Alfonso Montuori

The Complexity of Improvisation and the Improvisation of Complexity: Social Science, Art and Creativity

The concept of improvisation has become increasingly popular in the discourse of organizational theory. This paper explores several aspects of improvisation, in the context of musical, organizational, and everyday activities, in order to address some of the philosophical and practical issues relevant to this emerging interest. Connections are made between the modernist concept of organization and scholarly inquiry, and postmodern or complexity-based approaches that stress creativity as an emergent property of the relationship between order and disorder. It concludes by suggesting that the study of improvisation demands a profound immersion in (inster-)subjectivity, emotions, time, aesthetics, performance, and social creativity, none of which have traditionally been the focus of organization and management studies, or the social sciences in general. It also suggests that the practice of social sciences itself should reflect upon, and attempt to incorporate these elements.

Cross-Cultural Encounter as an Opportunity for Personal Growth

Cross-cultural encounters can provide an excellent opportunity forpersonal growth by placing us in situations where ourunderstanding of self and world, and of how we believe things “are” or “shouldbe,” is severely challenged. In this article, the authors argue that inthe United States, the cultural dimension is often overlooked in ourunderstanding of personal growth because U.S. individualismobscures the role of culture in the constitution of the self and thatunderstanding this dimension makes a vital contribution toselfunderstanding. They also view cross-cultural encounters aspotentially creative and draw on the psychology of creativity to explorethe implications of this view. The authors conclude by arguing thatto have the greatest effect, humanistic psychology must both returnto its roots in existential-phenomenological psychology andphilosophy and tackle its own understanding of the self as a culturallysituated phenomenon.

Literature Review As Creative Inquiry Reframing Scholarship As a Creative Process

In this article it is proposed that approached in the right way, literature reviews can be an opportunity for creative inquiry. The process of the literature review is framed as a participation in a community, a dialogue with those who are part of the community now and with ones “ancestors.” The literature review can also explore the deeper underlying assumptions of the larger community or communities of inquiry one is joining and ones own beliefs, assumptions, and attachments. Three levels are proposed that each provide a different perspective on the construction of knowledge. The article concludes with a brief overview of the way inquiry, specifically in the context of the literature review, can also be an opportunity for self-inquiry.

Complexity and Transdisciplinarity: Reflections on Theory and Practice

Systems and complexity theories are transversal approaches that provide a new way of thinking as a response to the traditional reductionist approach that emerged with modernity. Complexity and transdisciplinarity are particularly relevant in an increasingly diverse, networked, uncertain, and fast-changing world. Examples are drawn from personal experience in academia, cross-cultural experiences, and the arts.

The Joy of Inquiry

In this article, the author reflects on his own educational experiences as a starting point for an exploration of the way that education can be a joyful process if framed as an opportunity for creative inquiry. The author outlines some dimensions of an attitude of creative inquiry, focusing on Wonder, Passion, Hope, and Conviviality. The author then explores a number of different metaphors for inquiry and the way they can frame our attitude and evoke different moods.

Planetary culture and the crisis of the future

This essays reviews a number of leading works on global affairs at the end of this century, and proposes the need for a fundamental re‐education and re‐thinking of global issues to reflect our planetary citizenship. The importance of transdisciplinarity is addressed in the context of the development of a new polyphonic, narrative understanding of identity and knowledge.

Creativity, chaos, and self‐renewal in human systems

Abstract The research findings from the psychology of creativity are shown to be of considerable relevance to the study of self‐organization and self‐renewal in human systems. The characteristics of the creative person, and the nature of the creative process, particularly as they have been elaborated by Barron, are shown to be remarkably congruent with recent findings and theoretical elaborations by Abraham, Jantsch, Laszlo, Prigogine, and others in the fields of evolutionary and chaos theory. The broader social implications of chaos and evolutionary theories are fleshed out through an understanding of their characteristics in creative human systems.

CREATIVITY, SOCIETY, AND THE HIDDEN SUBTEXT OF GENDER: TOWARD A NEW CONTEXTUALIZED APPROACH

Conventional categories of creativity are being deconstructed after the so-called postmodern debate. This article takes this process deeper, to what we will show is the hidden subtext of gender underlying how creativity has been socially constructed. It also proposes a more contextualized approach to creativity that takes into account both its individual and social dimensions and how this relates to what Eisler (1987) has called a partnership rather than dominator model of society.

From Strategic Planning to Strategic Design: Reconceptualizing the Future of Strategy in Organizations

In this article I present an overview of critiques of strategic planning, focusing on their conceptualizations of the environment. I first outline the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the nature of the environment of strategy, and then outline some of the alternatives to strategic planning and their underlying bases in constructivism and the sciences of complexity. I conclude by arguing that Banathys systems design methodology is eminently suited to the process of strategy formulation, and should be explored more deeply within this context.

Educating for Creativity

Our current educational systems reflect forms of thinking and organizing that are not appropriate for the twenty-first century. New transdisciplinary educational approaches should integrate complexity, creativity, and an awareness of the most recent developments in the sciences.