De-Colonising the Western Gaze: The Portrait as a Multi-Sensory Cultural Practice

This art practice-based thesis addresses the ocularcentric approach inherent in Western representations of ‘otherness’ with a view to expanding notions of the ‘portrait’ as a culturally specific practice. Drawing on a selection of projects conducted over two decades across diverse cultural contexts, together with written publications, the thesis explores possible ways to identify and theorise alternative methodological and analytical frameworks through which the Other can be represented. Turning the gaze upon the artist/researcher in performative acts of mutual representation as a dialogical method, cross-cultural projects addressed in the thesis include the indigenous Sámi’s yoik, the Aboriginal Australian’s track reading and female veiling in Yemen. The thesis comprises Parts I and II, together with an introduction and conclusion, in addition to four appendices. Adopting a feminist research approach and attention to indigenous methodologies as points of departure, Part I provides a critical overview of relevant and intersecting literature on theories of othering and the Western notion of the portrait; it outlines the foundation on which the studied cultural practices were interpreted as practices of relating and attributing. While acknowledging the central role of the photograph as a critical tool of Western visual representation, focus is directed to multi-sensory cultural practices prevalent in non-Western and indigenous cultures. The primary concern of Part II is the role of the mediation of the artworks in postproduction, which draws on material collated during intersubjective field encounters, exhibited across contested sites of representation. Referencing both historically situated and contemporary art and anthropological research practices, alongside their modes of dissemination, Part II critically reflects on contested questions surrounding exhibition and curation, allied to the decolonisation of the anthropological museum

Keeping the collectivity in mind?

The key question in this three way debate is the role of the collectivity and of agency. Collins and Shrager debate whether cognitive psychology has, like the sociology of knowledge, always taken the mind to extend beyond the individual. They agree that irrespective of the history, socialization is key to understanding the mind and that this is compatible with Clark’s position; the novelty in Clark’s `extended mind’ position appears to be the role of the material rather than the role of other minds. Collins and Clark debate the relationship between self, agency, and the human collectivity. Collins argues that the Clark’s extended mind fails to stress the asymmetry of the relationship between the self and its material `scaffolding.’ Clark accepts that there is asymmetry but that an asymmetrical ensemble is sufficient to explain the self. Collins says that we know too little about the material world to pursue such a model to the exclusion of other approaches including that both the collectivity and language have agency. The collectivity must be kept in mind

Facilitating participation in adults with and without vision loss by supporting exhibit motivations through real-time descriptive mediation

Design and evaluation of real-time descriptive mediation (RTDM) for live aquarium exhibits was proposed to support the participation of visitors with and without vision loss. RTDM was developed to address learning, entertainment, restorative, and social motivations. Data was collected during a lab study with adults to get feedback about the RTDM and compare it to traditional docent presentations and audio tours. Findings show that the RTDM made it possible for participants to address their exhibit motivations and led to specific personal and social aspects of participation. A majority of participants with and without vision loss reported that the RTDM was supportive of their motivations and perceived it to be more effective at supporting learning, social, and restoration motivations compared to audio tour and docent mediation. The main contributions of this work are in: 1) developing evidence-based information design criteria for mediation at live animal exhibits; 2) demonstrating that mediation designed to support exhibit motivations can facilitate participation in adults with and without vision loss; and 3) validating participation as a design goal.Ph.D

Keeping the collectivity in mind?

The key question in this three way debate is the role of the collectivity and of agency. Collins and Shrager debate whether cognitive psychology has, like the sociology of knowledge, always taken the mind to extend beyond the individual. They agree that irrespective of the history, socialization is key to understanding the mind and that this is compatible with Clark’s position; the novelty in Clark’s “extended mind” position appears to be the role of the material rather than the role of other minds. Collins and Clark debate the relationship between self, agency, and the human collectivity. Collins argues that the Clark’s extended mind fails to stress the asymmetry of the relationship between the self and its material “scaffolding.” Clark accepts that there is asymmetry but that an asymmetrical ensemble is sufficient to explain the self. Collins says that we know too little about the material world to pursue such a model to the exclusion of other approaches including that both the collectivity and language have agency. The collectivity must be kept in mind! (Though what follows is a robust exchange of views it is also a cooperative effort, authors communicating “backstage” with each other to try to make the disagreements as clear and to the point as possible.

THE MEANING OF PARTICIPATION Detecting the space for inclusive strategies in the Finnish and German museum context

Museoiden yleisötyöstrategioissa osallisuus, moninaisuus ja inkluusio ovat yleisiä käsitteitä. Ne sanallistavat museoiden motivaation ja tarpeen täyttää niihin kohdistuvan yhteiskunnallisen odotuksen olla kaikille avoimia. Jokainen saa käydä museossa ja osallistua aktiviteetteihin. Mutta onko tämän osallistuminen sellaista, joka edistää strategioissa mainittua osallisuutta tai inkluusiota? Kriittisen ja etnografisen tarkastelun kautta kattotermi ”yleisötyö” suomalaisella ja saksalaisella museokentällä paljastaa, että osallisuuden ja inkluusion käsitteet voidaan ymmärtää eri tasoilla. Ne voivat viitata esteettömään tiedonsaantiin ja tiloissa kulkemiseen tai ennalta suunniteltujen aktiviteettien toteuttamiseen. Museoalan kirjallisuus toteaa tämänkaltaisen osallistamisen riittämättömäksi museoiden tavoitteen ollessa osallistujien kuuluvuuden tunne. Siten, museota tarkastellaan kriittisesti käsitteenä, jossa osallistavan yleisötyön yleisimpiä käytäntöjä teoretisoidaan ja kyseenalaistetaan. Kuuluvuuden tunteeseen sisältyvät merkityksellisyys, samaistuttavuus ja omistajuus, joiden saavuttaminen yleisötyön kontekstissa kaipaa ohjenuoria. Tarjonta, jonka odotetaan edistävän strategioissa esiintyvää osallisuutta museoissa, esiintyy kahden ääripään, ennalta suunniteltujen aktiviteettien ja jaetun vallan näyttelysuunnittelussa välillä. Tämä synnyttää tarpeen tarkastella yleisötyössä käytettyjen termien, kuten osallistumisen, inkluusion, moninaisuuden ja saavutettavuuden sisältöjä. Käytettyjen käsitteiden ymmärtämistä voidaan parantaa, kun niitä tarkastellaan niiden käytännön merkityksen tasolla ja arvioidaan, toteutuvatko nämä odotukset nykyisillä yleisötyön vakiometodeilla. Ymmärtämisen kautta voidaan luoda uusia tekemisen tapoja ja siten todellista osallisuutta, joka voi mahdollistaa osallistujan inkluusion museossa. Koska suurinosa museokokemuksista luodaan näyttelysaleissa ja vastaanotossa työskentelevän henkilökunnan myötävaikutuksesta, ymmärtäminen voi edistää myös asiakaspalveluhenkilökunnan arvostusta, joka ei yleensä ole osallinen näyttelysuunnitteluprosessien ensimmäisissä vaiheissa. Pohdinta kumuloituu museon ja yleisön välisen suhteen käsitteeseen, jota havainnoillistetaan museo-yleisö-suhteen kaaviossa (museum-audience relationship blueprint). Tässä suhteessa osallistujien valta määritellä ja päättää omien kokemustensa ehdot ja puitteet on jakautunut kentällä jokseenkin epätasaisesti. Todellisen osallisuuden ja inkluusion nimissä tätä suhdetta tulee voida avata. Kysymys on lopulta osallistujien todellisesta osallisuudesta ja omistajuudesta, museoiden sidosryhmien tuntemuksesta, ylläpidetyistä suhteista entisten osallistujien ja museoiden välillä ja näkymättöminen esteiden tunnistamisesta ja tunnustamisesta yleisötyön kontekstissa. Tämä väitöskirja ehdottaa inkluusio-orientoitunutta osallistumismallia (inclusiondirected participation model), joka perustuu palvelumuotoiluun pohjautuvaan lähestymistapaan. Osallistumismallissa yhdistyvät museokentän odotukset osallistumiseen liittyvästä yleisötyöstä ja palvelumuotoilun teoria ja filosofia. Osallistumisen viiden osa-alueen – tutkimuksen; yhteistyön ja kommunikoinnin; kestävyyden; mielekkyyden ja omistajuuden; sekä vastoinkäymisten – kautta konsepti ehdottaa osallistumisen iteratiivista sykliä, joka mahdollistaa osallistujien vallan yhteissuunnitteluprosessissa, edistää kävijätutkimusta yksittäisissä instituutioissa ja huomioi kehittämishankkeiden avoimen luonteen. Tämän ehdotuksen tavoitteena on siis edistää palvelumuotoilun syvällisempää tunnustamista ohjenuoraksi museoille, kun tavoitteena on saavuttaa uuden museologian (New Museology) asettamat vaatimukset osallistumiselle ja edistää museoiden yhteiskunnallisen vastuun toteutumista meille kaikille kuuluvasta kulttuuriperinnöstä.In museums’ strategies for Audience Development, concepts such as participation, diversity, and inclusion are common. They state the museums’ initial motivations and need to fulfill their societal xpectations, which is to be “open for all.” Everyone is welcome to visit museums and take part in the activities therein. However, does this participation promote the type of participation or inclusion mentioned in their strategies? Through a critical and ethnographic exploration of the umbrella term “Audience Development” in the Finnish and German museum domains, it becomes evident that the very meanings of the concepts of participation and inclusion are understood on differing levels. They can indicate barrier-free information and access to spaces or the realization of pre-designed activities. The literature on the museum field states this type of participation insufficient when museums aim for the feeling of belonging among participants. The critical examination discusses the museum as a concept and theorizes and questions the most common practices in participative Audience Development. The “feeling of belonging” includes meaningfulness, relevancy, and ownership. Notably, achieving these within the context of Audience Development still lacks specific guidelines. Moreover, the offerings expected to promote participation in museums occur at two extremes: pre-designed activities and shared power in exhibition design. A need to examine the contents of the terms used in the strategies such as “participation,” “inclusion,” “diversity,” and “accessibility” is evident. The understanding of these terms can be improved when they are examined on the level of their practical functions and evaluated as to whether the standard methods of Audience Development realize these practical expectations. The emerging understanding promotes new ways of doing and, thus, “real” participation, which can lead to the participants’ inclusion in museums. Most museum experiences are created with the influence of frontline staff, so this understanding can also promote the value laid on this portion of the staff that is usually not included in the first phases of the exhibition planning processes. This discussion evolves to focus on the museum-audience relationship, which will be exemplified in the form of a museum-audience blueprint. In this relationship, the participants’ power over the terms and circumstances of their experiences is divided unevenly in the field. In the name of “real” participation and inclusion, this relationship should be able to be opened. The issue eventually concerns participants’ involvement and ownership, the museums’ knowledge about stakeholders, sustainable relationships with former participants, and recognizing and acknowledging the invisible barriers in Audience Development. By leveraging the Service Design-based approach, this dissertation proposes an inclusion-directed participation model that combines the participatory expectations of the museum field with the tools and philosophy of Service Design. Through the five parts of participation, namely, research, collaboration and communication, sustainability, meaningfulness and ownership, and obstacles, the concept proposes an iterative cycle of participation that would allow participants to influence the codesign process, promote visitor research in individual institutions, and acknowledge the open-ended nature of developmental projects. This proposal aims to promote the acknowledgment of Service Design as a guideline in the museum field more profoundly when the goal is to achieve the participatory aims of New Museology and promote the fulfillment of the museums’ societal responsibilities concerning access to and participation in culture

Negotiating reality as an approach to intercultural competence

In an increasingly global business environment, managers must interact effectively with people who have different values, behavioral norms, and ways of perceiving reality. Many jobs now entail an international dimension, so the need to develop intercultural competences has taken on a greater importance for more people in business than ever before. Intercultural competence is the ability to recognize and use cultural differences as a resource for learning and for generating effective responses in specific contexts. We conceive of this as negotiating reality. The approach draws on concepts from international management, sociology, crosscultural psychology, action science and conflict resolution. -- In einer zunehmend globalisierten Umwelt müssen Führungskräfte immer häufiger mit Menschen aus anderen Kulturen zusammenzuarbeiten, die unterschiedliche Wertevorstellungen haben, verschiedene Verhaltensnormen pflegen und ihre jeweils eigene Wahrnehmung der Realität haben. Damit steigt der Bedarf an interkultureller Kompetenz, der Fähigkeit, kulturelle Unterschiede als Lernressourcen zu erkennen und für die jeweilige Situation adäquate Lösungen zu erarbeiten und einzusetzen. Dieser Beitrag beschreibt einen innovativen Ansatz, den wir negotiating reality nennen, der sich aus unterschiedlichen Theoriebereichen, u.a. dem internationalen Management, der Soziologie, der interkulturellen Psychologie, und der Konfliktforschung speist.