ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the changes in group relations conferences in the USA came out of several conversations the contributors have had about their experiences in USA Group Relations Conferences and Symposia. It is based on the contributors’ observations of group relations conference work in the USA over the eighty-two years of collective engagement we have had in conferences. The chapter explores the theoretical frameworks that were joined to develop the group relations learning model know as "Conferences about Leadership and Authority" and focuses on how they understand that model has evolved in the USA over the decades since 1965. It discusses group relations conferences in the USA that have followed the trajectory of many other academic disciplines in moving away from an engagement with the social and more toward the engagement of the personal and individual. The chapter also focuses on the accelerated permeation of American culture by capitalism and the impact of that on group relations conference work.
