. We debate whether it is always and basically possible to counsel organisational networks and talk about requirements, factors for success, and structural roadblocks in a consultancy process—also about charm and risks involved when a network of consultants counsels an organisational network. Furthermore, we are opening our toolbox: Which instruments and interventions are particularly helpful and useful in the process of organisation network consultancy? And how do we take care of our own network? In our conclusion, we finally emphasize why it is so important to deal with organisational network consultancy—because networks are the most relevant form of organisation in the future.     

Little Theories and Big Problems: Chicago Sociology and Ethnic Conflicts*

Since this society is oriented toward a specific theory, I thought I ought to say something about theories in general and our little theory in particular. Let me get that off of my chest. I am not overly fond of terms like “theory” and “theorist,” both of which seem to suggest the importance of the person who claims the identity more than anything else. They are pompous terms. To the extent that we are thoughtful about what we are doing and how we are going about it, all sociologists are theorists and methodologists. But if that is all we are, then we are literally people of no substance. We have no substantial knowledge of or concern for the empirical world. The little theory we share is extraordinarily empirical. It is, as one of its most prominent practitioners called it, a “grounded theory” ( Glaser and Strauss 1967 ). I confess that several years after receiving my degree I had no real sense of what symbolic interaction was and how it might differ from other theoretical orientations. Arnold Rose enlightened me on this when he asked me to submit a paper for a new collection he was editing ( Rose 1962 ). I was pleased and flattered. Rose was a mentor of mine, and I had never before been asked to contribute to an edited volume. But I was unsure of what would be appropriate for a book about symbolic interaction. I screwed up my courage and asked Arnold: “Exactly what is symbolic interaction”” He shrugged off my ignorance, turned on his heels, and muttered over his shoulder, “It is what they do at Chicago.”     

The Dramaturgical Model of Behavior: Its Strengths and Weaknesses*

By means of the dramaturgical model we freshly illuminate social behavior as role-like “performances” in which persons manage the impressions that others get of them. This impression management involves the concealment of data in a “dramatic” struggle with those others who wish to penetrate one's “mask.” But the chief limitations of the dramaturgical model are that it excites the invalid inferences that offstage “roles” are more like stage actors' roles than they really are, and that the person is nothing but these “roles.” The differences between onstage and offstage behavior are kept in view when the metaphorical concept of “role playing” is re-connected to its source in role playing onstage. Through an analysis of theatre and the concepts of appearance and time we conclude that while we must appear to others in a “role-like” way offstage in order to be ourselves, we are nevertheless involved in world-time offstage in a way that fundamentally distinguishes our “role-playing” from an actor's role playing. We are our “roles”, but not just our “roles.”     

The Dog Who Barks and the Noise of the Human: Psychoanalysis After the Animal Turn

What would or could a psychoanalysis beyond the human be? And who—and how—might we who call ourselves human be or become in turn? In the “Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis,” Freud (1916–1917) famously declared psychoanalysis to be the third great blow to human self-love delivered at the hands of science. First, the Copernican revolution revealed that the earth was not the center of the universe “but only a tiny fragment of a cosmic system of scarcely imaginable vastness.” Then Darwin and his contemporaries undermined the ground upon which “the human” had asserted a fundamental difference from “the animal.” And now, psychological research has tripled down, giving “human megalomania” its “third and most wounding blow.” “The ego,” Freud wrote, “is not even master in its own house.” In passages like this, we get a glimpse of a psychoanalysis beyond the human–animal boundary. Nevertheless, the force of anthropocentrism returns again and again in Freud’s body of work, as when he consigned human animality to a prehistoric past or linked it to the baser instincts that human civilization needs to overcome. But what if, instead of running away from the animal in us, we were to dwell with and alongside the nonhuman? Drawing on the work of psychoanalyst Jean Laplanche and cultural theorist Nicholas Ray, this essay traces the sounds and scents of the nonhuman animal in and for psychoanalytic theory.     

The individual in economic analysis: toward psychology of economic behavior

“… Economics is supposed to be concerned with real people. It is hard to believe that real people could be completely unaffected by the reach of the self-examination induced by the Socratic question, ‘How should one live?’—a question that is, also a central motivating one for ethics. Can people whom economics studies really be so unaffected by this resilient question and stick exclusively to the rudimentary hard-headedness attributed to them by modern economics?” Amartya Sen, On Ethics & Economics.“… Apart from a few exceptions, the international consensus view within sociology, anthropology, political science and psychology seems to be that agents are not irrational in the way that neoclassical economists presume. The orthodox economic canons of rationality are thus widely rejected elsewhere,” Geoffrey M. Hodgson, Economics and Institutions.“Once we realize that the human mind is everywhere active and imaginative, then we need to understand the routes of this activity if we are to grasp how the human mind works. This is true whether the mind is trying to come to grips with painful reality, reacting to trauma, coping with the everyday or just making things up. Freud called this imaginative activity phantasy, and he argued both that it functions unconsciously and that it plays a powerful role in the organization of a person’s experience. This surely, contains the seeds of a profound insight into the human condition; it is the central insight of psychoanalysis … a pervasive aspect of mental life …. Are we to see humans as having depth—as complex psychological organisms who generate layers of meaning which lie beneath the surface of their own understanding? Or are we to take ourselves as transparent to ourselves?” Jonathan Lear, Open Minded: Working Out the Logic of the Soul.     

LIFTING THE SPIRITS OF THE NATION: BRITISH BOXERS AND THE EMERGENCE OF THE NATIONAL SPORTING HERO AT THE TIME OF THE NAPOLEONIC WARS

In September 2003 a leading British broadsheet Sunday newspaper ran a leader headed “This Sporting Life” and “Cheers for two heroes of our time,” in which it acknowledged the ability of two current, young sporting heroes to “inspire hope” and “to lift the spirits of the nation.” Nearly 200 years ago, Tom Cribb, a pugilist, was similarly described as a “hero” and his exploits were described as having “national” significance after he had defeated a black pugilist from the United States. This essay uses contemporary sources to examine the life of Tom Cribb and the public response to him, and asks whether he was the first British national sporting hero and what characteristics he may share with modern sporting heroes. The National Sporting Hero (NSH) does not necessarily come from the same ethnic group that makes him a hero, but once acquired, the status is likely to last well beyond the normal sporting career and may last for life. A NSH will have had success against a formidable opponent and provoked feelings in the general public that develop from interest to admiration, pride, gratitude, and eventually affection and will also garner public recognition beyond those who normally follow sport and a willingness of the public to overlook personal flaws. This supports Richard Holt's view that unlike heroes from other spheres whose genius makes them appear “special creatures,” sporting heroes are seen to be “more like us.” Perhaps they give us hope and lift our spirits because we see in them ourselves, not perhaps as we are, but as we would like to be.     

A BRIEF REJOINDER TO A BRIEF REJOINDER TO SLUZKI

A journalist interviews a 130-year-old man: “Tell me, old man, how did you reach such an advanced age in such good shape?” “My secret is very simple; I have never, ever in my whole life contradicted anybody.” “Never, ever anybody? It can't be!” “No, it can't be.”     

How capitalism and the bourgeois virtues transformed and humanized the family

McCloskey's two volumes argue that a change in our ideas about the dignity of human beings laid the groundwork for the tectonic changes in economic organization known as the advent of capitalism and the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution also changed human behavior by cultivating further the virtues that nourished it. This process can be seen in the way in which the capitalism transformed the family from the realm of “Prudence mostly” to “Love mostly.” Rather than undermining some romanticized vision of family life, capitalism is responsible for humanizing it by opening space for Love.     

Toward a Sociology of “Security”

Security as a phenomenon has come to occupy increasing social energy and thus merits sociological attention. But the question of how to go about studying “security” is somewhat vexing, because the concept of “security” is both highly polysemous (Ranasinghe 2013) and one that can potentially be located within a wide spectrum of social sites, ranging from the feelings of individuals to the practices of states. I suggest that we must first clarify what we are talking about when we talk about “security.” Here, I present several ideas for fully articulating the concept.     

Yoshida Theory: Its Structure,Criticism and Advancement

Tamito Yoshida, a giant of theoretical sociology, passed away in 2009. Here, I give a concise review of his theoretical achievements, called “Yoshida Theory”, and foresee the future. The main features of Yoshida Theory are the following: information controls resources; there was evolution from the stage of only materials to that of materials controlled by generic information and also to that of materials controlled by symbolic information; the process of information procedures is divided into “to cognize,”“to evaluate” and “to order,” which are distinguished from one another, and from the theoretical standpoint called the “Information Processing Resources Paradigm”; i nformation is maintained as long as it is useful, and when it becomes useless it is selected or expected to be changed. There was much criticism against the theory. The most unrelenting opposition was that it was not a system of explanation in the conventional sense of scientific methodology. It was claimed not to be positive scientific theory because of the logical inconsistency. Yoshida's counter‐criticism was, contrary to his opposites' expectations, that sociological theory ought not to fulfill the criteria to be science. It seemed to support his evolutionalist assertion that the synchronically inconsistent theory will be corrected diachronically and achieve some consistency. The criteria of science themselves should be re‐constructed to thematize the fact that information or program‐controlling society has evolution, he thought. He called it “New Science”; however, the attempt was never completed. It is still our task to clarify whether sociological theory can remain in science or not.     

“Living Together” as a Developmental Phase: A Holistic View*

“Living together” is examined not simply as a new cultural variant or trial marriage but as the effort of some young adults, particularly on campus, to deal with several fundamental aspects of moving from childhood to adulthood, or an additional “rite de passage.” It seems that increasingly many young people are trying to deal with the tasks and marked discontinuity in our culture between childhood and adulthood by this new open arrangement. To evaluate and respond appropriately to this transitional solution, the adult community-college authorities, parents, counselors, and others-might find it helpful to view holistically the many developmental tasks which must be dealt with simultaneously during this process. So viewed, “living together” can be seen as a creative solution for some rather than as “moral disintegration.”     

Liberalism,Group Rights,Language and Personal Identity

The notion of minority community group (henceforth group) rights has become firmly entrenched in the constitutional vocabulary in many countries in recent years Yet liberal political theorists continue to define rights in individualistic terms. For some liberals, while it is meaningful to talk about individual rights, it is meaningless to talk about group rights. For communitarians, on the other hand, since individuals are embedded in some shared social context and since some groups do have legal and moral rights and responsibilities, it makes sense to speak of group rights. In some societies, community groups are treated as a unit‐‐potentially as a right‐and‐duty‐bearing unit. The paper attempts to show how some recent liberals attempt to justify group rights by recognising “culture” as a “primary good”, thus basing cultural rights on a foundation consistent with liberal theory. The “cases” selected for discussion attempt to illustrate how liberal societies have wrestled with linguistic group rights within individualistic liberal frameworks.     

Family Social Work: The Past and the Present

SUMMARY

It is easy to blame the dysfunction of a family member on his or her behavioral patterns. I use the title, “It's the Relationship, Stupid!” not to talk down to family therapists, but to remind myself that the source of dysfunction is usually family relationships, especially the marriage relationship. This article gives several case studies for practical application of therapy techniques that focus on developing the “WE” of the family unit. One practical technique that I developed is a communication typology. The married couple (and family members) are divided into “Painters” and “Pointers.” This typology explains much of the conflict and mis-communication that leads to the breakdown of the “WE.” This article also presents dysfunction within the individual as a relationship problem and introduces the concept of the “spirit” of the individual as expressing the relationship the person has with self.     

Climbing Jacob's ladder:Symbolic renunciation,reference‐group identification,and status mobility in cursillo

This article is a continuation of analyses of cursillo. The specific concerns addressed are the development of the appropriate linguistic skills, that is, learning how to “talk the talk “of cursillo, and the development of the appropriate behavioral skills, that is, learning how to “walk the walk” of cursillo. When these skills are developed and used appropriately a form of ranked status mobility within a cursillo center can occur.     

The Branded Self:

This investigation makes the argument that to a considerable degree, our sense of our selves is connected to the way advertising helps us shape our identities and focuses our attention on brands as a way of signifying who we are to others. My point of departure is Norbert Wiley’s The Semiotic Self (1995:37). I will use Bakhtin’s concept of dialogism to deal with Wiley’s notion that the self involves an internal conversation in which the present self (the “I”) talks about the past self (the “me”) to the future self (the “you”). The branded self discusses some important concepts in semiotic analysis and relates them to the notion of the “self” and then to other matters, such as branding.     

Audio-Video Reviews

Barbara Knothe, Consultant Psychiatrist, Bouverie Family Therapy Centre, has reviewed two videotapes, produced by Anita Morawetz. The tapes demonstrate Anita's work with two families, seen at the Bouverie Family Therapy Centre. In one tape, Anita supervised one of the trainees on the Training Programme and it is interesting to see how the work of the training group, family and supervisor evolves. The tapes were produced in 1988–1989 and are available from: Bouverie Family Therapy Centre, 31 Poplar Road, Parkville Vic 3052 Tel: (03) 389 2480. The contact person is Ms Kate Gerber, Clerical Officer. There is no charge for borrowing the tapes, although interstate borrowers must pay for postage (“Cash on Delivery” charges). People may borrow 2 tapes at a time, for a period of 2 weeks. Each borrower is asked to sign a form, which will be sent to them, stating they will accept responsibility for the tape and they will respect the confidentiality of the family. Thanks to Anita for producing the tapes and making her work available to other therapists and trainees, for their professional development. Thanks also to Barbara for her reviews and to Bouverie Family Therapy Centre for their generosity and for maintaining an excellent tape library. I would like to encourage other therapists in Australia and New Zealand to produce audio and/or videotapes of their work, on particular areas of interest. David Epston was one of the first therapists to do this — when he produced a videotape called “The Family who loved to stay at Home” which was reviewed by Jim Birch. Many “local” therapists are making recordings of their work and these provide an invaluable resource for training, supervision, consultation and research. If you are interested in producing some material for reviewing and “public” use, please contact me on: (Work) 03 550 130 (Home) 03 898 6983. You may feel overwhelmed by the task, but please don't abandon the idea. Call me and we can talk about this and your ideas. Making tapes for these purposes may not be as difficult or as daunting as you think.     

WHAT IF FAMILY THERAPY WERE A KIND OF PSYCHOTHERAPY? A READING OF THE HANDBOOK OF PSYCHOTHERAPY AND BEHAVIOR CHANGE*

Editor's Note. This piece by Grunebaum is not an “original article,” although his approach to presenting Garfield and Bergin's Handbook to a family therapy audience is certainly original; it does not meet the usual requirements as apiece for the “Connections” section of the Journal, although it certainly does forge such connections with the mental health world beyond family therapy; and it is not a typical “book review,” and thus, is appropriately described in its subtitle as a “reading,” rather than a review. It is a most creative demonstration of the fact that family therapists can learn a good deal of practical value from their colleagues who are “outside” our field.