The Institute for Cultural Research

The Institute for Cultural Research
Formation 1965
Type NGO, educational charity, publisher
Purpose/focus Thought, behaviour and culture
Headquarters London, UK
Director of Studies Originally Idries Shah
Website Official website

The Institute for Cultural Research (ICR) is a London-based, UK-registered educational charity123, events organizer and publisher which aims to stimulate study, debate, education and research into all aspects of human thought, behaviour and culture.4 It has brought together many distinguished speakers, writers and Fellows over the years.

Contents

History

The Institute was founded in 1965 by the well-known writer, thinker and Sufi teacher Idries Shah567 to facilitate the dissemination of ideas, information and understanding between cultures.28 Its Objects and Regulations were officially first adopted on 21 January, 1966.9 For some time based at Tunbridge Wells in Kent, it is presently based in London.10 Shah acted as the Institute's Director of Studies whilst still alive.10111213 Nobel Prize-winning novelist Doris Lessing, who was influenced by Idries Shah,14 has also contributed to the Institute.1516

Aims and remit

The Institute's stated aim is "to stimulate study, debate, education and research into all aspects of human thought, behaviour and culture" and to make the results of its members' academic work accessible to society and also to academics working in different fields.28

The body, which has a number of distinguished Fellows, has published several dozen academic monographs and some books over the years28 and holds regular events.217 These events usually include a series of six lectures by specialists per year, and a two-day seminar which is usually held in the Autumn. The aim of these is "to connect ideas across disciplines, across cultures, and even through history" and to bring about a broader, more holistic understanding by looking at issues from several different perspectives, with particular interest in human thought and behaviour and issues neglected by contemporary culture.1718

In addition, the Institute supports projects in areas where freedom of access to facts is threatened,2 for example in the case of Afghanistan where assistance has been given to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)'s female educational projects.8

All the Institute for Cultural Research's activities are open to the general public.2

Notable contributors

The Institute has published so many monographs and hosted so many lectures and seminars that only a small sample of notable contributors are listed here.19

Lecturers include: the writer and documentary film-maker Tahir Shah (speaking of the scientific legacies of the Arab Caliphates and their Golden Age); the neuroscientist Professor Chris Frith (how the brain creates our mental and social worlds); the British social anthropologist Professor Tim Ingold (the mismatch between the 'environment' of immediate experience and the 'Environment' of scientific and policy discourse), and psychologist Michael Eysenck (Lost in Time, Making Sense of Amnesia).

Monograph writers include: Nobel Prize-winning novelist Doris Lessing (Problems, Myths and Stories20); co-founder of the Club of Rome in 1968, Dr. Alexander King (Science, Technology and the Quality of Life21 and An Eye to the Future22);23 Professor of Archaeology Steven Mithen (Problem-solving and the Evolution of Human Culture24); writer and psychologist Robert E. Ornstein (Physiological Studies of Consciousness25); psychologist and noted skeptic Chris French (Paranormal Perception? A Critical Evaluation26), and professor of psychiatry Arthur J. Deikman (Evaluating Spiritual and Utopian Groups27).15

Books published by the ICR include Cultural Research2829 edited by the writer Tahir Shah, and Cultural Encounters: Essays on the interactions of diverse cultures now and in the past,3031 edited by Robert Cecil and David Wade.

References

  1. ^ The Institute for Cultural Research's UK registered charity number is 313295.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Details of charitable status and activities at GuideStar.org.uk Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  3. ^ Official details of charitable status and activities at the Charity Commission Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  4. ^ Institute for Cultural Research web site Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  5. ^ Justin Wintle (ed), Makers of Modern Culture, Volume I, p474, Routledge, 2001, ISBN 0-415-26583-5. Retrieved from google book search here on 2008-11-14.
  6. ^ Biographical detail about Idries Shah at Amazon Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  7. ^ Doris Lessing's tribute to Idries Shah in The Times, May 5, 1994 Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  8. ^ a b c d About the Institute for Cultural Research Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  9. ^ Details of the ICR's organisation at GuideStar.org.uk Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  10. ^ a b The World of Learning 1978–79. Europa Publications. pp. p. 1367. ISBN 0905118251. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=MOUvAAAAMAAJ&q=Idries+Shah+%22Institute+for+Cultural+REsearch%22&dq=Idries+Shah+%22Institute+for+Cultural+REsearch%22&client=firefox-a&pgis=1.  Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  11. ^ Obituary at official Idries Shah web site Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  12. ^ Staff. "Idries Shah – Grand Sheikh of the Sufis whose inspirational books enlightened the West about the moderate face of Islam (obituary)". The Daily Telegraph. http://web.archive.org/web/20000525070609/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=001301712421770&rtmo=qMuJX999&atmo=99999999&pg=/et/96/12/7/ebshah07.html. Retrieved on 2008-10-16. 
  13. ^ Biographical detail on Idries Shah at the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (USA) where he co-led a seminar with Robert E. Ornstein Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  14. ^ Müge Galin, Between East and West: Sufism in the Novels of Doris Lessing, State University of New York Press, 1997, Albany, NY, ISBN 0312102933.
  15. ^ a b List of Institute for Cultural Research monographs Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  16. ^ Doris Lessing at the 1998 ICR seminar., speaking on problems, myths and stories. Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  17. ^ a b ICR's statement of public benefit at Guidestar.org.uk, made in light of the new Charities Act. Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  18. ^ Events held by the Institute for Cultural Research Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  19. ^ Google Scholar search results for ICR publications (pdf files) Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  20. ^ Doris Lessing, Problems, myths and stories, The Institute for Cultural Research, 1999, ISSN 0306 1906, ISBN 0 904674 28 2.
  21. ^ Alexander King, Science, Technology and the Quality of Life, The Institute for Cultural Research, 1972, ISSN 0306 1906, ISBN 0 950002 98 4.
  22. ^ Dr. Alexander King et al, An Eye to the Future, Institute for Cultural Research, ISBN 978-0-950002-91-0.
  23. ^ SourceWatch article on Alexander King Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  24. ^ Steven Mithen, Monograph Series No. 33, Problem-solving and the Evolution of Human Culture, The Institute for Cultural Research, 1999, ISSN 0306 1906, ISBN 0 904674 25 8.
  25. ^ Robert E. Ornstein and Robert Evan, Physiological studies of consciousness, ICR Monograph Series No. 11, Institute for Cultural Research, 1973, ISBN 0904674002.
  26. ^ Christopher C. French, Paranormal Perception? A Critical Evaluation, Institute for Cultural Research, 2001, ISBN 978-0-904674-34-7.
  27. ^ Arthur J. Deikman, M.D., Evaluating Spiritual and Utopian Groups, Institute for Cultural Research, 1988, ISSN 0306 1906, ISBN 0 904674 13 4.
  28. ^ Tahir Shah (ed), Cultural Research: Papers on Regional Cultures and Culture-Mixing, by and for the Institute for Cultural Research, Institute for Cultural Research, 1993, ISBN 978-0-86304-064-1.
  29. ^ Tahir Shah's Cultural Research at Amazon Retrieved on 2008-11-14.
  30. ^ Robert Cecil and David Wade (eds), Cultural Encounters: Essays on the interactions of diverse cultures now and in the past, Institute for Cultural Research, 1990, ISBN 978-0-86304-050-4.
  31. ^ Cultural Encounters at Amazon Retrieved on 2008-11-14.

External links

The Institute for Cultural Research web site.

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