Deathworlds to Lifeworlds

Collaboration with Strangers for Personal, Social and Ecological Transformation

Valerie Malhotra Bentz, James Marlatt, Valerie Malhotra Bentz, James Marlatt

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9783110691665
• eBook ISBN: 9783110691863
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Modern Philosophy

Deathworlds are places on planet earth that can no longer sustain life. These are increasing rapidly. We experience remnants of Deathworlds within our Lifeworlds (for example traumatic echoes of war, genocide, oppression). Many practices and policies, directly or indirectly, are "Deathworld-Making." They undermine Lifeworlds contributing to community decline, illnesses, climate change, and species extinction. This book highlights the ways in which writing about and sharing meaningful experiences may lead to social and environmental justice practices, decreasing Deathworld-Making. Phenomenology is a method which reveals the connection between personal suffering and the suffering of the planet earth and all its creatures. Sharing can lead to collaborative relationships among strangers for social and environmental justice across barriers of culture, politics, and language.

"Deathworlds into Lifeworlds wakes people up to how current economic and social forces are destroying life and communities on our planet, as I have mapped in my work. The chapters by scholars around the world in this powerful book testify to the pervasive consequences of the proliferation of Deathworld-making and ways that collaboration across cultures can help move us forward."

—Saskia Sassen is the Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology at Columbia University and a Member of its Committee on Global Thought.

"Recognizing the inseparability of experience, consciousness, environment and problematics in rebalancing life systems, this book offers solutions from around the world."

—Four Arrows, aka Don Trent Jacobs, author of Sitting Bull's Words for A World in Crises, et al.

"This unique book brings together 78 participants from 11 countries to reveal the ways in which phenomenology – the study of consciousness and phenomena — can lead to profound personal and social transformation. Such transformation is especially powerful when "Deathworlds" – physical or cultural places that no longer sustain life – are transformed into "lifeworlds" through collaborative sharing, even when (or, perhaps, especially when) the sharing is among strangers across different cultures. The contributors share a truly wide range of human experiences, from the death of a child to ecological destruction, in offering ways to affirm life in the face of what may seem to be hopeless death-affirming challenges."

—Richard P. Appelbaum, Ph.D., is Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus and former MacArthur Foundation Chair in Global and International Studies and Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is also a founding Professor at Fielding Graduate University, where he heads the doctoral concentration in Sustainability Leadership.

"Deathworlds is a love letter for the planet—our home. By documenting places that no longer sustain life, the authors collectively pull back the curtain on these places, rendering them meaningful by connecting what ails us with what ails the world."

—Katrina S. Rogers, Ph.D., conservation activist and author

"Deathworlds to Lifeworlds represents collaboration among Fielding Graduate University, the University of ?od? (Poland), and the University of the Virgin Islands. Students and faculty from these universities participated in seminars on transformative phenomenology and developed rich phenomenologically based narratives of their experiences or others'. These phenomenological protocol narratives creatively modify and integrate with everyday experience the conceptual frameworks of Husserl, Schutz, Heidegger, Habermas, and others. The diverse protocol authors demonstrate how phenomenological reflection is transformative first by revealing how Deathworlds, which lead to physical, mental, social, or ecological decline, imperil invaluable lifeworlds. Deathworlds appear on lifeworld fringes, such as extra-urban trash landfills, where unnoticed impoverished workers labor to the destruction of their own health. Poignant protocol-narratives highlight the plight and noble struggle of homeless people, the mother of a dying 19-year-old son, persons inclined to suicide, overwhelmed first responders, alcoholics who through inspiration achieve sobriety, unravelled We-Relationships, those suffering from and overcoming addiction or misogynist stereotypes or excessive pressures, veterans distraught after combat, a military mother, those in liminal situations, and oppressed indigenous peoples who still make available their liberating spirituality. Transformative phenomenology exemplifies that generous responsiveness to the ethical summons to solidarity to which Levinas's Other invites us."

—Michael Barber, Ph.D., Professor of Philosophy, St. Louis University. He has authored seven books and more than 80 articles in the general area of phenomenology and the social world. He is editor of Schützian Research, an annual interdisciplinary journal.

"This book helps us notice the Deathworlds that surround us and advocates for their de-naturalization. Its central claim is that the ten virtues of the transformative phenomenologist allow us to do so by changing ourselves and the worlds we live in.

In this light, the book is an outstanding presentation of the international movement known as "transformative phenomenology." It makes groundbreaking contributions to a tradition in which some of the authors are considered the main referents. Also, it offers an innovative understanding of Alfred Schutz's philosophy of the Lifeworld and a fruitful application of Van Manen's method of written protocols."

—Carlos Belvedere, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Buenos Aires"

"Moving beyond the social phenomenology carved out by Alfred Schütz, this impressive volume of action-based experiential research displays the efficacy of applying phenomenological protocols to explore Deathworlds, the tacit side of the foundational conception of Lifeworlds. Over twenty-one chapters, plus an epilogue, readers are transported by the train of Transformative Phenomenology, created during what's been called the Silver Age of Phenomenology (1996 – present) at the Fielding Graduate University. An international amalgam of students and faculty from universities in Poland, the United States, the Virigin Islands, Canada, and socio-cultural locations throughout the world harnessed their collective energy to advance the practical call of phenomenology as a pathway to meaning-making through rich descriptions of lived experience. Topics include dwelling with strangers, dealing with trash, walking with the homeless, death of a young person, overcoming colonialism, precognition, environmental destruction, and so much more. The research collection enhances what counts as phenomenological inquiry, while remaining respectful of Edmund Husserl's philosophical roots."

—David Rehorick, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of New Brunswick (Canada) & Professor Emeritus, Fielding Graduate University (U.S.A.), Vancouver, British Columbia.

Part I: Lifeworlds in Deathworlds in Łódź, Poland

The stranger discerns, frequently with a grievous clear-sightedness, the rising of a crisis which may menace the whole foundation of the “relatively natural conception of the world,” while all those symptoms pass unnoticed by the members of the in-group, who rely on the continuance of their customary way of life.

– Alfred Schütz, “The Stranger,” in Collected Papers Vol II.

Chapter 1 From Deathworlds to Lifeworlds Through Collaborative Transformative Phenomenology

Valerie Malhotra Bentz

James Marlatt

Abstract

This collaborative action research based on Transformative Phenomenology highlights the increase in Deathworlds globally and fosters collaboration among strangers as a Lifeworld-making Antidote. Researchers engaged 78 participants from three universities and 14 countries in phenomenological writing to expand their awareness of experiences of significance in their lives. They connected via face-to-face communication and computer platforms. Recognizing and sharing emotional challenges, participants revealed Deathworlds within their Lifeworlds that included traumatic echoes of war, genocide, oppression, and practices that contribute to illness, community decline, and climate change. Participants and researchers collaborated on chapters including grief, death, addiction, environmental devastations, suicide attempts, and impacts of disasters. The participants developed reflective qualities of being such as open-mindedness, a sense of “wonder” and embodied awareness. These are among the Ten Qualities of Transformative Phenomenologists discovered from prior research. Deathworlds to Lifeworlds will appeal to those looking for practical ways to expand consciousness and promote collaboration for personal, social, and environmental transformation. The Dominant Worldview promotes Deathworlds at an exponential rate. A return to the Indigenous Worldview is essential. Collaborative Transformative Phenomenology provides a roadmap back.

Keywords: Transformative Phenomenology, Lifeworlds, Deathworlds, Indigenous Worldview, action research,

Introduction

What is the place and relevance of Transformative Phenomenology in transforming consciousness for a livable world? What is the value of “teaching” phenomenology by introducing different ways-of-knowing through “writing phenomenology”? What is it like to be a “stranger” collaborating with others in a global community? Can Transformative Phenomenology act as an antidote to Deathworlds that pervade our Lifeworlds? These are some of the questions that we posed in the context of a multi-national and multi-institutional participatory action research project (2019) on the phenomenon of being a “stranger” while building relationships across cultures – phenomenological research that builds upon over two decades of doctoral study experience at Fielding Graduate University.

In this chapter, we discuss: (1) our research project design, and the process of “writing phenomenology” as a way of supporting consciousness-raising; (2) how engaging with Transformative Phenomenology revealed Deathworlds in the Lifeworlds of our students; (3) how today’s common, Deathworldy, Dominant Worldview contrasts with the Lifeworldly Indigenous Worldview; and (4) how collaborative somatic phenomenology offers a way back. We conclude the chapter with a short description of the individual and collaborative contributions from our authors, that include doctoral students, alumni, and professors.

Our research project focused on understanding and developing approaches to raising consciousness founded on the principles of Transformative Phenomenology – a somatic-hermeneutic-phenomenology put into action in the Lifeworld that was developed during 20 years of “teaching” doctoral students at Fielding by Professors David Rehorick and Valerie Malhotra Bentz (2008, 2017). Rehorick and Bentz call this evolving era the “Silver Age of Phenomenology at Fielding” (Bentz et al. 2019). The practice of Transformative Phenomenology is founded on the essence-based phenomenology of Edmund Husserl, the social phenomenology of Alfred Schütz, the embodied phenomenology of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, the ontologic-existential phenomenology of Martin Heidegger, and the reflective interpretative hermeneutic methods of Hans-Georg Gadamer (Marlatt et al. 2020).

The research involved 78 doctoral students and alumni from Fielding Graduate University, the University of the Virgin Islands (including participants from the Marshall Islands), and the University of Łódź, Poland, including visiting undergraduate students from the Erasmus Institute (Figure 1). During ten weeks of learning and applying Transformative Phenomenology, students developed rich descriptions of lived experience (protocols) and reflective commentaries through their collaborations that were used as information for the research. The research involved the recording and collection of information founded on the methodologies and methods of phenomenological inquiry – including Husserlian eidetic and Schützian social phenomenology.

Image by authors, Valerie Bentz and James Marlatt.

Figure 1: Our research project participants.

The project was designed to replicate research which highlighted the ten phenomenological qualities of Transformative Phenomenologists as a foundation for consciousness-raising that graduates of Fielding obtained through the study and practice of phenomenologically based contemplative social research (Rehorick/Bentz 2017; Bentz/Giorgino 2016). Our focus was on co-learning through “teaching” that was based upon the principles of participation, empowerment, and change. As participatory action researchers, we acted in facilitative roles in the process of inquiry aimed at consciousness-raising. As well, our work supported the continued emergence of a Fielding based community-of-practice (Wenger 1998) supporting social and ecological justice.

Transformative Phenomenology with Strangers

Professor Krzystof Konecki invited me (Bentz) to come to the University of Łódź to teach Transformative Phenomenology and conduct research. He suggested an overall theme of collaboration among strangers.¹ Doctoral students from The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) participated via a course taught in parallel by Bentz and Dr. Barton Buechner. Doctoral students in Human Development from Fielding Graduate University (Fielding) were enrolled in a course in writing phenomenology with Bentz. Undergraduates from the Erasmus Institute program for students from various European countries also participated in a course at Łódź initially taught by Bentz, and later by research assistant Łucja Lange. Also participating were alumni and colleagues connected with the Fielding phenomenology community-of-practice. James Marlatt was our research project coordinator.²

Based on techniques of writing phenomenology I (Bentz) used in a class for over a decade, the participants simultaneously wrote six to eight phenomenologically-based protocols and shared them within and across programs. They shared through on-line forums (Basecamp and Moodle), conversations on Zoom calls, and in-person in Łódź. Most of the students were strangers before the course. Three of the groups were doctoral students in sociology or applied social sciences. The Fielding and UVI students had little or no face-to-face contact as these were primarily virtual learning groups. The UVI students worked in a cohort model with classes on Zoom. The Łódź students met face to face in classroom settings. Bentz and Buechner and research assistants embraced a teaching model that promoted “learning together” (leregogy)³ (Rehorick/Taylor 1995). We choose to de-academize the term by calling it “co-learning.”

Design of Protocols

Husserlian Essential Protocols

The phenomenological protocols are designed so that students may deeply explore an experience of importance to each of them using Husserlian-based essential phenomenology. These protocols focus on the writer’s most poignant experience, the earliest memory of that experience, and protocols using phenomenological techniques such as imaginative variation, bracketing, and horizontalization. Additional protocols focus on descriptions of the opposite of the experience or when the experience was not present. The exploration leads to the identification of the resulting essential structures of the experience itself.

When asked to describe an experience of importance in their lives, students will often tell a story. Storytelling has a long history as a social glue as well as a way of motivating listeners to empathize with the storyteller and to take action. Stories have a typical structure in which an emotion is raised as a prob...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Dedication
• Part I: Lifeworlds in Deathworlds in Łódź, Poland
• Part II: Experiences of Lifeworlds and Deathworlds
• Part III: Lifeworlds and Deathworlds in We-Relationships
• Part IV: Deathworlds and the Indigenous
• Part V: Transformative Phenomenology Practice
• Endorsements
• Index