ABSTRACT
The journey metaphor looms large in traditions that value narrative and attend to language-in-use. And so, for John Shotter to depict what many might see as his most recognisable ascription in this way shouldn’t come as a total surprise. Yet, what we must appreciate in this statement and through the larger contribution he has made is the certainty that Shotter does not make this journey alone. This book’s title, Joint Action, not only recognises one of the key concepts Shotter has developed, it simultaneously reflects the collaborative, interactive process of producing this book. More broadly, it is also indicative of the various interlocking and overlapping ways in which Shotter’s work continues to contribute to ongoing intellectual conversations in the human and social sciences today. One way of thinking about the distinctiveness of Shotter’s work is that it provides a means with which, together, we can become more practically responsive to a world that we actively contribute to making. In looking over his shoulder, at the path Shotter has travelled in producing this contribution, we just might get a sense of how the journey was made.
