I don't know where to start. You might want to have a look at http://dewey.pragmatism.org/#deweywebsites and see where that takes you. On Thu, 22 Sep 2011, Andy Blunden wrote:
I am bewildered by this page Tony.Can you recommend a page where I can read Dewey on philosophy at some length - his work on group problem solving, learning, his critique of Hegel, and so on.Andy Tony Whitson wrote:Thanks, Andy, that is helpful. The Dewey is posted here: https://tw-curricuwiki.wikispaces.com/Dewey--culture%2C+experience On Tue, 20 Sep 2011, Andy Blunden wrote:Herder, as I understand him, saw collective experience as an important facet in the formation of the character of a people. I think part of the problem is that "experience" has been such a contested term, Tony. Generally it has been co-opted by Empiricism, which is by its nature individualist and by definition the philosophy of experiene, but Dewey used the word in formulating his view. But didn't he later say that he regretted using the word "experience" because it led to misunderstandings? Personally, I think /shared/ experience is the most powerful force in changing Zeitgeist and individual mninds en masse. You have an experience, and then you find that everyone else experienced the same thing and that event then becomes a central focus of your collaboration with other people. What could be more world-changing?Andy Tony Whitson wrote:This query is prompted by a new book:Peck, Don. Pinched: How the Great Recession Has Narrowed Our Futures andWhat We Can Do About It. New York: Crown Pub., 2011.http://www.amazon.com/Pinched-Great-Recession-Narrowed-Futures/dp/0307886522 /in which the author looks more deeply into predictable ramifications of thecurrent economic situation than I have seen in other recent work. Based on historical, sociological, and other literatures and modes ofresearch, the author argues that what we're dealing with now is not just a wave in a recurring cycle. He predicts lasting changes that he expects todeeply impact different generational cohorts for decades to come.His argument is plausible, at least, to me. But it prompts me to wonderabout experience that is really collective experience, as opposed to individual experience.Exposing my ignorance, I realize that I can't think of literature on the nature and structure of collective experience. It seems like there must be a lot; but I can't think of it. It also seems like xmca is a likely place to find people who would be interested, and would know about such literature(although it's not on-topic in the current threads).I'm thinking of my first earthquake experience last month as an example ofan individual experience. It was totally unlike anything I'd everexperienced before, and it took me a few seconds to even recognize that an earthquake is what was happening (we don't have those in Delaware). I was atmy desk, at home, by myself when it happened.Of course, the experience was mediated after the fact from my sociocultural awareness of earthquakes. Still, I think it was an individual experience in the moment, compared with the collective experience that Don Peck is writing about -- an experience of events and developments over time, in which the experience of others participates, throughout, in the experience of any one.I am thinking that there might be something else that could be called "shared experience," intermediate between individual and collective experience.Does this make any sense? Is this question of interest to anyone? Or am Inaïvely wondering about things that have been well developed in the literature?I would be interested if anyone has ideas or references to share on this.__________________________________________ _____ xmca mailing list xmca@weber.ucsd.edu http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Andy Blunden*Joint Editor MCA: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~db=all~content=g932564744Home Page: http://home.mira.net/~andy/ Book: http://www.brill.nl/default.aspx?partid=227&pid=34857 __________________________________________ _____ xmca mailing list xmca@weber.ucsd.edu http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmcaTony Whitson UD School of Education NEWARK DE 19716 twhitson@udel.edu _______________________________ "those who fail to reread are obliged to read the same story everywhere" -- Roland Barthes, S/Z (1970)-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ *Andy Blunden*Joint Editor MCA: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~db=all~content=g932564744Home Page: http://home.mira.net/~andy/ Book: http://www.brill.nl/default.aspx?partid=227&pid=34857 __________________________________________ _____ xmca mailing list xmca@weber.ucsd.edu http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
Tony Whitson
UD School of Education
NEWARK DE 19716
twhitson@udel.edu
_______________________________
"those who fail to reread
are obliged to read the same story everywhere"
-- Roland Barthes, S/Z (1970)__________________________________________ _____ xmca mailing list xmca@weber.ucsd.edu http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca