Modes of belonging
These notes are part of a series for the book.
Outline
- Engagement
- Trade-offs of engagement
- Imagination
- Trade-offs of imagination
- Alignment
- Trade-offs of alignment
- Belonging and communities
- The work of belonging
- The work of engagement
- The work of imagination
- The work of alignment
Notes
‘Learning is a matter of engagement…. [and] imagination…. [and] alignment’ (from the 13 principles defining learning, Wenger, 1998, pp. 227-228).
There are 3 modes of belonging and sources of identity: Engagement, imagination, and alignment. None of the modes is better than the others; they all have trade-offs. Wenger distinguishes them because they require different work, to the point that sometimes what’s required for each causes conflict with the others.
Note that all three modes of belonging expand identity but also can occur outside of communities of practice (COPs). ‘[C]ommunities of practice are not the only kind of community to consider when exploring the formation of identity’ (Wenger, 1998, p. 181). They also exist in other groupings of people — for example, people who live in the same area, work in the same profession, have the same socioeconomic bracket, share the same beliefs.
| Characteristic | Engagement | Imagination | Alignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is made of... | Shared histories of learning, relationships, interactions, practices | Images of possibilities, the world, the past and future, ourselves | Discourses, coordinated enterprises, complexity, styles, compliance |
| Pluses | With engagement, we help define the COP through which we define ourselves and our actions as competent. | Creating images allow us to see patterns and make connections in our experiences. It also allows us to project into the future to discover to possibilities. And it allows us to see ourselves as part of a lineage of histories. | Alignment increases the effect of our (collective) actions. |
| Minuses | With excessive engagement, shared histories and understandings can become too entrenched and prohibit new viewpoints to move the community forward. | The images can be so incorrect as to be a hindrance (either based on wrong assumptions and stereotypes, or just not rooted in reality). | If it becomes blind allegiance or coerced alignment, it can leave us without power. |
| Involves this type of work... | The work for this mode is the work of forming communities of practice: the three dimensions of practice, interpersonal relationships, definition of competence, sense of trajectories that shape identity, management of boundaries and allowing engagement at peripheries. Requires access to participation and reification within the community. | Seeing ourselves in others; locating ourselves in a constellation of systems and COPs, and defining a trajectory as a way of extending identity; sharing what we know about possibilities, the past, the world; and adopting and adapting the resources and reifications from other communities. | Negotiating, convincing, inspiring; creating broad visions and goals; and creating structures that can be used across boundaries. |
Engagement
Engagement is the mutual negotiation of meaning. It involves three intertwined processes:
- Negotiating meaning
- Forming trajectories
- Unfolding histories of practice
You can have mutual engagement outside of COPs, but ‘mutual engagement will give rise to communities of practice over time’ (Wenger, 1998, p. 174).
It is important to remember that mutual engagement has limits. People are limited on how much they can do, both in terms of time as well as how many activities and how much complexity they can handle.
Imagination
Imagination is producing images of the self and the world. It is reflecting on what you know about your practice and extrapolating from that to imagine the similarities between your experiences and those of others. For example, a work-related COP may give you insight into the lives of others in the same profession and at other companies. This imagination gives you a sense of self and position within the world.
As an example, Wenger tells a story about ‘two stonecutters who are asked what they are doing. One response: “I am cutting this stone in a perfectly square shape.” The other responds: “I am building a cathedral.”‘ (Wenger, 1998, p. 176). Both stonecutters are correct, but their responses show a different understanding of their activity, which Wenger attributes to imagination.
Note that images can be incorrect. They can be based on stereotypes or just have incorrect ideas, but still imagination is a process for creating a shared reality in which you can construct an identity. Also note that the images are enhanced as COP members share histories and stories, and information about other COPs.
Alignment
This mode of belonging is is alignment with a broader enterprise. In the claims processor example, they followed directives from upper management when told to dress nicely and clean their desks for visitors, even though they did not know the management. In this way, they were aligned with the company. Other examples: Following laws, following the latest fashions. We can align with with genres, faiths, socio-political movements, standards, enterprises.
Combinations of the modes
The modes give a community a way to have participation and non-participation, to support learning.
- Engagement + Imagination = a reflective practice because you are engaging but also seeing the practice as an outsider.
- Imagination + Alignment = acting while being able to see how it fits within the bigger picture
- Engagement + Alignment = coordination of our activities within the bigger picture