POSTPONED: Julian Manley; Social dreaming: putting Deleuzian philosophy into practice

Please note that due to unforeseen circumstances, this event will no longer take place on 30 January. We will update the event when a new date is scheduled.

This seminar argues that there may be avenues for understanding Deleuzian affect that might be profitably explored and understood in ways that are relatively easy to access. Deleuzian philosophy is often regarded with suspicion as obscure and irritatingly esoteric. Some of these ways might be a question of approach, attitude even, a shift in thinking. In this seminar, I argue that social dreaming matrix can usefully be interpreted as a Deleuzian method, and through it, we can acquire a clearer understanding of Deleuze and Guattari’s philosophical mindset, without excessive ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’! Through social dreaming, the participant in the method is able to explore key Deleuzian concepts such as the rhizome, nomadism, movements of affect, the ‘body without organs’ and creativity as a source of knowledge. Maybe social dreaming is an example of Deleuze as ‘practical philosophy’?

Bio

Julian Manley is Social Innovation Manager at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston. He was educated at the universities of Cambridge, Middlesex and West of England, where he completed a Phd in social dreaming. He has also been trained in the Tavistock tradition of organisational consultancy. His areas of research include the development of social dreaming (a method of sharing night-time dreams in groups in order to access an ‘associative’ or ‘social unconscious’) and associated methods for research within a psycho-social paradigm and viewed through a Deleuzian lens. In parallel, he is involved in on-going research into co-operative values and principles and has been one of the influencers of the Preston Model, an innovative community wealth building  project that has attracted considerable media attention. Julian is a Director of the Centre for Social Dreaming, Co-Chair of the Climate Psychology Alliance Scotland and Chair of the Preston Co-operative Development Network. Recent publications include two books on social dreaming: Social Dreaming: Associative thinking and intensities of affect (2019) and, with Susan Long (eds) Social Dreaming: Philosophy, research, theory and practice (2019).

Part of the CCRI First Thursday Seminar Series

All seminars begin at 4.30 pm and end at 5.45 pm.  No need to book in advance to attend these seminars. 

Please note the seminars taking place on 30 January and 30 April, i.e. the final week of the previous month.