An Occupational Science Time Capsule: Questions from the Hat 1990

In 1990, a group of occupational scientists in southern California accumulated over several months, a set of key recurring questions regarding the central tenets of occupational science. They were “tossed in the hat” and served as a basis for a multi-day retreat in January of 1991. The Questions from the Hat address such broad concepts as the meaning of science and social science, the definition of occupation, the limits or boundaries of occupational science, the potential structure of an OS community, the relations of models to theories, useful methodologies, occupational form and performance, occupatio-temporality, proto-occupations, systems and taxonomies of occupation, and important gaps in our understanding of occupation. In this forum, we will use The Questions from the Hat as a time capsule to reflect on how our thinking has changed within the discipline of occupational science. Reflective questions posed for discussion will include: Which of the Questions are still important to the discipline? Why, or why not? Are there questions that should have been posed at that time that were not on this list? On which of the Questions has theoretical or empirical progress been made? How do the Questions display an orientation to occupational science that is different from today’s perspective? What are the primary changes that have occurred in occupational science since 1990? If we were to collect another set of Questions from the Hat, what would they include