On April 16th, Deaf Studies Incubator Fellows joined Deaf Studies faculty and MA students in an interactive workshop exploring Critical Arts Based Research facilitated by Dr. Farha Najah Hussain. As this was the participants’ first foray into the practice of Arts Based Research (ABR), Dr. Hussain provided an overview of this methodology, sharing her own experiences of engaging deaf participants in collage as a means of expressing their experiences with speech language pathologists.
Workshop participants not only learned about ABR, but they got their hands dirty, bridging theory and practice, applying arts-based methods to their own research questions. Many participants chose to engage with masks to explore their inquiry into identity formation in the context of unequal power relations. Through hands-on activities and collaborative discussion, participants began to envision new ways of integrating creative expression into scholarly inquiry.
In addition to the workshop, Dr. Hussain presented in the Deaf Studies graduate course, Enforcing Normalcy: Deaf and Disability Studies, and also met with Incubator Fellows to discuss their own arts based methods. One Fellow, Naiara Larrakoetxea realized that she has been engaging in Arts Based Research, without knowing it. She has now been introduced to a theory and practice that can advance her analysis and critical work for years to come.
We, at Gallaudet, look forward to engaging with Dr. Farha Najah Hussain in future collaborations.
