Call for Papers

**** apologies for cross-posting***

Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) Annual Conference, London, 31st August-2nd September 2016

Session Title: Creative and Poetic approaches to Pedagogy and Research with Children, Young People and Families in Outdoor Spaces.

Session sponsorship: Geographies of Children, Youth and Families Research Group (GCYFRG)

Session Convenors: Tracy Hayes (University of Cumbria) & Karen Lockney (University of Cumbria)

Come and join us as ‘…storytellers of life… We are storytellers all, and poetry, an equally ancient part of that toolkit, is about all of us. It always has been. Many in the one, one in the many. The particular in the universal’ (Brady, 2009: xv). In this session we will focus on approaches that aim to capture people’s imagination and their attention – for example through stories, fables, poetry, song. The more traditional scientific, often positivistic, approaches ‘…obscure the social, economic, political, cultural and ethical nature of the issues at hand. They obscure the role of people, behaviours, practices and institutions. And they limit which analyses and solutions are deemed possible and relevant’ (Connell, 2011 in UNESCO, 2013: 50).  We advocate for something different.  

Nexus thinking, whether taken as a method or a metaphor, encourages us to work across disciplinary boundaries, to think relationally and to make connections across time and space (RGS-IBG 2015). The key messages from the World Social Science Report (UNESCO, 2013: 46) represent a call for ‘…a new kind of social science – one that is bolder, better, bigger, different’.  They further emphasise that there is an ever-increasing requirement for new ways of doing and thinking about science, to effectively address the interdisciplinary and cross-sector changes society faces. There is a need for transformative learning: as identified by Eyler and Giles (1999: 133), ‘Transformational learning occurs as we struggle to solve a problem…we are called to question the validity of what we think we know or to critically examine the very premises of our perception of the problem’.

However, the call for action on environmental issues is not new. So why is it taking so long for people to listen and to respond? Is it lack of understanding? Lack of awareness? Or a feeling of disempowerment as to what can be done? Or is there an arguably more alarming sense of disconnection with nature (for example, Louv, 2005; 2011) Does it matter how the message is being communicated from scientists to the general public – is something being lost in translation, missed in traditional interpretations? We propose that more creative, poetic approaches can bring about transformative learning through personally meaningful experiences that foster positive relationships. Creative and poetic processes can be used ‘… both as tools of discovery and a unique mode of reporting research’ (Brady, 2009: xiii). Poetic inquiry uses both creative and poetic thinking and can enable us to explore, gather and interpret in a more holistic and empathically connected way (McCulliss,2013). Therefore, we invite creative and poetic contributions that make visible the geographical, social, cultural, moral and ethical nature of these issues.

We accept papers on (but not limited to):

​Questions raised by the “transformative cornerstones” framework developed by the International Social Science Council (ISSC) (Hackmann and St. Clair, 2012):

·         What social science brings to the search for environmental solutions?

We welcome presentations of any style, including traditional and innovative methods, particularly those that embrace and embody a creative and/or poetic approach. Papers/presentations should be 20 minutes (15 minutes each, followed by 5 mins for questions).

Authors should submit abstracts of up to 250 words by 12th February 2016 to Tracy Hayes ([log in to unmask]) & Karen Lockney ([log in to unmask]).

Please include author name(s), affiliation(s), contact email and paper title.

Best wishes,

Tracy & Karen

References

Brady, I. (2009) ‘Foreword’ in Prendergast, M.; Leggo, C. and Sameshima, P. (eds) (2009) Poetic

Inquiry: Vibrant Voices in the Social Sciences. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers

Connell, R. (2011) “Why we need social science” in Connell, R. (2011) Confronting Equality:

Gender, Knowledge and Global Change. Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin.

Eyler, J. and Giles, D. (1999) Where’s the Learning in Service-Learning? San Francisco, CA:

Jossey-Bass

Hackmann, H. and. St. Clair, A. L (2012) Transformative Cornerstones of Social Science Research

for Global Change, Paris: International Social Science Council. Available from: www.worldsocialscience.org/documents/transformative-cornerstones.pdf.

Louv, R. (2005) Last Child in the Woods. North Carolina, USA: Algonquin Books

Louv, R. (2011) The Nature Principle. North Carolina, USA: Algonquin Books

McCulliss, D. (2013) ‘Poetic inquiry and multidisciplinary qualitative research’ Journal of Poetry Therapy 26 (2)

pp. 83-114

RGS-IBG (2015) Conference theme: Nexus Thinking. Available from

http://www.rgs.org/WhatsOn/ConferencesAndSeminars/Annual+International+Conference/Conference+theme.htm

UNESCO (2013) World Social Science Report 2013: Changing Global Environments. Available

from: http://www.worldsocialscience.org/documents/wss-report-2013-key-messages-recommendations.pdf