1) The course tasks
- Pre-task: 3 photos and the questions who I teach, what educational context, what I teach, for how long I have been teaching in this context, and what I feel about teaching in this group
- Matrix of related methodologies and critical dialogue using the course literature and own experience
- Think and write with theory after peers' supervising
2) A/R/Tographic ripples in the water
- Picture of the book cover Eit anna blikk (A Different Look) by Erlend Skjetne
- Script Blindsone (Blind Spot)
- Program during Festspela 2024
- Photos from the performance during Festspela 2024
- Abstract Drama Boreale 2023 and English for Academic Purposes HVO 2024
- Monologue by Jahanger Ali for promotion
- Teaching recourses, four parts + Arbeid med Eit anna blikk
- Film from the premiere at Vinjesenteret, The Norwegian Museum of Written Culture, December 2023. Password: Blikk
- Media coverage Møre-Nytt, Vikebladet
- Blog text from a teacher collaboration
- Tentative tour schedule
- Periskop.no: Kvifor nynorsk i Den kulturelle skulesekken?
- I have attended the course Å spele på nynorsk - Teater Vestland, Norsk Skuespillersenter
Abstract Drama Boreale 2023 / English for Academic Purposes 2024
My name is Guro Kristin Gjøsdal. I’m an ART/ograph at the National Centre for Norwegian Nynorsk in Education at Volda University College. I am currently in the initiative “More Norwegian Nynorsk in The Cultural Schoolbag (TCS).” I will give a brief introduction to the phenomenon:
Nynorsk in drama and theatre—what, why, and how?
The practical and aesthetic language Norwegian Nynorsk—I’ll just call it Nynorsk from here on out—as materiality and diversity in artistic work.
What?
Nynorsk and Bokmål are the two formal written language variants of Norwegian, the majority language in Norway. Students learn Nynorsk as either a main language, a secondary language, or as immigrants. As a main language, it’s taught from the 1st, and as a secondary language from the 2nd steps in school.
Why?
Why is Nynorsk in the field of drama and theatre important? First and foremost, for the student and the aesthetic dimension, but also when it comes to legislation, curricula, and the culture reports. We (the TCS project) want to inspire and support those who are practitioners and have Nynorsk as their main language, secondary language, or as immigrants to be able to utilize the Nynorsk dimension in their artistic work.
It is vital that all students get to meet their language. We want to help them develop a secure language identity and use a language that supports the whole person. We want to enable them to use words that inspire, words that open communication instead of closing it, words that promote equality.
TCS conveys that viewing Nynorsk as part of a diverse society helps put the language into a larger context. A context that touches upon health, democracy, citizenship, and resilience. It is future-oriented knowledge that can be seen in connection with LK20 and the UN’s sustainable developments goals.
The Nynorsk dimension and language itself has a special aesthetic power that belongs in artistic and educational work. We believe that words in themselves are emotionally fertile and can sow seeds directly and indirectly. Caring for and carrying on the Nynorsk language is also about listening to and caring for the words within our tradition. These words can have meaning for new users and help counteract outsiderness. Such perspective shows that the Nynorsk language and culture are natural parts of the local, national, and global diversity society.
We want to contribute to conscious, confident, and competent language users. The word contribute is about effect and that there is a causal connection between experiencing the text and the transformation of humans.
The drama and theatre fields are interdisciplinary and cross-aesthetic and build upon the diversity society. Nynorsk is also diverse and can be used widely in the field. Nynorsk in art also helps immerse the students in the language.
How?
In a Nynorsk production the written content is in Nynorsk, for example the script, the written material, and/or the stage language. Using Nynorsk as an artistic context can also be defined as a materiality. The concept of materiality in art is complex and involves what constitutes the building blocks of the art in question—here: the practical and aesthetic Nynorsk language.
The parts involved in the creation or formation of the art constitute the work’s materiality. The language possesses an energy and a power that helps colour various artistic expressions, whether in film, cultural heritage, literature, music, performing arts, or visual arts. Interdisciplinary and/or within the practical and aesthetic subjects.
Resistance to language can also be experienced as a materiality. The materiality of a language then arises in the meeting between the preconceptions of the recipients and the language itself. How can we look to dissolve locked attitudes to language, people, and culture, and create movement? Perhaps there are attitudes towards Nynorsk that can be advantageously seen in a different perspective? Then we need knowledge, real insight, and a committed attitude. The art is free, smart, and open.
In closing
I often use the term “having a will for language”. By this, I mean being open to the intention, the equality, and the possibilities that the language provides. We experience that the field can find inspiration and creativity in knowledge of Nynorsk, the connections between language, art, and culture, and the interdisciplinary themes in LK20. Knowledge of the role of language makes the art field at TCS better and more courageous.
It is desirable that Nynorsk should be a popular movement and a popular phenomenon—in how it sounds, how it’s constructed, and that even people from different parts of Norway and the world can find aspects of themselves in the language. There are many opportunities for children and young people to feel at home in Nynorsk writing, art, and culture. It’s all about testing forms for communication, aesthetics, themes, and boundaries.
If you want to know more about this topic, I refer to my essay (“Why Norwegian Nynorsk in The Cultural Schoolbag?”) in Periscope, a Norwegian interdisciplinary journal about art for children and young people.
Now, I have the pleasure of introducing actor and musician Jahanger Ali, who will perform a monologue from “Eit anna blikk på eit anna blikk” (“Another look at another look”), based on the award-winning novel “Eit anna blikk” (“Another look”) by Erlend Skjetne. This is an excerpt from an intercultural Devised Theatre-production for The Cultural Schoolbag by The Centre for Norwegian Language and Literature and the county of Møre og Romsdal, in collaboration with The National Centre for Norwegian Nynorsk in Education, at Volda University College, and the performing artists Mine Nilay Yalcin, Samir Mahad and Jahanger Ali. The target group is upper secondary school.
Please welcome Jahanger, in the role of Walid—an underaged refugee from Afghanistan who is seeking protection and residence in Norway. Jahanger also plays himself in the play. We get an exciting and interesting perspective on Norwegian refugee policy, health, democracy, and defining power. Enjoy yourselves. Thanks for listening.
Analysing and discussing the A/R/Tographic process of spring 2024
Conclusion
In the spring of 2024, I have continued to use A/R/Tography as a research methodology in the process with the theatre production Blindsone (Blind Spot). As described, I have worked as a research dramaturg and pedagogue responsible for Norwegian Nynorsk as a scenic language in The Cultural Schoolbag-production Blindsone. The A/R/Tographic process is presented digitally here in Research Catalogue, which is an international database for artistic research. The hybridity of A/R/Tography as a research methodology is demonstrated through a consistent expression of artistic, explorative, and pedagogical dimensions of the methodology.
I have used the metonymy ripples in the water to create a deeper understanding, identity, and commitment to convey the complex idea and knowledge that I have acquired through the work.
Earlier in the process, I did my best to provide constructive guidance to other peers in a collaborative process based on A/R/Tography. It was rewarding to meet other A/R/Tographers from different places and artistic fields digitally in the course.
I have learned that A/R/Tography combines the roles of artist, researcher, and teacher, and how they can intertwine in a research process. I find A/R/Tography to be an innovative and flexible approach to research. It helps shed light on complex aspects of my educational practice and experience, areas where the traditional academic form falls short. I have found that the research and practice are not separate and isolated activities but are interconnected and overlapping. This is in truth a research process that is in a continuous and dynamic process until completion and follow-up work is completed. We expect the production Blindsone to tour nationally for several years, with evaluation and updates along the way. Thus, the research is not only about collecting data but also about reflecting on, interpreting, and creating meaning from the content.
I value and find it deeply meaningful that A/R/Tography emphasises the connection between various parts of the research process, including the relationships between the researcher, subject, method, and context. I intend to emphasise this and aim to have a greater influence on the process in the current and future A/R/Tographic projects.
I would like to continue using the methodology within educational research and combine art and written research in an integrated, reflective way. I find that the relationship between art and pedagogy can provide valuable insights into educational research, and that these relationships can mutually influence and enrich one another.
Questions for the course instructors:
- How can you develop the material for scientific publication? What opportunities, challenges, and advice can you offer?
- What is your best advice for balancing multiple A/R/Tographic projects simultaneously within higher education?
- Researching and developing with art as a method is extensive. What experience and advice do you have with this approach, compared to more traditional academic formats?
- Given your knowledge in the field, what ripples in the water do you foresee for my project?