Description
Book SynopsisThe Reflective, Facilitative and Interpretive Practices of the Coordinated Management of Meaning: Making Lives, Making Meaning, showcases practical applications of the theory of Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM). In the facilitation section, CMM creates dynamics within groups leading toward improved ways of working together; in the interpretation section CMM offers alternative frames to interpret interactions with one another; and in the reflection section CMM is a means to reflect on experiences and interactions to deeper levels of understanding and learning. CMM is grounded in social constructionism, takes a communication perspective and provides concepts and tools for making better social worlds.
Trade ReviewThis volume offers a rich resource for understanding the complexity of communication processes and how we might ‘act wisely in(to) critical moments.’ For the first time, the theory and practice of the Coordinated Management of Meaning is compiled within one volume, moving us toward generative understandings of how we can facilitate the creation of better social worlds. ‘Communication is consequential’ and the contributors to this volume have made that abundantly clear. -- Sheila McNamee, Professor of Communication, University of New Hampshire and Vice President, the Taos Institute
This book is bottled lightning for practitioners who not only want a good theory as grounding for their work, but also want a theory that listens to and engages with practices of all kinds. CMM is that theory, and communication theorists who want to see how theory and practice can be dialogic partners can stop looking. -- Arthur Jensen, Senior Associate Dean, Syracuse University
Table of ContentsPreface: Evolution and Transformation: A Brief History of CMM and a Meditation on What Using it Does to Us, W. Barnett Pearce Chapter 1: CMM as Transforming Practice: An Introduction by Catherine Creede, Beth Fisher-Yoshida and Placida V. Gallegos Transition 1: CMM as Facilitation, Beth Fisher-Yoshida Chapter 2: Facilitating Episode Work, Linda Blong Chapter 3: Levels of Context in Professional Coach-Client Communication, Irene Stein Chapter 4: Taming the Lizard: Transforming Conversations Gone Bad at Work, Paige Marrs Chapter 5: CMM and Healthcare Qualitative Simulation Research: Developing the Team’s Voice, Lydia Forsythe Transition 2: CMM as Interpretation, Catherine Creede Chapter 6: Achieving a Transcendent Episode: A CMM Analysis of a Theological Task Force in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A., Jeff Hutcheson Chapter 7: Expanding Meaning of My Volunteer Work in Uganda Using Circular Questioning as a Self-reflective Journaling Practice, Catherine Creede Chapter 8: From the Ground Up: How a Grassroots Group’s Management of Meaning is Feeding People, Fostering Sustainable Agriculture, and Cultivating community, Karen Bentley Chapter 9: Interactional Logics: Moving CMM Forward by Looking Back, Darrin S. Murray Chapter 10: On Becoming a Global Human: CMM, International Adoption, and the Global Burden of Self, Jeff Leinaweaver Transitions 3: CMM as Reflection, Placida Gallegos Chapter 11: CMM: A Reflective Tool for Engaging Diversity and Adversity, Ilene Wasserman Chapter 12: Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) as Reflective Practice, Beth Fisher-Yoshida Chapter 13: CMM and the Case of the Missing Body, Jane Peterson Chapter 14: Bodymindfulness in Coordinating the Management of Meaning Across Cultures, Adair Nagata Chapter 15: Living Into Very Bad News: The Use of CMM as Spiritual Practice, Kim Pearce Chapter 16: Editors’ Closing Thoughts, Catherine Creede, Beth Fisher-Yoshida and Placida V. Gallegos About the Contributors Index
