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Reflections on the role of dialogue in education and community building
Author(s) -
Hammond Debora
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
systems research and behavioral science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1099-1743
pISSN - 1092-7026
DOI - 10.1002/sres.623
Subject(s) - variety (cybernetics) , sociology , action (physics) , state (computer science) , work (physics) , engineering ethics , library science , computer science , engineering , mechanical engineering , physics , algorithm , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence
This paper documents a decade of thinking and practice inspired by Bela H. Banathy and his work on collaborative systems design. I first met Bela in 1994 at the annual conference of the International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS), where he invited me to discuss my recently launched dissertation project on the history and social implications of general systems theory. In my research on the founders of ISSS, I was particularly inspired by Kenneth Boulding's emphasis on the critical role of dialogue in decision making. I am currently a faculty member in Hutchins School of Liberal Studies at Sonoma State University, which offers an interdisciplinary seminar‐based program, embodying the spirit of both Boulding's and Banathy's work. It has provided an excellent laboratory for practicing the art of interdisciplinary dialogue, which extends into the larger community in a variety of ways. In this paper, I offer examples of dialogue and design in action, inspired and enriched through my acquaintance with Bela. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.