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Research Interests:
In 2020, an international team of intercultural philosophers and African linguists created a multilinguistic game named Adinkra. This name refers to a medieval rooted symbolic language in Ghana that is actively used by the Akan and... more
In 2020, an international team of intercultural philosophers and African linguists created a multilinguistic game named Adinkra. This name refers to a medieval rooted symbolic language in Ghana that is actively used by the Akan and especially the Asante among them to communicate indirectly. The Akan is both the meta-ethnic name of the largest Ghanaian cultural-linguistic group of which the Asante is an Akan cultural subgroup and of a Central Tano language of which Asante-Twi is a dialect. The Adinkra symbols, which have permeated Akan life and the arts, can be found e.g. on Asante royal staffs and gold weights. They are also loosely connected to Akan proverbs. The game Adinkra aims to enhance its players’ intercultural communicative, and moral philosophical understanding by matching Adinkra symbols with Akan proverbs. It was created for educational and therapeutical purposes. This article focusses on the rules, the making of Adinkra, its aims and objectives. The objective of this ar...
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Professionals such as doctors, social workers, teachers, judges, police officers and (mental) health care providers must constantly make assessments of the situation in which they act. This requires a reflective and investigative... more
Professionals such as doctors, social workers, teachers, judges, police officers and (mental) health care providers must constantly make assessments of the situation in which they act. This requires a reflective and investigative attitude. The mutual cooperation within the organizational contexts in which these professionals perform their work also requires a willingness to learn and an ability to examine the interrelationships, with all the toughness and unruly that arise. After all, the quality of the work is largely determined by the quality of the collaboration. Thirdly, the organization itself increasingly demands investigative attention. Increasingly, the professionals mentioned are expected to think along with questions about the organization of the organization, so that it (in light of the work to be delivered) remains adequately attuned to the moving context.
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Voor mij als auteur is het verheugend te merken dat de zaak die mij zo intensief heeft beziggehouden tijdens het verrichten van promotieonderzoek en met het schrijven van een proefschrift, aandacht krijgt van een gewaardeerde... more
Voor mij als auteur is het verheugend te merken dat de zaak die mij zo intensief heeft beziggehouden tijdens het verrichten van promotieonderzoek en met het schrijven van een proefschrift, aandacht krijgt van een gewaardeerde geestverwante. Graag ga ik in op een kritische noot in Abma's bespreking, zonder die overigens te willen wegpoetsen. Ik besef goed dat de stijl van mijn boek de toegankelijkheid voor een breed publiek bemoeilijkt. In positieve zin volgt hieruit dat het onderwerp van mijn studie een bredere belangstelling kennelijk verdient! Dat vind ik op zichzelf al een verheugende erkenning. Inderdaad heb ik mij met dit proefschrift gevoegd in een academische traditie, wellicht meer dan dat ik mij heb aangesloten bij vernieuwers van deze traditie. Niettemin was mijn schrijven erop gericht om 'van binnenuit' – binnen de gebruikelijke kaders van een academisch proefschrift – een vernieuwing of misschien beter een verrijking van het vakfilosofische denken en jargon t...
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Ever since ancient times, theater has served a political and educational function. We have brought theater into the workplace to explore the revitalization of political life, and to counterbalance instrumental approaches towards career... more
Ever since ancient times, theater has served a political and educational function. We have brought theater into the workplace to explore the revitalization of political life, and to counterbalance instrumental approaches towards career innovation. Within the framework of Art Dialogue Methods (ADM) that we have developed over the years by using different kinds of art forms, we present an arts-based action research. Experiments with theater have alerted us to the potential of embodiment in art dialogues. We argue that theater in organizations takes transitional space not just as a means to readjust to a fixed social reality, but also to stimulate people to play around with organizational reality. Imagining and developing the good working life as a community can emerge from play and thereby provide community learning and an existential perspective for career counselling.
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Career agency is a vaguely defined concept that is usually explained in terms of cultivating self-reliance, while it is at the same time being critiqued as a difficult to reach goal as a result of societal pressures. Instead of viewing... more
Career agency is a vaguely defined concept that is usually explained in terms of cultivating self-reliance, while it is at the same time being critiqued as a difficult to reach goal as a result of societal pressures. Instead of viewing agency through the lens of these opposing viewpoints, focused on people either being self-reliant or determined by outside forces, this article proposes a ‘medial’ perspective on agency. People can be assisted to develop agency when it is conceptualized as an emergent phenomenon that can be fostered through imaginative and playful writing, where individuals are invited to engage in a field where an expansion of both symbolic and material space can be promoted. The dangers of an instrumental focus on career management skills are outlined and the philosophical considerations underlying the idea of imagination as fostering agency are explained.
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We put forward Art-Dialogue-Methods (ADM) as an inquiry for practical wisdom within communities. It draws from a series of methodological traditions like artistic inquiry, participatory action research and narrative research. The practice... more
We put forward Art-Dialogue-Methods (ADM) as an inquiry for practical wisdom within communities. It draws from a series of methodological traditions like artistic inquiry, participatory action research and narrative research. The practice of ADM could facilitate healing processes in fractured communities and organisations in today's world. ADM avoids a search from grand over-arching solutions, but searches for outcomes as exemplars of the good life. We may find the relevance of this quest in the postmodern macro-context of the globalised world today with tendencies of individualization and neo-liberal markets. The authors explore the potential value of ADM for the development of practical wisdom within communities, by pointing out arguments in philosophical and sociological literature and by means of exemplary cases of ADM-programmes.
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Research Interests:
In 2020, an international team of intercultural philosophers and African linguists created a multilinguistic game named Adinkra. This name refers to a medieval rooted symbolic language in Ghana that is actively used by the Akan and... more
In 2020, an international team of intercultural philosophers and African linguists created a multilinguistic game named Adinkra. This name refers to a medieval rooted symbolic language in Ghana that is actively used by the Akan and especially the Asante among them to communicate indirectly. The Akan is both the meta-ethnic name of the largest Ghanaian cultural-linguistic group of which the Asante is an Akan cultural subgroup and of a Central Tano language of which Asante-Twi is a dialect. The Adinkra symbols, which have permeated Akan life and the arts, can be found e.g. on Asante royal staffs and gold weights. They are also loosely connected to Akan proverbs. The game Adinkra aims to enhance its players’ intercultural communicative, and moral philosophical understanding by matching Adinkra symbols with Akan proverbs. It was created for educational and therapeutical purposes. This article focusses on the rules, the making of Adinkra, its aims and objectives.
The objective of this article is twofold. First, it focusses on the game itself. It elaborates on what its rules are and the content of the game. It also focusses on how playing the multilinguistic game, Adinkra can enhance intercultural understanding and communication. It, furthermore, concentrates on the results of a pilot reception study of this game in the Netherlands among intercultural groups of players. This study has proven that the Adinkra game stimulates creative thinking, engagement in dialogue and reflective ethical thinking. For this reason, the authors believe that it has a lot to contribute to intercultural educational programs with a focus on intercultural communication, philosophy and arts in both Africa and the global North. Finally, a section is devoted to the question of how the Adinkra game was developed and methodologically grounded in Gadamer’s playful hermeneutics, and the theories of the Wheel of the Intercultural Art of living and (African) Indigenous Religions.
Secondly, the article focusses on the game’s oral-literary storytelling context and Akan moral ideas. It then throws the searchlight on the creative, therapeutic value and its potential to serve as a ‘cultural detox’. The authors and game makers think that being introduced to an African communitarian ethos hidden in the Adinkra symbols and Akan proverbs can help its players to develop a critical eye for the highly individualistic ethos of Western culture that, among others, is promoted by neoliberal thinking and praxis. The word praxis is used by the authors in the meaning found in educational contexts. Adinkra’s players are stimulated to reflect upon a different moral idea, which can change their mindset and put them into action to contribute to social awareness and societal change.
Keywords: 1. Intercultural Philosophy and Communication; 2. African Philosophy; 3. African Indigenous Religions; 4. Akan; 5. Ghana; 6. Adinkra Symbols and Akan Proverbs; 7. Oral literature and storytelling; 8. Creative Thinking; 9. Education; 10. Game; 11. Art Therapy.
Citation:
Müller, L.F., Dorvlo, K., Muijen, A. S. C. A., (2021). The Adinkra Game: An Intercultural Communicative and Philosophical Praxis. In: Cultures at School and at Home. M. Metsärinne, R. Korhonen, T. Heino and M. Esko. Rauma Teacher Training School, University of Turku, 192-224.
Entire book freely downloadable at: https://sites.utu.fi/rnk/tutkimus-ja-kokeilu/julkaisut/
The objective of this article is twofold. First, it focusses on the game itself. It elaborates on what its rules are and the content of the game. It also focusses on how playing the multilinguistic game, Adinkra can enhance intercultural understanding and communication. It, furthermore, concentrates on the results of a pilot reception study of this game in the Netherlands among intercultural groups of players. This study has proven that the Adinkra game stimulates creative thinking, engagement in dialogue and reflective ethical thinking. For this reason, the authors believe that it has a lot to contribute to intercultural educational programs with a focus on intercultural communication, philosophy and arts in both Africa and the global North. Finally, a section is devoted to the question of how the Adinkra game was developed and methodologically grounded in Gadamer’s playful hermeneutics, and the theories of the Wheel of the Intercultural Art of living and (African) Indigenous Religions.
Secondly, the article focusses on the game’s oral-literary storytelling context and Akan moral ideas. It then throws the searchlight on the creative, therapeutic value and its potential to serve as a ‘cultural detox’. The authors and game makers think that being introduced to an African communitarian ethos hidden in the Adinkra symbols and Akan proverbs can help its players to develop a critical eye for the highly individualistic ethos of Western culture that, among others, is promoted by neoliberal thinking and praxis. The word praxis is used by the authors in the meaning found in educational contexts. Adinkra’s players are stimulated to reflect upon a different moral idea, which can change their mindset and put them into action to contribute to social awareness and societal change.
Keywords: 1. Intercultural Philosophy and Communication; 2. African Philosophy; 3. African Indigenous Religions; 4. Akan; 5. Ghana; 6. Adinkra Symbols and Akan Proverbs; 7. Oral literature and storytelling; 8. Creative Thinking; 9. Education; 10. Game; 11. Art Therapy.
Citation:
Müller, L.F., Dorvlo, K., Muijen, A. S. C. A., (2021). The Adinkra Game: An Intercultural Communicative and Philosophical Praxis. In: Cultures at School and at Home. M. Metsärinne, R. Korhonen, T. Heino and M. Esko. Rauma Teacher Training School, University of Turku, 192-224.
Entire book freely downloadable at: https://sites.utu.fi/rnk/tutkimus-ja-kokeilu/julkaisut/