Co-Creativity and Engaged Scholarship: Transformative Methods in Social Sustainability Research

Description

This open access book explores creative and collaborative forms of research praxis within the social sustainability sciences. The term co-creativity is used in reference to both individual methods and overarching research approaches. Supported by a series of in-depth examples, the edited collection critically reviews the potential of co-creative research praxis to nurture just and transformative processes of change. Included amongst the individual chapters are first-hand accounts of such as: militant research strategies and guerrilla narrative, decolonial participative approaches, appreciative inquiry and care-ethics, deep-mapping, photo-voice, community-arts, digital participatory mapping, creative workshops and living labs. The collection considers how, through socially inclusive forms of action and reflection, such co-creative methods can be used to stimulate alternative understandings of why and how things are, and how they could be. It provides illustrations of (and problematizes) the use of co-creative methods as overtly disruptive interventions in their own right, and as a means of enriching the transformative potential of transdisciplinary and more traditional forms of social science research inquiry. The positionality of the researcher, together with the emotional and embodied dimensions of engaged scholarship, are threads which run throughout the book. So too does the question of how to communicate sustainability science research in a meaningful way. Foreword Acknowledgements Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures List of Tables 1 Introduction: Sustainability Science as Co-Creative Research Praxis Introduction ‘Making a Difference’: Transformative Research Agendas Conceptualizing (Co-)creativity as Relational and Emergent Praxis Research as Co-Creative Praxis Nurturing Co-Creative Research Encounters Co-creativity and the Transformative Potential of Sustainability Science Introducing Co-Creative Research in Practice References 2 Painting Outside the Lines: Transgressing the Managerial University, Avoiding Forced Creativity Introduction The Managerial University and the De-Politicization of the Public Sphere The Values of Managerial Knowledge Production Don’t Bite the Hand that Funds You The Danger of Forced Creativity Latent Risks in Creative and Arts-Based Methods Artwashing Funding Tricks Conclusions References 3 Cooking Commoning Subjectivities: Guerrilla Narrative in the Cooperation Birmingham Solidarity Kitchen Introduction Democratizing Knowledge Through Militant Research Guerrilla Narrative From crises of Social Reproduction to Commoning and Mutual Aid The Cooperation Birmingham Newsletter Embodying Guerrilla Narrative in the solidarity kitchen Conclusions References 4 Participative and Decolonial Approaches in Environmental History Introduction “To Include” in Historical Research Participation, Decoloniality and History Environmental History, Decoloniality and Participative Methods Memory Conclusions References 5 An Ethos and Practice of Appreciation for Transformative Research: Appreciative Inquiry, Care Ethics, and Creative Methods Introduction A Caring and Resourceful Approach to Transformative Research: Insights from the Literature Appreciative Inquiry and an Ethos of Appreciation An Ethos of Appreciation in Practice: An Account from the Field Using Creative Methods Empirical Study: A Three-Year Collaboration with Green Care Practitioners in Finland Method No. 1—‘Circle of Objects’: Creating Knowledge in Relationships Method No. 2—‘Creating with the Soil’: Enabling Just and Sustainable Coexistence Method No.3—‘Council of Beings’: Questioning Taken for Granted Realities Method No. 4—‘Letters from the Future’: Illuminating the Miracle of Life Method No. 5—‘Vision Tree’: Envisioning New Possibilities Discussion Conclusions References 6 Imaginative Leadership: A Conceptual Frame for the Design and Facilitation of Creative Methods and Generative Engagement Introduction Developing Creative Methods Workshops to Support Imaginative Leadership: An Overview of the Research Process Phase 1: Exploration Phase 2: Collaborative Workshop Design Phase 3: Execution Phase 4: Reflection Sensitizing Concepts: Imaginative Leadership and Transformative Mindsets Identifying Transformative Mindsets Putting Theory in to Practice: Designing and Facilitating Creative Methods for Transformative Engagement Action Hub: Arts-based Methods for Transformative Design Imaginative Leadership: Co-producing with Nature and Communities (for Frontline Staff in Welsh Government) Acknowledging Limits Putting Practice into Theory: Another Look at Transformative Mindsets for Imaginative Leadership Conclusion References 7 Insights and Inspiration from Explorative Research into the Impacts of a Community Arts Project Introduction Community Resilience and the Arts Evaluating Impact PeerGrouP, Grutte Pier and the Research Project Researching a Community Arts Project A Project as Strong as Grutte Pier Himself? Lessons Learned References 8 How to Nurture Ground for Arts-Based Co-Creative Practice in an Invited Space: Reflections on a Community in North Netherlands Introduction The Concept of Invited Spaces Invited Spaces as a Situational Constraint Participatory Action Research: An Overview The Art of Invitation: Becoming a Voluntary Instrument of a Community Methodology Research Methods Context of the Case Outline of the Engagement Process Results and Reflections Power Dynamics and Community Agency Within the Invited Space Building Connections via the Art of Invitation The Emergence of Shared Stories and Wishes via the Art of Invitation Time Constraints Summing Up Conclusions References 9 Reflections on Doing Cross-Cultural Research Through and with Visual Methods Introduction The Study: Talking About Art Through Photo Elicitation Adaptation of Interview Questions The Difficulty of Translating Life and Practices Under Cultural Differences Opening up New Ways of Seeing Through Photo Elicitation Conveying Research Results Through Visual Illustrations Conclusions: ‘Seeing’ Meanings Beyond Language References 10 The Eye of the Beholder: Applying Visual Analysis in an Historical Study of Lynxes’ Representations in the Bavarian Forest Region Introduction Seeing as a Creative Process Wildlife Photography Methodology Seeing the Lynx Discussion Conclusions References 11 Back to the Drawing Board: Creative Mapping Methods for Inclusion and Connection Introduction Social Cartography: A Method for Inclusion Origins, Academic Use, and Criticism Research and Activism Deep Mapping: A Method for Connection From Space to Place: The Process of Connection Literary Cartography Beyond Literature Conclusions References 12 ‘Getting Deep into Things’: Deep Mapping in a ‘Vacant’ Landscape Openings The Arts Research Approach of Deep Mapping Polyvocal Generative Open-Ended Methodology Interviews Observational Drawings Uncoverings: Reflections on a Deep Mapping Method in Practice Divergence Disruption Absence The Role of the Researcher: The Place, the Map and Me Conclusions References 13 Engaging ‘Future Generations’ in Meaning Making through Visual Methods: An Alternative Approach to Defining City-Regions Introduction Visual Methods and Participatory Research Using Maps and Photos in Research—A Brief Literature Review Exploring Cardiff Capital Region with Its Future Generations Participant Selection Web-Mapping Workshops Photovoice Workshops Reflecting on the Experience Conclusions References 14 Technology as a Tool for Environmental Engagement. The Case of Digital Participatory Mapping (DPM) Introduction Participatory Mapping Origins Putting Participation in GIS Description of Digital PM Tools DPM and Transdisciplinary Research: Towards more Democratic Participation Practices Case Studies Case Study 1: My Green Place Ghent Case Study 2: Multi-Level Governance and Partaking in Research on the Greenmapper Building on the Case Studies: Challenges and Opportunities of DPMs Forced Creativity in DPM Data Quality: Precision and Accuracy Digital Tools: Complementary to rather than Substitutes for Traditional Methods Conclusions DPM and What Lies Ahead References 15 Living Labs: A Creative and Collaborative Planning Approach Introduction Theoretical Aspects of Living Labs The Origins of Living Labs What are Living Labs? Living Labs as a Planning Method: Phase 1: Initiation Phase 2: Preparation Phase 3: Co-Creative Design Phase 4: Evaluation and Link with Formal Decision-Making Phase 5: Feedback Reflections on the Use of Living Labs as a Planning Method Recommendations for Using a LL as a Planning Method References 16 Supporting Institutional Transformations: Experimenting with Reflexive and Embodied Cross-Boundary Research Introduction The Importance of Cultural Transformation for Wider Sustainability Transformations Embodied and Accompanying Research Formative Accompanying Research (FAR) Framework The Embodied Researcher Co-creating Transdisciplinary Communities of Practice—A Journey Embarking on a Transdisciplinary Journey Formative Moment #1 Formative Moment #2 Formative Moment #3 Discussion Conclusions References 17 How to Make Policy-Makers Care about “Wicked Problems” such as Biodiversity Loss?—The Case of a Policy Campaign Introduction Biodiversity as a Diffuse Problem—And Other Inconvenient Truths Ways and Strategies for Communicating Biodiversity Messages Communicating with Ecosystem Services Communicating with Flagship Species The Familiarity Principle and Targeting Emotions Amending Biodiversity Communication Messages with Social and Behavioural Economics Theories Communicating Biodiversity on the Frontline—A Case of Advocating for the European Union’s Nature Policies Overview of the Fitness Check Process and Relevant Actors My Recollections of Our Campaign to Safeguard the European Union’s Nature Directive Conclusions: Pry, Plan and Follow up References Index