The event was titled, ‘Disrupting Normative Methodologies: Knowledge Production through Creativity and Collaboration‘. This BSA Postgraduate Regional Event was co-organised by three postgraduate students at the University of Plymouth that are all using collaborative and/or creative approaches in our own research. We organised this conference as an opportunity for discussion about the use of these approaches which challenge traditional methodologies, to share our experiences and as a learning opportunity for us all.
Abstracts are summaries of what each paper was about. Click the button to read about the topics covered.
Reflections from the event include written, visual and auditory summaries and discussions about event content. Click the ‘Reflections’ button to access our podcast and event evaluations.
Click the ‘After Event’ button to see our post-conference outputs such as cartoon illustrations, collage and poetry.
Novel research practices disrupt normative methodologies, enabling us to elevate the voices of those who have been historically marginalised and hidden. Approaches such as Auto/Biography, neural networks and arts-based, creative research have opened up new ways of analysing the social world, although they are still perceived to be less robust, prestigious or academic than ‘traditional’ methods. We question what makes a method ‘creative’ and consider the criticisms and defence of non-traditional research methods, intertwined with reflexivity. As early career, postgraduate researchers in sociology, our role is to engage creatively with the world, drawing out voices of the ‘othered’ and ‘ignored’ in order to make a positive difference. We strived to use non-traditional methods ourselves, such as collaborative digital resources, in our delivery and included an illustrator to visually scribe our event. There was a varied geographical spread of voices from speakers from both within, and outside of the UK, as we ran the conference virtually.
We hope that our conference will have helped to broaden the creative horizons of delegates through inspiration and facilitation in a welcoming and lively atmosphere.