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FACULTY OF CREATIVE AND CRITICAL STUDIESDEPARTMENT OF CREATIVE STUDIES

2011 12 Winter Term 1CREATIVE RESEARCH METHODS {3 credits}

IGS 506B 001

Michael V. Smith, Arts 129Office Hours: Wed 2pm-3pm, Thurs 4pm-5pm, other times by appointment

Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes

Creative Research Methods is designed to assist students in the development of their own

creative research methodologies, approaches to praxis and examine the interdisciplinary nature

of contemporary practice. This course will also give students an opportunity to unearth adirection or an origin point, further develop existing research questions and focus their creative

practice as they move towards their thesis production. Assigned readings and exposure to a broad

range of research projects by an interdisciplinary group of presenters will also be explored. The

outcome of this process of inquiry will culminate in the public dissemination of individualprojects in the IGS MFA Open House Week of events towards the end of term.

Objectives:

Facilitate and encourage practice-based research Develop personalized creative research methodologies as they pertain to a students

individual projects

Further reading and writing skills in support of research Begin the preliminary work for the written thesis document & creative productionCourse Format

This course is designed to suit the needs of the graduates who take it. That being said, as with

many things, the more we put into this course the more we get out of it. Suggestions arewelcome. The format will evolve through any or all of the following: seminar presentations,

writing assignments, readings, discussions, field trips, workshops, public presentations, and

visiting creative practitioners. Students will also have an opportunity to present their research inclass and provide and receive feedback. The instructor will also work with students individually

and assist them according to their needs.

There will be off-campus classes that all students will be expected to attend which may involvesome significant (but within reason) travel time. Possible excursions include: Hardy Falls

salmon run, Vernon Community Arts Centre, Big White, Woodhaven Park, Kalamalka Lake,

Orchard Park Shopping Mall, Kelowna Art Gallery, Alternator Gallery, etc.


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Course RequirementsSome small course assignments will be given out during the semester. They are non-graded, to

encourage you to explore, experiment and play without the spectre of assessment. Although they

are not graded, the more you puzzle them, the more they stand to teach you.

Below are the graded requirements for the course:

Seminar:

Students will lead a seminar on a topic of their choosingrelated to artistic creation and

methodology in their field of interest, in consultation with the instructor. The goal is for you to

select a topic related to your creative interests, which may inform, guide and inspire your own

creative work. The seminar should both instruct the class on the topic selectedas well astiethat work to your own creative and research goals.

One week prior to the presentation, the student is to distribute 1 or 2 texts associated with the

research topic as well as a handful of relevant questions for the class to consider. All students areto read/experience/watch the assigned texts and consider the questions posed in advance of the

class, to be prepared for active discussion during or after the seminar.

Students are encouraged to present the seminar off-campus, at an appropriate research-relatedsite of their own choosing (within reason, and in consultation with the instructor and class, to suit

whats possible). If two students are presenting on one day, perhaps they share a location?

Students are expected to exercise and strengthen their library research skills in generating a

bibliography of sources for their presentation. These presentations allow students to reflect upontheir practice in an environment that promotes contributing to the development of others in aspirit of reciprocal dialogue. A hardcopy of your presentation and an annotated bibliographyshould also be submitted to the instructor and posted online (blog or WebCT).

Practice-based Research Project:

Students will undertake a research project that speaks to the students interests in her/his field of

study. Projectideas are finalized in consultation with the instructor. Your project should

explore your primary creative area/s of interest. This project is designed to be a starting place foryour creative thesis production. Consider this project the first rudimentary draft, or a mini-trial,

of your thesis. Try to use this project to isolate your creative research question. The Practice-

based Research Project is due in the final week of classesNovember 28 thto December 2nd

2011.

Process-and-Practice Blog:

The blog is a receptacle for the semesters work. Journaling your experience in the course,cataloguing or documenting your creative work, responses to seminars, further thoughts on class

discussions, research spawned by the course, further ideas, cross-discussions amongst class


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members, links to other relevant sites, updates and background to course material are allencouraged. Although the blog web addresses are meant to be shared with your classmates, the

web address neednt be shared more publiclythats at your discretion. The goal is to create a

network think-tank, to last for the duration of this course and perhaps beyond.

A substantial portion of the blog should concern the method and process of creating and

researching your course work (most notably the Practice-based Research Project).A focus

on research and reflection, methods and approaches, ideas and readings is key to the success of

this blog, and the course.

Open House Week Presentation:

During the week of November 14th 18th2011, students will present their work to the public inthe FINA Gallery. The gallery is reserved for this presentation alone, meaning students have a

green light to make of the gallery what they will. Students must work together, in consultationwith the instructor, to share the space equitably. The quality of the workandthe means of

presentation are both a factor in the success of this presentation.

Given that this is a public presentation of your work, the obvious choice is to have your final

Practice-based Research Project complete, or nearly complete, by this date to present in the

Gallery. This could be a test-run for the project, with feedback from your audience that you canthen use in the remaining two weeks to help improve the project with final touches/edits.

Evaluation Criteria and Grading

Seminar: 20% (grade determined by class & professor: 50/50)

Practice-based Research Project: 30% (grade determined by the student & professor 50/50)Process-and-Practice Public Blog: 20% (featuring your methodology & documentation of the

Research Project)Open House Week Presentation: 30% (grade determined equally by the student, class &

professor; Nov 14-18thin the FINA Gallery)

Required Readings

Being a course with students working across many disciplines, there is no textbook for this

course. Readings will be posted on WebCT Vista, will be placed on reserve in the library, and/or

will be otherwise assigned.

Further ReadingsIn the past, the two textbooks below have been used for this course. There is a full bibliographyat the end of this course outline with other great books listed.

Leavy, Patricia. Method Meets Art: Arts-Based Research Practice. New York: The GuilfordPress, 2009. Print

Sullivan, Graeme. Art Practice As Research: Inquiry in Visual Arts. 2nd ed. California: SagePublications, 2009. Print.


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Course Schedule

Much of the course will be determined by student interests and the conversations that build oncewe are together. The goal of the course is to create a think-tank or hive mind, to share andbroaden what you already know. We will determine much of the course activities in the first

weeks, based on your getting-to-know-us forms and class interests.

Sept 7, Welcome; course outlines; meet n greet; Pinecones w/ obstructionsSept 14, Read John Deweys Art As Experience chapters 1 and 2: The Live Creature and The

Live Creature and Etherial Things; Pinecones presentations.

Sept 21, Swap presentations; readings forthcoming.

Sept 28, Experiential mind trip road trip?Oct 5, Seminar 1 & 2

Oct 12, Seminar 3 & 4Oct 19, Seminar 5 & 6

Oct 26, Seminar 7 & 8Nov 2, Seminar 9 & 10

Nov 9, Experiential mind trip road trip?

Nov 14 - 18, Grad Student Open House Week in Fina Gallery

Nov 23, Open House Decompression Chamber; Experiential mind trip road trip?Nov 30, Open Class

Academic Integrity

The academic enterprise is founded on honesty, civility, and integrity. As members of this

enterprise, all students are expected to know, understand, and follow the codes of conductregarding academic integrity. At the most basic level, this means submitting only original work

done by you and acknowledging all sources of information or ideas and attributing them toothers as required. This also means you should not cheat, copy, or mislead others about what is

your work. Violations of academic integrity (i.e., misconduct) lead to the breakdown of the

academic enterprise, and therefore serious consequences arise and harsh sanctions are imposed.

For example, incidences of plagiarism or cheating may result in a mark of zero on theassignment or exam and more serious consequences may apply if the matter is referred to the

Presidents Advisory Committee on Student Discipline. Careful records are kept in order to

monitor and prevent recurrences.

A more detailed description of academic integrity, including the Universitys policies andprocedures, may be found in the Academic Calendar at

http://okanagan.students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=3,54,111,0 .

SAFEWALK

Don't want to walk alone at night? Not too sure how to get somewhere on campus? Call


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Safewalk at250-807-8076. For more information, see:

http://www.ubc.ca/okanagan/students/campuslife/safewalk.html

Bibliography / Further Reading

Bakhtin, Mikhail. The Dialogical Imagination: Four Essays. Austin: University Texas Press,1981. Print

Bolton, Gillie.Reflective Practice: Writing & Professional Development. 2nd ed. London: SagePublications, 2005. Print

Carter, Paul.Material Thinking: The Theory and Practice of Creative Research. Carlton,Victoria: Melbourne University Press, 2004. Print

de Certeau, Michel. The Practice of Everyday Life (S. Rendall, Trans.). Berkely & Los Angeles:University of California Press, 1984. Print

Conquergood, Dwight. Interventions and Radical Research. The Drama Review. (2002): 145-156.

JSTOR Arts and Sciences III Collection. Web. Summer 2002.Denzin, N.K. Performance Ethnography, Critical Pedagogy and the Politics of Culture.

Thousand Oaks, London: Sage Publications, 2003. PrintElkins, James.Artists with PhDs: On The New Doctoral Degree in Studio Art. Washington: New

Academia Publishing, 2009. PrintGoulish, Matthew. 39 Microlectures, in Proximity of Performance. New York: Routledge, 2000.

Print.Kester, Grant H. Conversation Pieces: Community & Communication in Modern Art. Berkely &

Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2004. PrintJones, Caroline, ed. Sensorium: Embodied Experience, Technology and Contemporary Art.

Cambridge: MIT Press, 2006. Print

Leavy, Patricia. Method Meets Art: Arts-Based Research Practice. New York: The GuilfordPress, 2009. PrintLondon, Peter. No More Secondhand Art: Awakening the Artist Within. Boston:

Shambhala,1989. PrintMcLean, Cheryl, ed. Creative Arts in Interdisciplinary Practice: Inquiries for Hope and Change.

Calgary: Detselig Temeron Press, 2010. PrintMacleod, Katy and Holdridge, Lin, eds. Thinking Through Art: Reflections On Art As Research.

New York: Routledge, 2006. PrintMerleau-Ponty, Maurice. Phenomenology of Perception (C. Smith, Trans.). London: Routledge

& Paul, 1962. PrintMoure, Erin and Smaro Kamboureli.My Beloved Wager: essays from a writing practice.

Edmonton: NeWest Press, 2009. Print

Orland, Ted. View from the Studio Door: How Artists Find Their Way in an Uncertain World.Santa Cruz, CA: Image Continuum Press, Inc. 2006.

Riley, Shannon and Hunter, Lynette, eds.Mapping Landscapes for Performance as Research:Scholarly Acts and Creative Cartographies. Houndmills, Basingstoke, HampshireEngland:Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2010. Print

Schon, Donald A. The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York:Basic Books, 1984. Print

Sullivan, Graeme.Art Practice As Research: Inquiry in Visual Arts. 2nd ed. California: Sage


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Publications, 2009. PrintKnowles, Gary J. and Cole, Ardra L, eds.Handbook of the Arts in Qualitative Research:

Perspectives, Methodologies, Examples, and Issues. Sage Publications, 2007. Print

Documents of Contemporary Art seriesBeech, Dave, ed.Beauty: Documents of Contemporary Art. Cambridge/London: MIT

Press/Whitechapel, 2009. PrintBishop, Claire, ed. Participation: Documents of Contemporary Art. Cambridge/London: MIT

Press/ Whitechapel Gallery. 2006. PrintCampany, David, ed. The Cinematic: Documents of Contemporary Art. Cambridge/London: MIT

Press/Whitechapel, 2007. PrintColes, Alex, ed.Design and Art: Documents of Contemporary Art. Cambridge/London: MIT

Press/ Whitechapel, 2007. PrintDoherty, Claire, ed. Situation: Documents of Contemporary Art. Cambridge/London: MIT Press/

Whitechapel, 2009. Print

Evans, David, ed.Appropriation: Documents of Contemporary Art. Cambridge/London: MITPress/ Whitechapel, 2009. Print

Higgie, Jennifer, ed. The Artists Joke: Documents of Contemporary Art. Cambridge/London:MIT Press/Whitechapel, 2007. Print

Iversen, Margaret, ed. Chance: Documents of Contemporary Art. Cambridge/London: MITPress/ Whitechapel, 2010. Print

Johnstone, Stephen, ed. The Everyday: Documents of Contemporary Art. Cambridge/London:MIT Press/Whitechapel. 2008. Print

Merewether, Charles, ed. The Archive: Documents of Contemporary Art. Cambridge/London:MIT Press/Whitechapel, 2006. Print

Noble, Richard, ed. Utopias: Documents of Contemporary Art. Cambridge/London: MIT Press/

Whitechapel, 2009. PrintWilliams, Gilda, ed. The Gothic: Documents of Contemporary Art. Cambridge/London: MITPress/ Whitechapel, 2007. Print

Participation / Social PracticesEco, Umberto. The Poetics of the Open Work. Participation: Documents of Contemporary Art.

Ed. Bishop, Claire. Cambridge/London: MIT Press / Whitechapel Gallery, 2006. 20-40.Print

Barthes, Roland. Death of the Author. Participation: Documents of Contemporary Art. Ed.Bishop, Claire. Cambridge/London: MIT Press / Whitechapel Gallery, 2006. 41-45. Print

Bishop, Claire. Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics. October. (2004): 51-80. AcademicSearch Complete. Web. Fall 2004.

Bourriaud, Nicolas. Relational Aesthetics. Participation: Documents of Contemporary Art. Ed.Bishop, Claire. Cambridge/London: MIT Press / Whitechapel Gallery, 2006. 160-171.Print

Bourriaud, Nicolas.Relational Aesthetics. Dijon: Les Presse Du Rel, 1998. PrintGoldenberg, David, and Patricia Reed. What is Participatory Practice? Fillip 8 3.2 (Fall 2008):

4-5. Print.Purves, Ted. What We Want Is Free: Generosity And Exchange in Recent Art, New York: State

University of New York Press, 2004. Print


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Site-SpecificityKwon, Miwon. One Place After Another: Site-Specific Art and Locational Identity. Cambridge:

The MIT Press, 2002. PrintSuderburg, Erika, ed. Space, Site, Intervention: Situating Installation Art. Minnesota: Universityof Minnesota Press, 2000. Print

Lacy, Suzanne.Mapping the Terrain: New Genre Public Art. Seattle: Bay Press, 1995. PrintLippard, Lucy R. The Lure of the Local: Sense of Place in a Multicentered Society. New York:

The New Press, 1997. Print

The ArchiveEnwezor, Okwui.Archive Fever: Uses of the Document in Contemporary Art.New York /

Gttingen: International Center for Photography / Steidl Publishers, 2008. PrintFoster, Hal. An Archival Impulse. October. (2004): 3-22. Academic Search Complete. Web.

Fall 2004.

Godfrey, Mark. The Artist As Historian. October. (2007): 140-172. Academic SearchComplete. Web. Spring 2007.

Schaffner, Ingrid, and Winzen, Matthias, eds.Deep Storage: Collecting, Storing, and Archivingin Art. Munich: Prestel Verlag, 1998. Print

WebsitesLiterature Searches:Google Scholar - Provides a search of scholarly literature across many disciplines and sources,including theses, books, abstracts and articles (Leavy)http://scholar.google.caUBC VPN - excellent for print and electronic journals, academic articles, etc.

Center For Research & Developmenthttp://artsresearch.brighton.ac.uk/links/practice-led*See Method Meets Art (Leavy) for several website recommendations