The first meeting included a presentation on “Transculturation” and discussion on postcolonial concepts and key figures by Massimiliano Papini (Phd, Arts). This was followed by introductions by the core TAD group who briefly outlined their various research projects. We then invitated those present to contribute a brief outline of their own research interests and to feedback on the topic with their initial thoughts on some of the debate around “transculturation” and “hybridity”. Points on “transculturation” discussed:
Massimiliano Papini (PhD, Arts) discussed how the concept of transculturality fits the cultural encounters between the North East of England and Japan in the late 19th and beginning of 20th century. In parallel to a strong economic relationship, Japan and the North East also developed numerous cultural exchanges. In the British region, these “encounters” led to the birth of transcultural spaces such as Japanese Bazaars organised to raise funds for the local communities, and transcultural products such as Japanese art and artefact collections, but also the spread and interpretation of the Japanese aesthetic by local artists and manufactories. Kahina Le Louvier (Phd, Computer and information Sciences) discussed how her background in Cultural Identity Studies and particular interest in Decolonial Thinking has informed her transition to the field of Information Science. Looking at information through the decolonial lens indeed allowed her to approach information not as a neutral cognitive element that people would need to acquire to fill some gap in their mind, but as something that is always culturally shaped and transmitted. Through this lens, she explores how people who have recently settled in England after seeking asylum renegotiate their ways of knowing and doing within their specific context. Hayley Mardon (PhD, Arts) discussed the development of her research project to date, which is exploring issues around contemporary art/design from Southern Africa in the context of British museums (V&A and the British Museum). Her research is underpinned by postcolonial concepts such as “hybridity” and she will be analysing jewellery and artefacts from Southern Africa as part of this process to consider issues around design/art and craft, culture, diversity, identity and cultural value. This will include looking into past and present approaches used by museums, selecting artefacts from archives & collections and interviewing a wide range of people in the UK, Zimbabwe and South Africa to consider the impact the socio economic cultural and political has on the production of material culture from these contexts. Cristiana Katagiri (PhD, Arts) has just returned from a field trip to Brazil and sent us her comments on her research to date: Cristiana Katagiri is a PhD student in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Social Sciences at Northumbria University under the supervision of Dr. Wessie Ling. She is interested in the study of fashion through Cultural Studies’ perspectives. Her current research is focused on processes of negotiating and representing identity and difference in the Brazilian fashion industry; in the ways in which historical accumulation can lead to ‘third-spaces’ (Bhabha,1990). Rima Darras (PhD, Arts) is currently in Jordan and sent the following: The current research locates itself in the very broad field of visual communication, with the T-shirt as the object of study and analysis is believed to offer an account of “in-between-ness” (from Jenss, 2016: 11, quoting Granata, 2012), overlapping zones of fashion, graphic design, and media studies which also include semiotics. It focuses on establishing and examining this specific garment not only as [a] piece of clothes, but also as a visual communicative medium which as well can be subject to different interpretations. So far, by exploring the cultural history of T-shirt, its origin and the various socio-cultural environments in which it emerged, it was possible to convey how such a mundane item has acquired particular meanings and characteristics which gave it the power to influence human attitudes and behaviour, or in other words to shape the notions of identity in different communities. As such, the research is concerned mainly with concepts of ‘hybridity’, ‘transculturation’, ‘globalisation’, and ‘glocalisation’. Other points of contact that came from our interdisciplinary roundtable discussion on culture and transculturation included those present from Arts, Linguistics, Design and Sociology. The range of topics covered by those who attended included:
Some of the discussions generated revealed the shared challenges we have all faced at various stages of our writing and research and there were suggestions of options to explore new avenues to support future development. Feedback so far and a group consensus has shown that many of us felt the first meeting was productive as was the opportunity to share and question some of these themes further in relation to our own individual areas of interest, as a group and in relation to interdisciplinary approaches to working. The content was diverse and thought provoking and led us to question and reflect on how we can best make use of further opportunities for discussion and debate which continues to be inclusive and that work with our aims as a postgraduate research forum. Our next gathering and debate will take place at the Northumbria campus in London on the 15th February where we will host our first external speaker Professor Timon Screech from SOAS University. Our next meeting in March 2018 will be advertised again on social media (Facebook and blog). We look forward to more stimulating conversations.
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