Gå til hovedinnhold
0
Jump to main content

Material-collective practice. An approach to educational theory in arts and crafts education

Monica Klungland of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Agder has submitted her thesis entitled «Materiell-kollektiv praksis: En tilnærming til fagdidaktikk for kunst og håndverk utviklet i veveprosjektet Veve i åpne dører» and will defend the thesis for the PhD-degree Wednesday 23 June 2021.

The analyses show that when doing practical creative work with materials, it is not possible to know in advance what kind of knowledge is being developed. Through play and experimentation, knowledge and skills are created in unfamiliar contexts and situations.

Monica Klungland

PhD Candidate

The disputation will be held digitally, because of the Corona covid-19-situation. Spectators may follow the disputation digitally – link is available below. The disputation will be held in Scandinavian languages.

 

Monica Klungland of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Agder has submitted her thesis entitled «Materiell-kollektiv praksis: En tilnærming til fagdidaktikk for kunst og håndverk utviklet i veveprosjektet Veve i åpne dører» (Material-collective practise. An approach to subject didactics for Arts and crafts developed in the weaving project Weaving in Open Doors") and will defend the thesis for the PhD-degree Wednesday 23 June 2021.

She has followed the PhD programme at The Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Agder, with specialisation i Art in Context (KIK).

Monica Klungland is the first candidate to publicly defend her thesis in the PhD programme in Art in Context.

Summary of the thesis by Monica Klungland:

Material-collective practice. An approach to educational theory in arts and crafts education

The dissertation presents an approach to subject didactics in arts and crafts education that is inspired by contemporary collective artistic practices.

Creative pedagogy

The pedagogical approach was developed in a teaching scheme with pupils in year 7 of primary school where the collective and social aspects of creative work with materials were emphasised.

Weaving materials were taken out into the nearby woods. The pupils were asked to choose a yarn, tie the end to a tree and start moving. In a short time the place changed, as a network of yarn stretched out between the trees.

The purpose was to shift attention away from the acquisition of specific skills and the production of objects and on to the event itself and the pupils' encounters with each other, the materials, and the surroundings.

Both the researcher and pupils filmed the event using an action camera, and these videos provide the material for the dissertation analyses.

The methodological approach developed in the dissertation is described as an encounter between ethnography and artistic research.

Creates knowledge and skills

The proposed pedagogical approach challenges the current curriculum with its individualistic emphasis on the acquisition of predefined and measurable skills.

The analyses show that when doing practical creative work with materials, it is not possible to know in advance what kind of knowledge is being developed. Through play and experimentation, knowledge and skills are created in unfamiliar contexts and situations.

When the materials acquire a shape in contact with human hands, humans are also shaped. Humans are created in the encounter with the unknown and develop critical and ethical judgment. The dissertation argues that there is a need for an education that aims at a sustainable future where democracy, creativity, imagination and dealing with the unknown are important elements.

Disputation facts:

The trial lecture and the public defence will take place online, via the Zoom conferencing app (link below)

Dean Marit Wergeland, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Agder, will chair the disputation.

The trial lecture Wednesday 23 June at 10:15 o'clock

The Public Defense Wednesday 23 June at 12:15 o'clock

Given topic for trial lecture: «Rom, tid og bevegelse; framtidens kunst og håndverksdidaktikk – Tanker om kunst- og håndverkslærerens praksis under posthumanistiske betingelser»

Thesis Title: «Materiell-kollektiv praksis: En tilnærming til fagdidaktikk for kunst og håndverk utviklet i veveprosjektet Veve i åpne dører»

Search for the thesis in AURA - Agder University Research Archive, a digital archive of scientific papers, theses and dissertations from the academic staff and students at the University of Agder.

The thesis is available here:

https://hdl.handle.net/11250/2756839

 

The CandidateMonica Klungland (1970, Kristiansand) Bachelors degree pre-school teacher, UiA (2006) Masters degree in Arts, UiA (2016).Present position: Assistant Professor in Arts and Crafts, Department of Visual arts and Drama, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Agder.

Opponents:

First opponent: Professor emerita Anna-Lena Østern, Åbo Akademi University, Finland, (see also profile at NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

Second opponent: Associate senior lecturer, PhD, Annika Hellman, Malmø University, Sweden

Professor Tony Valberg, Department of Classical Music and Music Education, University of Agder, is appointed as the administrator for the assessment commitee.

Supervisors were Professor Helene Illeris, UiA (main supervisor) and Associate Professor Lisbet Skregelid, UiA (co-supervisor)

What to do as an audience member:

The disputation is open to the public, but to follow the trial lecture and the public defence, which is transmitted via the Zoom conferencing app, you have to register as an audience member.

We ask audience members to join the virtual trial lecture at 10:05 at the earliest and the public defense at 12:05 at the earliest. After these times, you can leave and rejoin the meeting at any time. Further, we ask audience members to turn off their microphone and camera and keep them turned off throughout the event. You do this at the bottom left of the image when in Zoom. We recommend you use ‘Speaker view’. You select that at the top right corner of the video window when in Zoom.

Opponent ex auditorio:

The chair invites members of the public to pose questions ex auditorio in the introduction to the public defense, with deadlines. It is a prerequisite that the opponent has read the thesis. Questions can be submitted to the chair Marit Wergeland on e-mail marit.wergeland@uia.no