Jürgen W. Kremer, Ph. D.

Biography

My teaching and writing focuses on a decolonizing discourse of Whiteness, the history of modernist White self-constructions, and the critical reconstruction of European indigenous layers. I hope that out of the tears about the grievous things our ancestors have suffered and committed, amidst all the achievements, there will arise shared laughter and appreciation as the joy of the local truth ceases to be a call for dominance, and as people enjoy and appreciate each other's capacity for cross-cultural learning. Facing collective shadow material, the inclusion of the dark and light seem to prevent us from superficial nostalgia and dissociated romanticism in relation to any culture, and help us to move into the future through our connections with ancestral cultural roots. The remembrance of the web of stories that create who we are; the connection with the surrounding lands, community, and cultural history; the philosophical reflection upon our cultural premises; the dialogue of the various sciences with local knowledge and narratives, i.e. indigenous science these seem to be ways to open an avenue for rich multicultural inquiry and learning as well as the resolution of cultural wounds and the exploration of the liberating potential of ethnic constructions. Durable peace is only possible if we find ways to affirm and assert visionary and interconnected sovereignty that supersede the models modernity/colonialism has offered. My work is dedicated to diverse learning environments that elicit the teachers' and students' potentials through personal and scholarly inquiry for the sake of the communities to which they will dedicate their professional lives.

Autobiographical writing (ethnoautobiography) is an approach I am frequently using with students to help them navigate the processes of personal and cultural ethnic narratives. Students generally design co-operative inquiries to engage in a generative integration of curricular content with personal questions and critical reflections. For students of European descent the deconstruction of Whiteness and the recovery of ancestral roots requires not only the confrontation with cultural shadow material (such as genocide, racism, white privilege, inequality, bipolar gender construction) but also the remembrance of the earliest historical beginnings of supremacist self constructions. The confrontation with ancestral ethnic connections by White settlers (Euro-Americans) calls for a process of critical inquiry distinct from ethnic renewal and affirmation in Indigenous populations. The next section describes what I think about Indigenous traditions, shamans, and shamanism.

In recent years I have been involved in interdisciplinary work with indigenous peoples as part of my practice of socially engaged spirituality. My theoretical work is an attempt to transgress the established boundaries of nature, culture, and gender, and to walk in the spaces between and across disciplinary territories exploring the transformative dimensions of current and traditional thought and practice. I received my education at the University of Hamburg in Germany and am the editor of the journal ReVision -- Journal of Consciousness and Transformation (revisionpublishing.org). My past positions include, Dean of Faculty and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Saybrook University in San Francisco; Academic Dean, program director of the Integral Studies Program and East-West Psychology Program; co-director of the PhD program for Traditional Knowledge at the California Institute of Integral Studies. I have (co)written several books and contributed extensively to journals, handbooks, readers, and more popular venues. Towards a Person-Centered Resolution of Intercultural Conflicts (1980) is the title of one of my books. After receiving my doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Hamburg, Germany, and working for some years in private practice, I relocated to San Francisco to teach at Saybrook University. I have edited special ReVision issues on: Peace and Identity; Paradigmatic Challenges; Culture and Ways of Knowing; Indigenous Science; and Transformative Learning. Recently I have written about ethnoautobiography, dissociation, healing and cosmology, Ken Wilber, trance, the history of sense alienation in euro-centered cultures, my travels in Sapmi (Lappland), the bear in circumpolar stories, the obligations of a white man, ancestral conversations, and violence against indigenous peoples.

Psychology in Diversity – Diversity in Psychology is my introductory psychology textbook which was welcomed by colleagues. Prof. Stanley Krippner commented that “this text informs its readers of the contributions to psychological knowledge made by women, people of color, and indigenous traditions. I can think of no better invitation to students who are eager to learn about psychology, its domain, and its relevance in today's world.” Dr. Alan Kanner commented: “Jűrgen Kremer is out to save psychology — and it needs it! In Psychology in Diversity, Diversity in Psychology Kremer frees the field from being stuck in a 19th century model of science that both ignores the profound implications of quantum physics and dismisses the vast wisdom that indigenous peoples have accumulated over thousands of years.” Prof. Bayo Akomolafe stated: “Gone are the old borders and Eurocentric commitments. Kremer updates the trans-discipline to account for new scientific and philosophical conversations, borrows responsibly from indigenous knowledges with cross-cultural insights, and offers a gift of a book that rethinks human behaviour in a time when anthropocentricity is being called into question. We need this.”

You can contact Professor Kremer at jkremer@upeace.org.

SELECT PUBLICATIONS

(2019) Abnormal Psychology. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.

(2018)  Ethnoautobiography (2nd edition). Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt. (With R Jackson-Paton).

(2018)  Kultur ist űberall – Culture Is Everywhere. In D. Eigner, J. Kremer, & G. Fleck (eds.), Cultural and Medical Traditions. Vienna, Austria: Buchreihe des Arbeitskreises fur Medical Anthropology der Wissenschaftskommission im BMLVS.

(2018)  Spirit dances of the Pacific Northwest – Indigenous and Western approaches to depression. In D. Eigner, J. Kremer, & G. Fleck (eds.), Cultural and Medical Traditions. Vienna, Austria: Buchreihe des Arbeitskreises fur Medical Anthropology der Wissenschaftskommission im BMLVS.

(2017)  Diversity in Psychology – Psychology in Diversity. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.

(2017)  Weltbild und Kultur in der Medical Anthroplogy / World View and Culture in Medical Anthroplogy. In D. Eigner, J. Kremer (eds.), Culture, Consciousness, and Healing Vol. 1 (pp. 5-30). Vienna, Austria: Buchreihe des Arbeitskreises fur Medical Anthropology der Wissenschaftskommission im BMLVS.

(2017)  Trickster of True Selves in Trans/Personal and Shamanic Knowing. In D. Eigner, J. Kremer (eds.), Culture, Consciousness, and Healing Vol. 1 (pp. 91-116). Vienna, Austria: Buchreihe des Arbeitskreises fur Medical Anthropology der Wissenschaftskommission im BMLVS.

(2016)  Walking in two worlds. In Morning Star Jones, S., & Krippner, S. (Eds.) (2016), The shamanic powers of Rolling Thunder (pp.162-171). Rochester, VT: Bear & Co.

(2016)  Healing from creation. In Morning Star Jones, S., & Krippner, S. (Eds.) (2016), The shamanic powers of Rolling Thunder (pp. 172-183). Rochester, VT: Bear & Co.

(2015). Explorer of liminal phenomena (Essay in honor of Stanley Krippner). In J. A. Davies, & D. B.  Pitchford, Stanley Krippner: A life of dreams, myths, & visions (pp. 41-61). Colorado Springs, CO: University Professors Press.

(2015)  Foreword: Transformations of consciousness and the ecology of mind. In D. Eigner & J. W. Kremer, Transformations of consciousness: Potentials for our future (pp. 1-12). Kathmandu, Nepal: Vajra Books.

(2015)  Multi-Sense Perspectives on Shamanic Rituals. In D. Eigner & J. W. Kremer, Transformations of consciousness: Potentials for our future (pp. 13-46). Kathmandu, Nepal: Vajra Books.