Transformative Communication Radar: Practices, Action and Praxis Communication in Solidarity Economy Networks in Portugal and Catalonia

This article explores the transformational character of solidarity economy network communication in Portugal and Catalonia, focusing on the first two months of the crisis brought on by COVID-19. We assume that what these networks choose to convey (or remain silent on) in their public communications reflects their positions in the fields of action and values and their theoretical alignment, establishing an ethico-political orientation. Through the analysis of virtual content conveyed by solidarity economy organisations, we analyse the topics covered, the types of content and sources cited, and the level of demand in the discourse, as well as their individual, institutional and collective character. The results reveal very different communicative approaches in each of the cases analysed: from silence or total absence of communicative practices to what can be considered a transformational praxis communication, based on collective action challenging the structures of power and domination and pointing out ways to overcome them. The article proposes a transformative communication radar linking Habermas’s theory of communicative action and Fuchs’s Marxist-inspired praxis communication concept, as a way of distinguishing merely instrumental communicative approaches from those guided by communicative and cooperative rationality driving new agreements and societal transformations.

Transmission and Transformation of Kabbalistic Knowledge in Italy at the End of the Fifteenth Century

The article looks at the transfer of knowledge between Judaism and Christianity in the Renaissance, a period characterized by the encounter of different cultures and belief systems. In particular, it will focus on the Christian Kabbalah, which channels various philosophical and sapiential traditions into a universal, and at the same time, plural vision of wisdom. This convergence of ideas resulted, on the one hand, in the elaboration of translations, adaptations, and vulgarization of Jewish texts and, on the other, in the development of new interpretations. This is a characteristic of the collected writings of Pierleone of Spoleto, which involved the transformative communication of Jewish translators and the creative reception of Christian humanists. Of these manuscripts, we will examine the annotations concerning the sefirot, which are an excellent example of the reinterpretation of Jewish thought through a typically humanistic perspective.

Empowering Leaders through the COVID -19 Crisis: Implementing a Transformative Communication Model

This study was a reflection on the implementation of a transformative communication model at a school in Central Jamaica to address interruptions in communication and school operations among key stakeholders brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. The researchers sought to establish what kind of support the leaders and teacher leaders needed to improve communication among staff members and pupils in order to restore stability to the school environment. The project employed the Kurt Lewin’s change model: Unfreeze, Change, re-freeze. The study involved seven participants: the leader of the institution and six teachers who operated as teacher leaders with varying leadership portfolios. The researchers found that crisis leadership was necessary to mitigate against the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the institution which existed in the deep rural community. The researchers also found that improving leader’ and teacher leaders’ communication competencies boosted morale and encouraged normalcy in school operations. In applying the transformative communication model, the institution was entirely transferred to the TEAMS platform. A team of international experts in education and communication, that became a sustained extension of the institution, trained the leader and teacher leaders to manage the crisis and increased their communication competencies, while normal school operations continued on the platform. This project demonstrated that in times of crisis, if all stakeholders collaborate, organizational goals can be attained.

Transformative Communication as Semiotic Scaffolding of Cognitive Development

The paper examines the role of earliest communicative interactions in the development of social-cognitive functions through a communication-theoretical interpretation of Hoffmeyer’s notion “semiotic scaffolding”. Drawing on Bateson’s notion of metacommunication and Vygotskian perspectives on cognitive-semiotic development, it argues that the primary semiotic achievement of human evolution and development is the differentiation of meaning into inter-referential layers that are communicatively established, which in turn provides an ecological foundation for multilevel and multimodal semiosis. Ontogenetically regarded, differentiation of levels of communication is argued to be an intersubjectively achieved process of semiotic scaffolding. Semiotic scaffolds are conceived as hierarchically organized, temporary or enduring semiotic controls on action, which can be formed in phylogeny or ontogeny. The timescale in which semiotic scaffolds change narrows down from phylogenic history to lived time to the extent that development is mediated by culture. The increasing plasticity of semiotic scaffolds brings about a novel, transformative mode of communication that is partly efficacious on phylogenetic scaffolding and responsible for the emergence of higher order scaffolds within ontogenetic time. Transformative communication is the process whereby higher-order semiotic scaffolds of (inter)action are intersubjectively formed by effectuating a top-down social modification on the psycho-somatic level of scaffolding. Its phylogenetically prior and more pervasive correlative, coordinative communication, is the mode in which stably scaffolded semiotic activities of individuals are coordinated. This argument is concretized through examining some landmark cognitive-semiotic activities such as imitation, cooperative role-taking and symbolic play, interpreted as communicative interactions with particular focus on their role in layering sign-processes. Through these interactions the child develops skills for differential attention to sign-object-interpretant and coordination of alternative interpretants.

Literary Journalism and Transformative Communication: Proposal for the Alignment of the New Discipline with the Growing Trend of a Communication Transformative Practice in Social and Human Development

This essay proposes a differentiated educational function for literary journalism as a discipline of its own and as a field of knowledge, attuned to the rise of new paradigms that are radically revolutionizing the way we understand reality. It suggests literary journalism to take a proactive role in empowering people through narratives focused on transformation and expansion of consciousness. It discusses the productive and destructive effects of mass communication messages. This proposal is akin to emerging initiatives such as constructive journalism and solutions journalism, which signal the rise of social consciousness regarding transformative communication both in legacy and new social media. Este ensaio propõe uma função educativa diferenciada para o jornalismo literário enquanto disciplina própria e campo de conhecimento, sintonizada com a ascensão de novos paradigmas que estão revolucionando radicalmente o modo como entendemos a realidade. Sugere sua ação em prol do empoderamento das pessoas por meio de narrativas centradas em histórias de transformação e expansão de consciência. Discute o efeito produtivo e o destrutivo das mensagens dos meios de comunicação. Alinha essa função com iniciativas emergentes denominadas jornalismo construtivo, jornalismo de solução e outras ramificações, configurando a ascensão de uma consciência social em torno de uma prática de comunicação transformativa na mídia convencional, assim como nas novas mídias sociais. Este ensayo propone una función educativa diferenciada para el periodismo literario como una disciplina propia y como un campo de conocimiento, en sintonía con el surgimiento de nuevos paradigmas que revolucionan radicalmente la manera en que entendemos la realidad. Sugiere que el periodismo literario asuma un papel proactivo en el empoderamiento de las personas a través de narrativas centradas en la transformación y la expansión de la conciencia. Discute los efectos productivos y destructivos de los mensajes de comunicación masiva. Esta propuesta está alineada con las iniciativas emergentes que se denominan periodismo constructivo, periodismo de soluciones y otras que señalan el surgimiento de una conciencia social con respecto a la comunicación transformadora tanto en los medios convencionales como en las nuevas redes sociales.

Partner development praxis: The use of transformative communication spaces in a community-academic participatory action research effort in a Mexican ethnic enclave in Chicago

Trusting, productive relationships between traditionally discordant stakeholders—community members and researchers—are critical for successful Community-Based Participatory Research. Practical guidance on processes allowing for partner trust-building and collaborative leadership development in Community-Based Participatory Research literature lacks specificity. In this paper, we introduce our praxis of Transformative Communication Spaces to facilitate purposeful, iterative discourse that occurs in, and fuels each research phase. We elaborate on the use of Transformative Communication Spaces through Pláticas de Salud, Oral History Listening Events, and Data Analysis Think Tanks within the framework of our Little Village Participatory Community Health Assessment. We believe the integrity and potential of Community-Based Participatory Research is contingent on the use of Transformative Communication Spaces strategies to foster trusting partnerships necessary for shared learning and co-leadership.