The return of the muses

This book has been written for professionals wishing to enhance the professional particularity and counterforce in their work. Those who do not blindly fit into the mould of protocol. From artists to lawyers and from engineers to care providers, they cross the boundaries of their profession in search of new forms of skill, professionalism and collaboration. They want to contribute socially and intensify the sense and meaning of their work.
With the concept of Musal Professionalisation, as a professor affiliated with HKU University of the Arts Utrecht and the centre for leadership and enterprise, de Baak, Bart van Rosmalen develops a musal perspective of professional practices. In the myth, the Muses sing the praises of the gods' heroic deeds by making them into a performance, by narrating, playing and sharing. Their work surpasses the exclusive particularity of the individual and creates common bonds. Just for a while, during the performance, the normal dividing lines and restrictions are suspended, from the rules of protocol to the pigeon-holes within which work is fittingly carried out, from the hierarchical power relations to everyday cares. The musal factor breaks through these barriers as counterforce, with a highly intrinsic effect.
Van Rosmalen shows how the musal perspective arouses professional particularity, shared values and pleasure in work. With the myth of the Muses as his leitmotif, he links the cultural philosophy in the work of Alasdair MacIntyre, Hans-Georg Gadamer and Richard Sennet with the organisation theory of Karl Weick. The book concludes with practical directions for actively contributing to public value on the basis of the human dimension.