The Guelph Reading Group is Back and it Swings!
Thinking Spaces: The Improvisation Reading Group and Speakers Series 2013-2014
The Reading Group is open to all – community members, faculty, and students – who are interested in improvisation as a model for creative thinking and action.
This year’s Thinking Spaces is divided into blocks based on selected research themes:
BLOCK 1: Oct-Dec – Improvisation, Community, & Conflict Transformation
BLOCK 2: Jan-Feb – Improvising Lives, Working Musicians, & Solo Artistry
BLOCK 3: March-April – Improvisation, Gender, & Vocality
We hope these themes resonate with your concerns and invite you to collaborate on the planning and realization of the Reading Group activities. As part of this collaboration, we would like members and those interested in joining Thinking Spaces to consider presenting their own research, experiences, and/or community projects as part of this year’s line-up.
Upcoming
October 25, 2013
Please join us for the third meeting of the 2013-2014 “Thinking Spaces: Improvisation Reading Group and Speakers Series” on October 25th starting at 3 pm in the boardroom at the Guelph Public Library at 100 Norfolk Street (at Paisley). The focus of this session is the use of improvisation and other forms of music in contributing to local community building. Members of the Guelph Ukulele Club will share experiences creating fun and inclusive musical spaces. Dr. Kati Szego, an ethnomusicologist from Memorial University of Newfoundland who has studied the history of the ukulele, will join us for the discussion via teleconference. Feel free to bring your ukulele(s)!
If you would like to prepare for the discussion, please consult the video clips provided on the official website of the documentary, The Mighty Uke: The Amazing Comeback of a Musical Underdog: Thinking Spaces.
November 8, 2013
In this session, Dr. Lauren Michelle Levesque will discuss her research on the intersections between conflict transformation and improvisation. A principal question for dialogue will be: How can improvisation contribute to the ways local communities creatively engage with violence and social healing? Insights for answering this question from local activists, artists, community members as well as students and faculty are welcome.
If you would like to prepare for the discussion, please listen to the interview with scholar and conflict transformation practitioner, John Paul Lederach, posted here.
If you have comments and/or questions about the Reading Group and Speakers Series, please contact Chris Tonelli or Lauren Levesque at:
