Castles and Battlefields

[Chris Chapman]

Just remembered that I had intended to write something about this metaphor that feels very close to what we were working with :

Roger Harrison (same guy I got the fear bit from) recalls using the metaphor in 1963 :

'The battlefield is where people disagree, where one's expectations are disconfirmed and where authority figures behave in unpredictable ways.  The Castle is where people are allowed to have their defenses, hang on to their old ideas, and resist change.  I came to believe that a good learning situation should provide both castle and battlefield'

1963 feels like a long time ago.  Nearly 50 years on I think we know a lot more about 'fields' per se - complex places of great interconnectedness, where there may be battles sometimes, but where there is a lot more going on than just battles.

Anyway, if ever anyone wants to play more with the castle / field metaphor, we know just the place !

http://www.majestic-castles-in-ireland.com/newtown-castle.html