Wednesday 19 December 2007

Etienne Wenger and Yrjo Engestrom

Last Tuesday - 11th December I was lucky to be able to attend an event of the OU's Practice-based professial learning Centre in memory of the OU's Peter Knight who died earlier this year.

Etienne Wenger and Yrjo Engestrom whose learning theories I've engaged with quite a lot both made presentations. The morning in particular was very rich in ideas.

Two things among those I took away to think on....

  1. Etienne's comments on identities as systems of expressability and accountability. In passing he commented that if you are not engaged in something you don't feel accountable. Although at one level it's an obvious comment his phrasing of it in the way he did got me thinking about how it helps to explain many people's lack of accountability regarding environmental practices regarding climate change....how can people feel accountable if not engaged in a particular way?
  2. Yrjo's focus on climate change as an example of a 'runaway object' (borrowing from Giddens' 'runaway world') and his use of the metaphor of mycorrhizae....what's going on beneath the ground, invisible and huge.

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