Friday evening mapping

We talked about mapping - creating a field of elements to build our understanding to engagement with an idea. The idea of lookout all the things related to something as a way to better understand it. This discussion has a Module Two focus because we  were thinking about it in terms of designing an inquiry. So not an inquiry that just 'proves' something you already think (thus learning very little about that topic) but designing an inquiry that allows you to get wider and deeper look at something you thought you were familiar with. Ethical considerations arise here as they help you create questions that expand what you can include on your map of the topic.

Jess, Cathleen and Amy will be blogging about what they found significant form he conversation.

What about you please comment below. 

Research terms - what are you doing?!: Skype with Module Three focus

This Skype has a Module two focus but any Module can attend. We will be thinking about

Research terms - What are you doing?!

Tuesday October 1st @ 6pm (time in London) 

Comment below to indicate which one you will attend. Please also give a sentence or two about what you have been thinking about/doing. This will help us plan the Skype.

Attend Re:Generations Nov 7th to 9th

We are really excited to be able to offer a few funded places for MAPP/BAPP students to be able to attend the Re:generations conference hosted by One Dance UK in partnership with Mdx in November. The funding covers three days of entry to the conference plus your accommodation. The conference is held at The Lowry, Salford, in the UK. 

Re:generations is a biennial academic and artistic conference which aims to share current practice and research in the field of dance of the African Diaspora (DAD); explore and stimulate further research, documentation and new approaches to education and training in the field; and encourage new perspectives on the future of African Peoples Dance (APD). The conference invites scholars, artists and dance practitioners from the Caribbean, Africa, the United States, Canada and the UK to share their research with other artists, practitioners, dance teachers, students and the general public.

The Re:generations Conference* is the UK’s ONLY international platform dedicated to connecting academic and artistic voices within African influenced dance styles; such as Hip Hop, Jazz, Afro Caribbean, traditional and contemporary African and Caribbean, Afro-Latin, and African American Dance.

This will be a great opportunity to be a part of a vibrant conference, network with other artist-scholar practitioners, and get inspired in your own professional development. The funding requires you to blog each day about the sessions, papers, workshops and performances you attend to share with the rest of the MAPP BAPP community.

To express your interest please comment here. We will then email you directly. We will announce which students have places on October 10th 2019. 

*Re:generations – dance and the digital space

7-9 November 2019
The Lowry, Salford

An international forum exploring how technology drives innovation in dance of the African Diaspora.

Hosted in partnership by One Dance UK, IRIE! dance theatre, Middlesex University, Dance Immersion and The Lowry, the theme for Re:generations 2019 is dance and the digital space. We will explore the ways digital technologies can be used for artistic innovation and creative practise, unite global communities through online platforms whilst increasing the visibility of diverse work to mainstream audiences.

Across the three days there will be panel discussions, lecture demonstrations, masterclasses, workshops, academic paper presentations, performances, networking events and more!

The conference will provide CPD for dance teachers, healthcare practitioners and other dance professionals, in addition to bespoke programming for producers, new media practitioners and executive artistic leaders. A key event will be the launch of the report for One Dance UK’s ‘Dance of the African Diaspora Mapping Research’; presenting the current state and needs of the DAD workforce with a scope for future growth and development.

Reflections from Wednesday 25th am Skype discussion

In today’s morning Skype there were a few people from Module One for whom this was their first Skype. As a group we were brave enough to start a conversation about the topics people had been thinking about (and not just end up asking each other what to do!!). Because of this group collaboration to talk to each and develop each others ideas we were able to witness how an idea can group from its original space to unexpected spaces through the journey of the discussion. Mathew is going to blog about this https://mkoonbapp.blogspot.com

We thought about the ideas about experience ‘v’ qualifications in terms of who teaches the arts but of course this raises questions and opportunity for inquiry into what we (personally) mean by being qualified to do something, and what we mean when we use the word ‘experience’. These concepts are also discussed in the Module handbooks and in the articles and books on the reading lists for each Module because they are very present in looking at what learning and knowledge are. Allison is going to blog about experience ‘v’ qualifications and Cathleen about qualifications Alison.lonsdale1@hotmail.co.uk  &  

https://cathleenlimerick.blogspot.com

Shari talked about seeing things from a different perspective. (For instance, most people on the Skype were involved in dance and she is a photographer and journalist.) We talked about having a new perspective on something also allows you to reflect on and question your own assumptions. Shari is blogging about this https://dotfox-luxembourg.blogspot.com

Joanne and Scarlett are blogging about some of the topics we discussed such as how industries change when they become accessible to the people who do not usually engage with them. Also about how dance is taught and the value of the Arts. www.scarlettholloway.blogspot.com &https://joanneclarke1806.blogspot.com

What are your thoughts - Please comment below

Adesola

Seeing your practice & Self: Skype with Module One focus

This Skype has a Module One focus but any Module can attend. We will be thinking about

Seeing your practice & Self 

Monday September 30th @ 6pm (time in London) 

Comment below to indicate which one you will attend. Please also give a sentence or two about what you have been thinking about/doing. This will help us plan the Skype.

Critical Thinking - Literacy through questioning

This blog is about Critical Thinking – not being critical(being judgemental) when you are thinking, but thinking critically (being analytical). For me critical thinking is about asking questions about the things we take for granted: asking about the ‘normal’ things we see. These are things that because of our culture, or society we take as ‘just being’ (not noticeable). Critical Thinking asks us to notice/take the position that this is a perspective: if we lived at a different time or place or culture these ‘normal’ things would be noticeable (not normal). Here are two presentations about body images. This topic is a good example of where within the culture of ‘performers’ we might have been exposed to a kind of ‘normal’ perspective of what is expected of our bodies. The presentations suggest this is a construction that is a result of social and cultural pressures. Jean Kilbourne* and Holly Baxter**     ask us to rethink the things around us in order to explore the familiar. 

As critical thinkers we often look at the familiar and tries to see it as strange (by questioning).  What are your reflections on these two presentations? Are they saying the same thing? What strikes you, or resonates with you? What surprises you?  What do you think of ‘Media Literacy’? This idea of ‘literacy’ through questioning (critical thinking) is important as you research and study – it is about not just accepting the first thing that pops up on your search engine! 
Please comment below...

*Pioneering activist and cultural theorist Jean Kilbourne has been studying the image of women in advertising for over 40 years. In the late 1960s, Jean began her exploration of the connection between advertising and several public health issues, including violence against women, eating disorders, and addiction, and launched a movement to promote media literacy as a way to prevent these problems. A radical and original idea at the time, this approach is now mainstream and an integral part of most prevention programs. Kilbourne was named by The New York Times Magazine as one of the three most popular speakers on college campuses. She is the creator of Killing Us Softly: Advertising’s Image of Women film series and the author of the award-winning book Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel.

**Holly Baxter is the 25 year old co-founder and editor of The Vagenda http://vagendamagazine.com, an online media satire magazine for women, as well as author of the Vagenda book, (2014). She is also a columnist for the Guardian and a freelance journalist for a number of other national publications.

Research as mapping to build understanding: Skype with a Module Two focus

This Skype has a Module two focus but any Module can attend. We will be thinking about
Research as mapping to build understanding 

Friday September 27th @ 6pm (time in London) 

Comment below to indicate which one you will attend. Please also give a sentence or two about what you have been thinking about/doing. This will help us plan the Skype.  

Feedback - not alone

Throughout the course we see you as 'In conversation...' with us, with each other and with the handbooks. So how does feedback fit in with this?

How do we stand with feedback - 
Firstly, feedback is not about telling you how to get an 'A' it is about helping you develop your ideas and work from the place it is when you receive the feedback. So it is not about correcting the work in terms of telling what to do but it is about developing your work. This means that where ever your work is we will always support you in developing it further. Of course as Supervisors we will let you know if you are working at a level that will not pass. We will not be letting you march of the edge of a cliff!! but the Supervisors role is about working with you to go further so feedback will not likely ever be 'Yes, this is right.'!!

Secondly, so feedback is a conversation and on-going process which is why have a 'Feedback response sheet'.  This is so that we can document the conversation in brief. It is also so that you can direct your own feedback.
The feedback response sheet is sent with any drafts you send for feedback - you should use the sheet to ask questions that direct feedback such as
'I have used quotes to give examples of XXX but I wonder if too much of the essay is in the voice of others because of it.'
or practical questions
'I was not sure how to quote an interviewee I have used "" instead of '' for quotes from interviewee and put them I the bibliography but their interviews are not published so should they be in the bibliography?'

The Feedback response form should also be used after a Skype Supervisor tutorial (one-to-one) summarise the discussion and inform a blog about the tutorial.

The Feedback Response Form is therefore a document of learning, discussion and conversation for you to refer to as you study.  It supports the idea you are not alone in your study (you are in conversation) but not being alone does not mean you are just waiting to be told what to do.

A note: emailing your tutor should not be your first response to not understanding something!! First go back to the Handbook that is what they are for to explain the course, ideas and direct, then read some blogs of people who have done the Module you are on. Then have some time to think.

* feedback response templates can be found on UniHub or create one yourself as a word.doc

Discussion Skype : Wednesday September 25th

Discussion Skypes are open for all, this is a time to share reflections, things you've looked at, thought about, discuss your study with other people who are doing the same thing - BAPP.

Start your day off Skype 8:15am (time in London)
or
End your day Skype 9pm (time in London) 

Comment below to indicate which one you will attend. Please also give a sentence or two about what you have been thinking about/doing. This will help us plan the discussion.

About 'The Test' - the capacity to make connections

Welcome to the start of BAPP  - Week 1 of this term
Here are some thoughts about how you position the idea of learning. Please read and watch and comment below so we can start a conversation...

This is a section of a video lecture. It is quite light hearted but what John Green's point is that learning - that is worthwhile is a part of living (and living with integrality). Education is about application not being told what to do...It is about the capacity to make connections and critically imagine, divergent thinking...

Then think about what your learning is - what does it mean to have learnt about life through being an artist or being in the Arts. What value do you put on creative skills to imagine, wonder, working-out the capacity to make connections . These are skills we ask you to use as core to what learning means - Art's Critical value.

In this video Cindy Foley references *Sir Ken Robinson's lecture (video).
Cindy identifies key habits that artists employ, that are also key to our course.
Comfort with Ambiguity
Idea Generation
Transdisciplinary Research



*https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity/up-next?language=en

After Welcome Skypes

After skype
here are some great comment - blogs from people who attended.
Please visit each others blogs and leave comments.

Some blog addresses are on UniHub or put links to your blog here