This post is written by Associate professor Anniken Randers-Pehrson. As part of the second craft sciences workshop series, this time arranged in Notodden Norway during 4-6 of May, 20 craft-researchers from Nordic countries spent one lovely and sunny seminar day at Guvihaug Viking settlement, a place for cultural experiences from the Viking and Medieval ages. During the day, three craft-researchers performed sessions of “show and tell” about their craft research. We got to know about the close and embodied study of wool (Post doc Bilge Aktas from Aalto University), research at the intersection between embodied studies and neuroscience (prof. Marte S. Gulliksen) and the study and knowledge of boat-building traditions…

The Embodied Making and Learning research group is arranging a series of lectures by our visiting Professor II, Pirita Seitamaa-Hakkarainen. Pirita is professor of Craft studies in Helsinki University, and she has a long career in arts and crafts research which has led to the renewal of the related teacher education field in Finland. In this lecture series of three lectures, she provides insight into the various research strategies and methodologies for researching crafts and design activities that she has used and developed together with her research group over a long period of time. Lecture 1. 19 January, 2022 In this first lecture:Perspectives on craft teacher education and research  Pirita…

This Blog text was written by Morten Henrik Lerpold The “Man and Technology” (Mennesket og Teknologien) Seminar was held during the Research days on the 30th of September 2021 at Notodden campus. It was organized by EMAL-digital members: Morten Henrik Lerpold, Lovise Søyland and Ingrid Holmboe Høibo. In all times, humans have created different kinds of technology, and thus also had to adjust to, or in some way integrate with this technology. In this seminar we invited researchers to reflect on questions about the relationship we as humans have to our present technologies and what possibilities and challenges these have in our immediate future. The technologies we are now surrounded by is…

Emal researchers Ingrid Holmboe Høybo and Kirstine Riis participated and presented at The first Craft Research Workshop held at the University of Helsinki 17-18 November 2021 Arranged by Sirpa Kokko University of Helsinki, Emal researcher Camilla Groth USN and Gunnar Almevik University of Gothenburg. Craft Science is an established field of academic research in Finland, Sweden, and Norway. As a small and scattered academic discipline, existing in many different faculties and often subordinated to traditional academic disciplines, there is a need for dialogue and collaboration across universities and countries. The purpose of the workshop series is to consolidate Nordic craft research by developing a joint understanding of the state-of-the-art in…

EMAL arranged a writing seminar over two days in October 26-27, during which several new articles and anthology themes and project descriptions were peer reviewed and developed in collaboration.

DRS LEARNxDESIGN 2021: 6th International Conference for Design Education Researchers Engaging with Challenges in Design Education | Shandong University of Art & Design, Jinan, China | 24–26 September 2021 EMAL members Anne Solberg, Ellen Baskår, and Camilla Groth participated in the track “Co-creation of Interdisciplinary Design Educations” that welcomed contributions discussing challenges and potentials experienced by researchers engaging in interdisciplinary research involving design and other domains. The track was co-chaired between Arild Berg Oslo Met, Camilla Groth USN, Fausto Medola Sao Paulo State University, Brazil and Kate Sellen, OCAD University, Canada Anne Solberg and Ellen Baskår presented their paper “Co-creating a Cross-Material Silk and Porcelain Art Exhibition” . Abstract: This paper resides…

Members of the Emal Research Group secured funding for research on Maker-centered learning in School Makerspaces, see project description of Maker-Centered Learning: Cultivating creativity in tomorrow’s schools (MAKER) . The inaugural meeting with project partners took place on Zoom in oktober. The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway and will start in December 2021, going on for four years until the end of 2025. We are lucky to collaborate with researchers from Finland and USA in this project.

EMAL’s Early Childhood researcher and Professor Kari Carlsen has written a book on the philosophical backgrounds and practices of the Reggio Emilia pedagogy. The full name of the book is Reggio Emilia – atelierkultur og utforskende pedagogikk. The release of the book concurred with the Research days (Forskningsdagene) at USN on the 30th of September. The book is written in Norwegian and you can order the book from the bookshop after clicking on the book image.

Written by Kirstine Riis The Research Days is a national, annual festival arranged by the Research Council of Norway. All types of research and knowledge-based institutions are invited to present their activities to the public. The festival has been held every year since 1995 and is one of Europe´s largest, nationwide research festivals. On Wednesday 29 September 2021, EMAL researchers participated in the Research Days with a joint seminar between the following research groups: Learning and Teaching for Sustainability (LET´S), https://www.usn.no/english/research/our-research/kindergarden-schools-and-higher-education/learning-and-teaching-for-sustainability/ Forskergruppe for Estetiske læreprosesser (ForEst) (Research group for aesthetic learning processes) https://www.usn.no/forskning/hva-forsker-vi-pa/barnehage-skole-og-hoyere-utdanning/estetiske-lareprosesser/ and Kunstnerisk utviklingsarbeid (Artistic Development Work) https://www.usn.no/forskning/hva-forsker-vi-pa/tradisjonskunst-og-praktisk-estetiske-fag/kunstnerisk-utviklingsarbeid/ The day had a rich program with presentations from the…

Lovise Søyland and Camilla Groth presented Emal member’s research at the Speaking Bodies Conference – Embodied Cognition at the Crossroads of Philosophy, Linguistics, Psychology and Artificial Intelligenceon May 13-15, 2021 http://embodiedcognition2020.devpsychology.ro/index.php. Abstract: Embodied making and learning in arts and crafts In art and craft studies, students interact with materials and material situations through their hands and bodies. This material interaction involves thinking and reflecting in relation to what the material affords but also in relation to the intentions and skills of the maker. In research on art and craft processes the accumulation of experiential and embodied knowledge in relation to materials and manual skills are key. Embodied cognition is therefore a…