News and commentary
A dedication to the enduring memory of Marit Eikaas Haavimb
A dedication to the enduring memory of Marit Eikaas Haavimb
Marit Eikaas Haavimb, the heart and soul of the CMM Institute, passed away 6 months ago. She is still sorely missed. Ilene Wasserman and Stewards from the Institute have prepared a dedication to Marit to honor her extraordinary contribution to all we value and hold dear at the Institute.
How can we respond in a climate of cruelty?
How can we respond in a climate of cruelty?
The CMM Institute is dedicated to making social worlds better and at the moment it feels as if we are needed more than ever. There seems to be such a climate of cruelty and lack of care for other people in our social world, we feel compelled to respond. But how do we do this? Vin Jensen has written a well-considered response that we want to share with you.
Sound-based interventions: Exploring “conversational jazz” and improvisation for co-creating healing spaces between lifeworlds
Sound-based interventions: Exploring “conversational jazz” and improvisation for co-creating healing spaces between lifeworlds
CMM Institute Stewards Rik Spann and Bart Buechner have designed an exciting interactive workshop on the use of improvisational methods for creating healing conversations. The specific purpose of the workshop was to offer some simple, learnable CMM-based approaches that can be used with other, existing, empirically validated or “evidence-based” therapies. This workshop was presented in April at a conference organized by the Schutz Circle in Vienna, Austria, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Schutz’s influential paper, “On Multiple Realities”.
Democracy for the future
Democracy for the future
Sergej van Middendorp, one of our valued Stewards, has started an essay series on Substack in response to the enormity of the polycrisis we are currently experiencing. In his first essay he calls for the need for a radical re-democratization of the political system and a fundamental redesign of what we take democracy to be. CMM has much to offer in this reconceptualization.
Communication is everything: Abbie VanMeter’s talk at CSCA
Communication is everything: Abbie VanMeter’s talk at CSCA
In March, Abbie VanMeter was invited to talk at the Undergraduate Honors Research Luncheon during the Central States Communication Association Annual Conference. She captured the essence of her presentation when she said, “What I want you to be reminded of here is that work or school isn’t everything—but communication is.“
Interpersonal Communication has won a McGuffey Longevity Award
Interpersonal Communication has won a McGuffey Longevity Award
The 8th edition of Arthur Jensen and Sarah Trenholm’s Interpersonal Communication textbook has been awarded the McGuffey Longevity Award by the Textbook and Academic Authors’ Association. This award recognizes the longevity in the marketplace and is a strong testimony to the quality of the book. We congratulate Arthur and Sarah on this remarkable achievement.
Quarterly report from Abbie VanMeter
Quarterly report from Abbie VanMeter
The past three months have been busy for Abbie VanMeter in her role as Executive Director for Innovative Collaborations. In her quarterly report she describes how she is helping to get CMM on the road and on the air, and what other members of the Board have been up to as well.
Honoring Stephen Littlejohn
Honoring Stephen Littlejohn
A special panel was convened at the Western States Communication Association Annual Convention in Albuquerque in February, to honor Stephen Littlejohn, a founding Director of the CMM Institute—amongst many other things. Kim Pearce was part of that panel, and offered some significant stories pointing to how much Stephen contributed to the evolution of CMM and the CMMi.