Campus Session 7th November

This was the first campus session which I had attended and I have to say it was great to discuss with other people face to face rather than virtually. At the session I enjoyed the company of Adesola, Amanda and Eleanor Byrne as well as a number of other people on skype. Amanda and Eleanor are also on Module 2 so it was a really productive few hours.

Professional Artefact

Adesola started the session by getting us each to choose a game which we then played. I must admit I was a little bewildered as to what this had to do with our degree at first but Adesola soon enlightened me! Adesola was helping us to understand what a professional artefact was. Although we do not have to directly study this in Module 2, as it only comes up in Module 3, it is very important that we understand what the concept is now. What was revealed was that in the games we had played there was a sort of mutual understanding between all of us which did not necessarily rely on words.

Some words which emerged relating to this understanding were inherent, circumstantial, culture that starts to build, body language,

 This sort of communication has similarities to our professional habitus or cultural capital. For example, in the field of ballet there are certain forms of communication which are simply the norm if you are an insider in that area of practice. However, if someone from a different area of practice was to walk into that situation they would not necessarily understand this communication. For instance, the lack of dialogue between an employer and a dancer in rehearsal, the appearance of well- groomed hair and tight- fitting practice clothes. Practicing on the side of the studio if you are not being used. All these points relate to a special kind of communication which is inherent to our professional practice.

The professional artefact is basically a way to share your inquiry with others within your professional practice who may not be able to relate to an essay. The artefact is not the result of the inquiry it is a way of sharing what you have learned in a way which fits in with your practice. It could take the form of a performance in which you explore the elements uncovered from your inquiry for example. It is not something that should be planned until the end of your inquiry as it will emerge throughout the course of the study.

It was discussed how the professional artefact is important because if you can only explain your inquiry one way, it is really not your work. It is essential to be able to explain your inquiry both in the university language and the artistic language.

Other themes discussed

Adesola encouraged us to really notice everything and everyone in our practice and not to allow our university work to be somehow separate from our professional practice.

• It is really important to know how you are going to analyse data such as interviews and questionnaires before making a decision on what types of data you are intending to use.

• The analysis is simply something you are going to do with the data, literature and comparisons and from this analysis themes will emerge.

• When exploring an historical figure as I am with Anna Pavlova it is also important to look into the ethical background and implications of them historically.

• A particularly enlightening statement that Adesola made was that the art is in the planning of the inquiry not necessarily the outcome and that if it all works out something has probably gone wrong!

• Adesola also reminded us of the importance of stating our professional practice when we are working as this is often an area people tend to forget about!

• When submitting Module 2 we are now allowed to put our whole portfolio into one word document with a contents page at the top.

• I am now in the process of deciding on the tools for my inquiry and getting my draft inquiry plan and critical reflection done.