Practice-led research has become particularly pertinent in art, design and the social sciences in recent years, alongside a more general blooming of interest in the relationship between the mind, body and external world. Studies increasingly acknowledge or embrace the presence of the researcher or use the body as the means of doing research. In practice-led research bodily movement is simultaneously the mode of knowledge production and reception (Sklar 2000: 71).
But while the practice-led methodology has promoted new ways of knowing through doing, it has also highlighted a number of epistemological questions:
- How can theory and practice be integrated and used together holistically?
- How can practice-led methods, with a focus on emergent methodologies, fit into a structured or target-driven academic framework?
- How can practice-led research overcome the primacy or value attached to the written word?
- What are the limits of practice-led research?
Practice-led research is particularly relevant to art, design, and the social sciences, however the relationship between theory and practice will resonate across all disciplines. This volume of Networking Knowledge therefore invites contributions from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines, exploring (but not limited to):
- Personal experiences of practice-led research, or projects that unite theory and practice
- Discussions relating to the text-orientated requirements of funding bids and thesis/journal submissions
- Experimental research methodologies and alternative approaches to what constitutes research outputs
- Multimedia and visual essays, as well as film and image based supplementary materials to accompany papers are encouraged.
Authors are required to provide proof of permission for use of images etc.
Submission Details: Abstracts of a maximum of 150 words are to be submitted by email to the editors.
Guest Editors:
- Alice Clough, Nottingham Trent University, alice.clough[at]ntu.ac.uk
- Anna Piper, Nottingham Trent University, anna.piper2013[at]my.ntu.ac.uk