The paper proposes the activity of drawing as a methodological strategy within a university research context. It is illustrated with examples from one of the authors' (Roberts) practice-based PhD research. The paper argues that drawing as a research method can be validated in a manner akin to the more established research methods associated…

This paper examines some parallels and differences in pursuing practice-based research in art or architecture. Using a series of different headlines and examples, I examine the potential of working "between" art and architecture, which I argue could generate new, hybridised methodologies of practice through interrogating the…

Practice as research and performance as research are methods that have developed significantly over the past decade and have subsequently caused debate within the creative arts industry and in university culture. During a research seminar at Goldsmiths University in 2011, Professor Dan Rebellato proposed the question: "What if there is no…

As an artist, designer and cultural historian, my work is concerned with integrating thought with material creativity. By relating science to methodology and learning strategies, somatic, experiential awareness comes to the fore. New scientific evidence about our neural network enables us to return to the body of experience we already have;…

This article asserts that the terms "practice-led" and "practice-based" in the context of Art and Design doctoral research are overly simplistic and maintain oppositional thinking by privileging "practice" in generating knowledge. It argues instead for theory and practice as interrelated discourses and art practice…

"Doing Feminist Theory Through Digital Video" is an assignment I designed for my undergraduate feminist theory course, where students created a short digital video on a concept in feminist theory. I outline the assignment and the pedagogical and epistemological frameworks that structured the assignment (digital storytelling,…

This article presents the research context for a 2013 investigation of how discipline of study at undergraduate level contributes to the development of generic problem solving skills. Inspired by a number of recent higher education policy developments in Ireland, it takes a different approach to the utility debate that seems to plague discussions…

The wider context of arts and humanities education in the UK has demanded that university teachers and administrators focus on "end points." Increased emphasis on the generic and transferable skills attained through arts and humanities programmes, along with intense concern to raise students' reported levels of satisfaction, do not…

This essay explores three orientations to knowledge: the scholar, the intellectual, and the bricoleur. It argues that although the scholar and the intellectual are tied closely to the Liberal Arts and Humanities and dominate academic public relations discourse, both students and faculty increasingly use the practice of bricolage to gather and…

This article explores the connection between dance and politics through reflection on the process of writing a thesis about those two fields. Similarities and differences in the educational and disciplinary processes of academic practice and dance training are brought out, while focusing on the technique developed by Martha Graham: in particular…

This article gives Michael Agar's email responses to two questions put by Gavin Melles: "What are your thoughts on the advantages and dangers of developments in applied anthropology for ethnographic and anthropology practice?" and "What are your impressions of the potential and actual use of ethnography in design?" The…

In this article I outline how a digital-visual-sensory approach to anthropological ethnography might participate in the making of relationship between design and anthropology. While design anthropology is itself coming of age, the potential of its relationship with applied visual anthropology methodology and theory has not been considered in the…

Within the design studio, and across multiple field sites, the authors compare involvement of research tools and materials during collaborative processes of designing. Their aim is to trace temporal dimensions (shifts/ movements) of where and when learning takes place along different sites of practice. They do so by combining participant…

Higher education in Australia is currently in a state of flux, with the Federal Government's Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency commencing operations in January 2012. The "After Standards Project" has been working with Australian university history departments and the Australian Historical Association, educating and empowering the…

In an early dialogue, "On Order", Augustine sets out a program for thinking about thinking. Through such reflections, students attain self-knowledge and prepare for philosophical inquiry. The liberal arts are useful for this project, insofar as they provide opportunities for thinking, yet they are not ultimately necessary. I suggest that "On…