Play-Building Experiences With Chinese Graduate Students: A Participatory Arts-Based Research Project

• In Event: 67.070 - Sheraton Roundtable 14 - Grand Centre
  In Roundtable Session: 67.070-5 - Criticality, Diversity, and Cross-Cultural Methodological Possibilities of Arts-Based Educational Research

Abstract

This paper is the result of conducting an arts-based research project in Changchun, China, during a three-month period. The project involved the creation of a group or “collective” of co-researchers, all graduate students from Northeast Normal University. The collective was formed around the arts-based methodology of Playbuilding (Norris, 2009) as a transformative learning process that provided a unique opportunity for Chinese university students from various disciplinary backgrounds to explore their personal, social and existential identities. The collective consisted of 9 graduate students who participated in 8 Playbuilding sessions (June–July 2018) that utilized dialogue and testimonial, written and digital data, culminating in live performances with audience participation and live discussions throughout the performance.

Author

• Yan Wang, Chapman University