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More than 150 psychologists and scholars from around the world are expected to attend the Seventh International Conference on the Dialogical Self, hosted by the University of Georgia College of Education at the UGA Hotel and Conference Center at the Georgia Center October 25-28.

Hermans

The concept of the dialogical self, based on the work of Dutch psychologist Hubert Hermans, is a growing development in psychology that is closely related to narrative psychology, constructivism and cultural psychology, but the focus is on the multi-voiced self. According to the concept of the dialogical self, the individual self is social in origin and dialogical in function. The self reflects and appropriates the voices of society and significant others, and within the functioning of the self we consider these voices in dialogue.

Exploration of the dialogical self has a broad scope, including areas as far-reaching as literary science, brain research, empirical psychology and psychotherapy practice. It brings together different fields of psychology, such as personality, developmental, social and clinical psychology. Increasingly, educational researchers use the theory to make meaning of the complexity of classroom practice. Across these diverse fields, the concept of the dialogical self provides an interdisciplinary platform for innovative research, theory and practice.

Hermans, a professor emeritus of Radboud University of Nijmegen, developed internationally applied methods, among them the Self Confrontation Method (SCM) and the Personal Position Repertoire (PPR) method. The SCM led to the establishment of a professional association (300 members). For his work, Hermans received a decoration of Knight in the Society of the Netherlands Lion. His ideas were used in the formation of the government in The Netherlands in 2006.

Keynote speakers for the conference are:

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  Goncalves

  Miguel Goncalves, a professor of psychology at the University of Minho in Portugal, is vice-president of the International Society of Dialogical Self and action editor of Psychotherapy Research. His research focuses on the narrative and dialogical processes in psychotherapy. He will deliver an address titled, “Innovative Moments in Psychotherapy: From Narrative Products to Dialogical Processes,” on Thursday, October 25 at 2 p.m.

• Hubert Hermans, the creator of the Dialogical Self Theory and one of the main theorists in the fields of narrative psychology and narrative psychotherapy, will deliver a keynote speech titled, “Dialogical Self Theory: State of the Art,” at 9:50 a.m. on Friday, October 26.
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  Raggatt

  Peter Raggatt, a senior lecturer at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia will deliver a keynote address at 9:50 a.m. on Saturday, October 27.

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  Arnett

  Jeffrey Arnett is a research professor in psychology at Clarke University in Worcester, Mass. He coined the term “emerging adulthood,” and is the author of Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens through the Twenties (Oxford University Press). Arnett will deliver a keynote address titled, “Culture, Development, and the Dialogical Self, Variations in Voices and Volumes,” at 9:50 a.m. on Sunday, October 28.

All keynote speeches will be delivered in Mahler Auditorium.

Featured lecturers include:

• Vincent Hevern, Professor and former Chair of Psychology – LeMoyne College
• John Rowan, Fellow of the British Psychological Society
• Henderikus Stam, University of Calgary

For more information, visit:  www.coe.uga.edu/dialogicalself2012/

A Post-Conference Workshop on Dialogical Self Approach in Coaching, Training, Counseling, and Education will be held on Monday, October 29. The workshop, facilitated by Hermans, Agnieszka Hermans-Konopka and Ton Voogt will also be held at the Georgia Hotel and Conference Center. For more information, visit: www.coe.uga.edu/dialogicalself2012/program/post-conference-workshop/

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