Evolving the Modality Concept: A Conversation with Jacques Stitelmann

Poiesis, Research, and Nature: A Conversation with Jacques StitelmannIn the fifth episode of our 30th-anniversary series, we sit down with Jacques Stitelmann, a psychologist, visual artist, poet, and long-standing faculty member at the Arts, Health and Society Division at The European Graduate School (EGS).Having completed his PhD at EGS over 25 years ago, Jacques shares his deep connection to the institution's phenomenological approach and its open-minded community.In this engaging episode, listeners will explore:Jacques’s early introduction to EGS, drawn by the groundbreaking work of Paolo Knill and Stephen K. Levine on "poiesis" and the poetic experience.Fond memories of collaborating with Paolo Knill to carve and evolve the "modality concept" in expressive arts, highlighting Paolo's encouraging openness to extending and changing theories.A vision for the future of the field: the need to develop our specificities while maintaining strong, nourishing links with the broader university, political, and cultural environments.The critical importance of research: Expanding arts-based research alongside classical qualitative methods in the human sciences to stay deeply connected to the global system of health and teaching.A beautiful closing reflection on the landscape of Saas-Fee, emphasizing how contact with nature—the mountains, glaciers, wind, and sun—is an integral part of the expressive arts and our inner world.Join us for this profound dialogue on the importance of staying connected—both to rigorous academic research and to the natural world that surrounds us.