Research-creation is an approach to research that engages artistic expression, scholarly investigation, curiosity, and experimentation. In research-creation, the process of creation is integral to the research process. This means that research topics are selected and explored through a creation process, such as the production of a film or video, performance or installation, sound-work (e.g. podcast, soundwalking), zine, or multimedia arts/texts.
Research-creation is important in a variety of fields, cultural institutions, and disciplines. In recent years, universities have used it to boost their public profiles and promote community-engaged collaborations. That being said, the increasing institutionalisation of research-creation must be approached critically, and situated within a broader context of power relations within academia, education, and research. For this reason, in this course, research-creation will be framed as an intervention and invitation for scholars to push disciplinary boundaries, challenge taken-for-granted assumptions about what academic work entails, and consider ways to make their work more sustainable, accessible, and responsive to issues concerning social justice.
Special attention will be given to research-creation projects that critically address the ways in which gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, age, religion, dis/ability and other intersecting categories of difference shape our experiences of the world. The course will pair reading-based discussions with examples of research-creation in practice, and engage with broader discussions concerning methodology, engaged scholarship, and ethics. To this end, this course will include presentations by scholars and practitioners from inside and outside of academia.
By foregrounding lived experiences with research-creation in practice, this course aims to highlight the possibilities, as well as the pitfalls, of research-creation.
Learning objectives:
At the end of this online course, participants will:
• Gain a deeper understanding of the possibilities and pitfalls of research-creation.
• Gain a broader perspective on research methods and ways to “go public” with/share research findings.|
• Challenge normalised assumptions about how to “do” research.
• Cultivate a critical perspective of academia, academic research, and collaboration.
• Consider the ethical implications of research-creation and how to go about the research-creation process with care and intention.
• Feel inspired to pursue research-creation within their scholarship.
• Be prepared to write either a research-creation proposal or undertake a research-creation project.
Course schedule:
Monday 10 January to Friday 14 January:
- 13:00-15:00 online lecturers
- 15:00-16:00 break
- 16:00-18:00 online lecturers
Times are scheduled CET (time Amsterdam, The Netherlands)