Censorship as care: Towards a twenty-first-century engaged performance pedagogy

Purpose The study contributes to debates on reflexivity by emphasising the importance of self-awareness and critical engagement in insider research. It highlights the need for researchers to reflect on their positionality, biases, and power dynamics, offering practical recommendations such as transparent communication, ongoing self-reflection, and peer debriefing. By integrating the researcher’s presence into the analytical process, the study demonstrates how insider status can enhance rather than hinder research depth. These insights provide valuable guidance for future studies on marginalised communities, promoting ethical practices and fostering meaningful, impactful findings. Design/methodology/approach This paper explores the long-term effects of conducting research within one’s own community, focussing on the complexities of positionality, reflexivity, and power dynamics in native ethnography. Drawing on fieldwork experiences with homeless Polish migrants in two UK-based homeless support organisations, this paper examines how researchers’ insider status influences both the research process and its personal and professional consequences. Qualitative and ethnographic methods were employed to highlight the recurring power imbalances between service providers and homeless individuals, with specific attention to inequalities in accessing resources. Findings Findings indicate that researchers’ dual role as insiders and observers creates ethical and emotional tensions, shaping how participants and institutions respond to their presence. In this context, the challenge of balancing personal identity with professional objectivity underscores the deeply emotional and ethical stakes of reflexivity. Far from being a passive or detached exercise, reflexivity emerges as an active and continuous negotiation of power, emotions, and ethics—one that profoundly shapes the researcher’s insights and the broader significance of their work. Research limitations/implications While the study provided significant insights, it was not without limitations. One key limitation was the relatively small sample size, which may not be fully representative of the broader migrant homeless population. The research focused primarily on homeless Polish migrants in the UK, and thus, the findings may not be generalisable to other migrant communities or geographical locations. Additionally, the insider perspective, while valuable, may have introduced biases that influenced the interpretation of the data as this study reflects only my experiences as a researcher, which introduces the possibility that personal biases may have influenced both the findings and their interpretation. Practical implications This study underscores the need for researchers working within their own communities to actively engage in reflexivity, ethical self-awareness, and transparent communication. It highlights the importance of mitigating power imbalances between researchers, participants, and institutions through strategies such as peer debriefing, ongoing self-reflection, and critical engagement with positionality. By integrating reflexivity into the research process, insider researchers can enhance the depth and ethical integrity of their work. These insights offer valuable guidance for future studies on marginalised communities, encouraging more ethical, informed, and impactful research practices that prioritise participant agency and equitable knowledge production. Social implications This study highlights the broader social impact of research on marginalised communities, particularly homeless Polish migrants in the UK By exposing power imbalances within support services, it advocates for more inclusive and equitable approaches to homelessness intervention. The findings emphasise the need for service providers to recognise and address structural inequalities that limit access to resources. Additionally, the study challenges traditional notions of researcher neutrality, promoting a more engaged and ethical approach to knowledge production. Ultimately, it calls for policies and practices that prioritise dignity, agency, and meaningful participation for homeless individuals in shaping their own support systems. Originality/value This study offers a unique contribution by critically examining the long-term personal, ethical, and professional challenges of conducting research within one’s own community. By focussing on homeless Polish migrants in the UK, it provides new insights into power dynamics between researchers, participants, and institutions. The paper moves beyond traditional discussions of reflexivity, presenting it as an ongoing negotiation rather than a static concept. By demonstrating how insider status can enhance research depth rather than hinder objectivity, this study adds valuable perspectives to debates on positionality, ethical research practices, and the role of researchers in studying marginalised communities.

Drawing upon the author’s experience of being a performance artist and working directly with an audience as a performer/protagonist, this paper questions ‘What are some of the links between performance (art), peer observation within teaching and exchange of power relation?’ By doing so, it makes an original contribution to new knowledge in art pedagogy around power dynamics in post-studio environments (Buren, 1979). A three-part framework is employed to address the question: Anticipation, Action and Analysis. Critical evaluation and personal reflection of one peer observed seminar entitled Performance and Collaboration delivered to a group of single honours first year undergraduate Fine Art students at Loughborough University (referred to as LU thereafter) in March 2015 employing a bricolage (Kincheloe, 2008) of digital, performance, fine art and collaboration methodologies functions as the vehicle to not only explore the question but to also describe Anticipation, Action and Analysis as both a structuring device to document events taking place during the seminar in written form. The paper can be read as a benchmark for critical engagement not only in its attempt to theorise, articulate and demonstrate the complicated nature of power relations of peer observation within the specified context with amplified acknowledgement of some of the [psychological] limitations of ‘being observed’, but also in its ability to evidence how those relations can be further complexified when disruption via planned moments of interruption is employed as a creative pedagogic tool within the art seminar environment to generate practice. The main outcomes of the seminar support and go beyond the aims of answering the question, defining links between performance (art), peer observation within teaching and exchange of power relation in respect to drawing together: 1) the effects of ‘being observed’; 2) performative pedagogy and inclusion; 3) the interplay between art in terms of the performative, pedagogic risk-taking and disruption.

How should African feminists respond to the challenge of decolonisation? This article seeks to deepen the debate on feminist studies and how it is and/or should respond to the whole impetus around decolonisation beyond buzzword politics. Without a doubt, quite several African feminists have related to this critical debate (for example, Mama, Tamale, Oyeronke, Amadiume, Yaliwe, and many others). In this case, we relate directly to the classroom experience in our context, and that is, at Makerere University. Feminist pedagogies seek to stress the productive capacity of curiosity, discomfort, critical engagement, and the refusal and resistance to imperial knowledge as necessary and an aspect of bringing about transformative learning and social justice. Using a decolonial feminist pedagogy, the classroom becomes a site not simply for sharing ideas and topics but for remarkably examining the power dynamics of the coloniality of knowledge. It becomes a spark that can light us up for critical engagement. Teaching becomes a tool for transformation, as summarised by bell hooks in “teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom” (Hooks, 1994: 6).

This paper explores the construction of masculinity and femininity in misogynic hate communication through the lens of Membership Categorization Analysis, focusing on language use and the interrelations of sexuality, violence, and power dynamics in collaborative storytelling. Analyzing German-language online interactions where male participants role-play both male and female characters, the study examines how gendered narratives are co-constructed and maintained. Findings indicate that male characters’ responses are largely unaffected by female autonomy assertions, suggesting a disregard for female agency, as male mistreatment appears consistent regardless of female actions. However, significant associations were found between male dominance assertion and dehumanizing language, as well as between sexualized language and scenes involving power struggles, highlighting a thematic connection between sexuality, control, and dehumanization in reinforcing gendered hierarchies. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of misogynic communication, revealing how linguistic practices support toxic masculinity and perpetuate gender inequality, with implications for digital policy and moderation strategies aimed at fostering inclusivity in online spaces.

The Faire-Part collaborative documentary, launched in 2018 by directors Anne Reijniers and Rob Jacobs from Belgium, and Nizar Saleh and Paul Shemisi from Congo, aims to challenge the stereotypical portrayal of Congo as a poverty-stricken country. The documentary showcases Kinshasa’s resistance to colonial legacies and offers a more inclusive and equitable representation of the country’s culture and history by combining the four directors’ perspectives. Despite their differing backgrounds and (hi)stories, the directors engage in inner discussions on power, representation, and power dynamics, challenging their biases and perceptions. Through collaborative storytelling, they shed light on the unknown story of Kinshasa as a city of activism, using art to educate and decolonise people. This paper argues that collaborative filmmaking, as exemplified by Faire-Part, can effectively address the colonial gaze by bringing together diverse perspectives. By showcasing the power of collaborative storytelling and the importance of challenging biases, this paper aims to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of cinema’s role in decolonisation efforts.

Rapid advancements in technology have had a profound impact on educational practices, particularly in language learning, where accessibility, interactivity, and collaboration have become central themes. This paper explores the integration of digital platforms such as Padlet, into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom, with a particular focus on collaborative storytelling as a means of examining cultural hybridity, tradition, and modernity. Framed through a postcolonial lens, the study investigates how digital storytelling facilitates students’ negotiation of cultural values and postcolonial dynamics within a collaborative creative process. The findings suggest that digital storytelling platform provides EFL learners with valuable opportunities to critically engage with cultural identities and power dynamics, while simultaneously enhancing their creative writing skills. This study underscores the potential of technology-assisted learning to facilitate meaningful dialogue and critical reflection on cultural hybridity in contemporary educational context.

Toward a Public Rhetoric Through Participatory Design: Critical Engagements and Creative Expression in the Neighborhood Networks Project

In the digital age, cultural organizations strive to retain audience engagement especially via experimentation with novel technologies and social media. The latter are increasingly influencing the way cultural heritage is perceived, providing options for grappling with crucial issues in the sector, including sustainability, openness, and public participation. One tool that has been deployed to explore these issues is the chatbot, a computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users, especially over the internet. Chatbots run through different conversational interfaces, but they have a particularly heavy application in Facebook Messenger. Within the museums and cultural sector specifically, these robotic media are regularly proclaimed to offer novel engagement mechanisms that can empower participants to actively participate in the heritage process. However, most heritage Messenger bots are purely informative and object- or exhibit-centered, providing little opportunity for meaningful interactivity, creative expression, or critical engagement. This article explores and critically reviews three Messenger chatbots related to heritage organizations, concluding with suggestions for their future development.

In the study reported on here we investigated how transformative pedagogical approaches involving geographical information systems (GIS) could support the transition from traditional STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) to a more integrative STEAM model in which the A refers to the arts, used here as an umbrella term that also encompasses humanistic perspectives. While the STEM framework has received extensive attention over the past decade – particularly in relation to teaching practices, learning outcomes, and assessment methods – ongoing debates about its disciplinary boundaries and its capacity to address complex socio-environmental challenges have stimulated a shift toward STEAM, which recognises the value of artistic and humanistic ways of knowing alongside scientific inquiry. Using a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed publications on GIS, STEM and STEAM education published between 2014 and 2024 and indexed in major education and geography databases (such as Scopus, Web of Science, Education Resources Information Center [ERIC] and Google Scholar), we map international trends and identify the countries and regions represented, including work emerging from Sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis highlights the potential of geography, and specifically GIS, to act as a conduit for designing integrative learning experiences that connect spatial analysis with creative and critical engagement. The findings suggest that GIS-supported teaching designs can enhance students’ spatial reasoning, critical thinking and creative expression, thereby deepening cognitive engagement in STEM subjects while foregrounding contextual, ethical and cultural dimensions more typically associated with the arts. In turn, this GIS-mediated integration of arts and STEM aligns with global imperatives such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and responds to context specific educational priorities in South Africa, offering concrete pathways for operationalising STEAM in school and higher education settings.

Serious games have evolved as a tool for transformation. They blend education and entertainment together to create exciting learning experiences. This paper presents the development and application of Charithram, a first-person puzzle adventure game that aims at teaching history and inculcating problem-solving skills. It focuses on the Mughal period and engages players in puzzles and environmental storytelling while encouraging critical thinking. The study focuses on the ability of serious games to overcome limitations in traditional educational methods by encouraging active learning, critical engagement, and interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition. In examining the integration of gameplay mechanics with educational methodologies, this paper underscores the broader implications of serious games as an innovative approach to interactive and meaningful education.

Background This article focuses on art psychotherapists’ experiences of using museum and gallery settings for group art psychotherapy. Aims It aims to explore the impact of museum settings for group art psychotherapy on the dynamics of power between therapists and service users, and between service users and the wider community. Methods Interview transcripts from five art psychotherapists working in museums were analysed using an interpretative phenomenological framework and arts-based methods. Results Service users may feel valued and socially included by participating in art psychotherapy in museums and using museum objects can help service users to feel empowered within the therapeutic process. Museums offer service users choices, which can engender a sense of autonomy. A museum environment where therapists and service users explore together, and diverse perspectives flourish, may facilitate a flattening of hierarchies. This levelling of the potential power differential is enhanced by a sense of informality and human relating in these settings. Conclusions : The findings suggest that a museum environment for art psychotherapy can influence service users’ experience of power and autonomy within the therapeutic relationship and within the wider social sphere. Implications for practice/policy/further research Art psychotherapists may consider using museums to foster social inclusion, autonomy and a more equal sharing of power with service users, whilst it is recommended that art psychotherapy training courses teach about non-traditional practice and settings, such as museums, and power dynamics. Plain-language summary Sometimes art psychotherapy groups are run in museums and galleries rather than in traditional settings such as hospitals or community clinics. This article describes a research project exploring how using museums (including galleries with collections) for art psychotherapy groups can affect the group members. It focusses on how these museum environments can affect the power relationships between therapists and service users, and between service users and the wider community. Five art psychotherapists were interviewed about their work in museum settings. The data from the interviews was analysed using a variety of methods, including art-based methods. The research found that museum-based art psychotherapy can affect power relationships between therapists and service users and the wider community in several ways. Service users may feel more valued by being in a museum than in a more usual therapy setting, and connecting with museum objects can help facilitate the therapy process. Museums provide people with choices about how they want to interact with the collections and to move through the spaces. Therapists and service users can explore alongside each other and a wide range of responses can be expressed and experienced, helping to encourage a sense of equal worth. Finally, a sense of informality in a museum setting and its connection to the community can also help to level the power difference between therapists and service users. The article encourages art psychotherapists to explore using museums in their practice to encourage a more equal power relationship between therapists and service users, and to help service users to feel valued and socially included. It also encourages art psychotherapy training courses to include teaching about power dynamics and the use of museums. It suggests that more research into certain aspects of museum-based art psychotherapy identified in this research, such as increased informality and humour, would be valuable.

This essay examines the cultural participation of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, focusing on their experience of marginality and pursuit of “mattering” through creative expression, particularly within digital media. Culturally speaking, the term “ethnic minorities” in Hong Kong typically reflect the underprivileged status of South Asians, while rarely encompassing Anglo or European expatriates. Drawing on the interconnected concepts of marginality and mattering, the essay explores how ethnic minority digital creators address power inequalities, navigate their identities within a predominantly Chinese society. It highlights the complexities of digital participation, considering both its potential for empowerment and its susceptibility to reinforcing existing inequalities. Based on observations and social trends that highlight the diverse engagement of ethnic minority youth and their quest for recognition, the essay outlines several provocative questions for future investigations, emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of the interplay between creative practices, power dynamics, and the pursuit of comprehensive mattering.

This study examines how the Indonesian rock band .Feast uses song lyrics as a form of critical discourse to challenge social, political, and ideological structures in contemporary Indonesia. Analyzing three of their most charged songs—“Peradaban,” “Kami Belum Tentu,” and “Padi Milik Rakyat”—the research employs Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) with Norman Fairclough’s three-dimensional model and Teun A. van Dijk’s socio-cognitive framework. The findings reveal that .Feast’s lyrics reflect societal frustrations over inequality, corruption, violence, and disillusionment, using elements like metaphor and irony to critique and resist hegemonic political narratives. The songs serve as both representations of social realities and performative interventions in public discourse. The study underscores the microphone as a metaphorical weapon against silence and marginalization, affirming the political value of popular music. It highlights the importance of analyzing music as a legitimate space for civic engagement and discourse. This research has implications for educational management by encouraging critical thinking and civic engagement in students through popular culture. Integrating music into curricula can foster discussions on power dynamics, social justice, and creative expression, empowering students to challenge societal norms and develop as informed, socially conscious individuals.

This is an introduction to a special issue of 'Feminist Media Histories' on soundwork, focusing not only on women as soundmakers and listeners, but also on the power dynamics that framed and continue to frame both women's impact on media and their presence in the historical record. Drawing on research on radio, film, television, and music, investigating both contemporary and historical practices, and written by scholars based in a variety of cultural locations, the issue highlights the ongoing relevance of sound-centered work for women's creative expression and cultural experience in a media environment still dominated by silent text and the moving image, as well as the special historiographical and methodological challenges that writing women's history presents.

The following teaching brief advocates for the integration of lived experiences in course design as a means to facilitate equity, inclusion, and culturally responsive teaching. To address persisting inequalities and colonized structures, the authors propose an actionable insight and strategy by sharing a discussion activity in which students share photos and videos of their “backyards” as a vehicle to accentuate similarity within difference—the celebration of a diverse learning community that can only exist online. The proposed instructional activity, “Welcome to My Backyard,” is informed by an understanding of how power dynamics, cultural biases, and lived experiences intersect in online education. By outlining how instructors can facilitate online discussions that drive a meta-awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion among online learners, digital learning can be leveraged to build connections and community while encouraging critical thinking and active engagement with course materials that subvert traditional, colonial models of education.