Ethics, Advocacy, Art, and Decolonizing Place-Based Research Symposia

The two-institution symposia, Ethics, Advocacy, Art, and Decolonizing Place-Based Research Symposia will take the form of three two hour sessions with five PhDs/MFAs, each from Duncan of Jordanstone (Dundee, Scotland) and the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota during the Spring semester of 2021, supported by the Institute for Advanced Study.

 

Session 1: Negotiating Difference: Ethics, Advocacy, and “Neutrality” in Research

FEBRUARY 26, 2021

10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Minneapolis / 4:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Dundee

In this first of three interdisciplinary sessions, we ask about the rights and responsibilities of researchers: Who has a right to ask questions? What responsibility to do researchers have? Is there truly any such thing as neutrality or complete ‘objectivity’? What is ‘research integrity’ and how can researchers structure ethical approaches to research. Can advocacy of certain communities or ideas square with ‘neutrality’? Which is acceptable and when?

Agenda: First half, Mary Modeen and Chris Baeumler introduce the symposia with short presentations, and then each of the 10 students  introduces their work. Second half, the topic is discussed as a roundtable.

Students and participants: Join Session 1

 


Session 2: Place-based Research: Indigeneity, Immigration, and (Deep) Histories

March 12, 2021

10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Minneapolis / 4:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Dundee

Guest presenter: Professor Tania Ka’ai of Aotearoa/New Zealand, Auckland University of Technology

In a period that has seen more human migration than arguably any other time in human history, how do researchers negotiate the often contentious aspects of home, displacement, belonging and habitation of human and non-human creatures? How can research help displaced peoples? How can human actions be controlled to mitigate the actions of imbalanced or even harmful practices or policies? How can research with indigenous communities help to inform research?

Agenda: The 10 students offer brief thoughts (3 minutes each, maximum) on the topic, and then a roundtable discussion follows after the guest’s presentation.

Students and participants: Join Session 2

 


Session 3: Fieldwork Reconsidered, and Effecting Change

April 2, 2021

10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Minneapolis / 4:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. Dundee

Guest Presenter: Alexandra Peck, Department of Anthropology, Brown University (and soon, the Institute for Advanced Study, University of Minnesota)

Every researcher hopes that the work upon which they are engaged is meaningful and will help lead to greater understanding and positive change. But how do we position learning that can be put into practice? By doing and teaching to someone else, obstacles must be overcome. Passive learning can be transformed by first-hand experience, thereby becoming practical knowledge, embodied and enacted. How can researchers engage others to make this transformation?

Agenda: The 10 student participants offer brief thoughts (3 minutes each, maximum) on the topic, and then a roundtable discussion follows after the guest’s presentation.

Students and participants: Join Session 3