Have you noticed this paradox? While almost any traditional profession is supported by a suitable body of knowledge and schooling, no such thing has been provided for practicing arguably the most complex and time-sensitive line of work—the work of global change-makers. These individuals, who I believe will soon include you too if they haven’t already, and all of us, are the ones on whose success our world’s and our children’s future now demonstrably depends.
We are catalyzing the creation of the necessary body of knowledge. We call it the holotopia paradigm prototype, or simply holotopia.
“Unboxing Holotopia” is the name of the workshop that Fredrik and I will be facilitating with the self-selected members of the faculty and students of the Transdisciplinary Studies graduate program at the Zurich University of the Arts. This workshop marks the beginning of the next phase of the mentioned timely unfolding. The word “unboxing” is intended to remind us of the ubiquitous YouTube videos where consumer products are unpacked and critiqued. We will be ‘unpacking’ and critiquing, and immediately improving, the body of knowledge aimed at enabling a coordinated, or “deep,” or informed approach to urgent contemporary issues. This workshop will be held in their scenic Wind Tunnel, whose photo is shown in the preamble of this blog post; which is described on the university’s website as follows:
On the roof of the Zurich University of the Arts stands a wind tunnel. It serves the research focus Transdisciplinarity as a place of encounter between the arts and the sciences—a place for thinking, for transition, for imagining and tangible interaction, for performance and experimentation. The wind tunnel is a machine of metaphors.
We shared the following text as part of the email invitation.
“The holotopia paradigm prototype, which we invite you to explore, examine, critique, and contribute to improving, can be understood as an academic theory, a portfolio of applications, and a comprehensive toolkit. As a theory, it demonstrates that the necessity for a transdisciplinary approach to knowledge stems from fundamental insights gained in 20th century sciences. It also outlines how a rigorous transdisciplinary academic paradigm, encompassing ontology, epistemology, and methodology, can be developed based on these insights. The portfolio of applications, developed with international teams of experts over two decades, illustrates that a societal and cultural paradigm shift, characterized by ‘deep-ecology’ solutions to pressing contemporary issues, can naturally emerge from this transdisciplinary update to academic practice. As a toolkit, the holotopia paradigm prototype aims to provide all the necessary components for successfully completing these two paradigm shifts.
The purpose of the Unboxing Holotopia modular workshop is to collaborate in creating a process that facilitates these timely transitions.”
And we also shared this flyer.
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