Thursday 22 October 2009

1-2pm, in Fenner School FORESTRY LECTURE THEATRE, Forestry building 48

Creative Approach to Complex Issues: A Design-led Research Methodology

Viveka Hocking, PhD student Fenner School of Environment and Society

Abstract:

Creative practices like design are largely dismissed as not being valid forms of knowledge construction – in favour of the more rational forms like the logic of reason provided by the sciences. However I propose this unbalance has more to do with historically based bias and propaganda (from both sides) proliferated since the enlightenment and including accidents of history like not including creative practices in universities when they where first formed. However, pre-enlightenment knowledge was primarily constructed through what could be called creative or artistic practice. Then during the early enlightenment both science and artistic/creative practice co-existed for a time until the age of reason saw science become the main form of knowledge construction and the creative practices worked towards isolating and marginalising themselves. Terms associated with creative approaches such as intuition and un-rational (ie. other than rational) forms of logic became misunderstood and acquired demeaning connotations. Today there is a growing impetus to restore the balance and bring back a variety of different kinds of knowledge construction. Our growing understanding of the complex nature of our world requires a variety of approaches. Creative approaches like design have much to offer research into complex issues like sustainability. This presentation will outline the outcome of my PhD project to develop such a design-led approach to sustainability research. I will give an overview of how design approaches complex issues, how I have re-constructed these approaches into a methodology and guidelines for how this design-led methodology can be used for social research.

Bio:

Viveka is a PhD student in the Fenner School of Environment and Society at ANU. Her research is focused on developing a design-led approach to sustainability. Viveka tutors and gives guest lectors and workshops both for the University of Canberra's Design Department and the Fenner School at ANU. She convenes the Creative Research Discussion Group at UC and has run the Visual Design for Researchers series at Fenner. Viveka is passionate about promoting creative approaches to knowledge construction and encouraging others to develop their creative capacity. Viveka applies both her practical and theoretical design experience and training in her work. For more information on Viveka's work or to download any of her papers go to - http://vivekaturnbullhocking.wetpaint.com/

The Fenner School Seminar Series is held in the Forestry Lecture Theatre, Forestry Building 48, Linnaeus Way (comes off Daley Road), ANU (Acton) campus, ACT