UROP Project

archives, craft, methodology, pedagogies, folk school

Research Mentor: Dr. Amber Ward, she/her
Department, College, Affiliation: Art Education, Fine Arts
Contact Email: award2@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor): Ms. Hsin Fang she/her
Research Assistant Supervisor Email: hf22a@fsu.edu
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:

Looking for Research Assistants: No
Number of Research Assistants: 1
Relevant Majors: Preference for a major in one of the following College of Fine Arts disciplines: Art, Art History, Dance, Interior Architecture and Design, or Theatre. If this is not possible, we are "Open to all majors."
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 5-10,
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link: If you were unable to attend one of our Zoom session on Friday (9/6), please watch the following recording before reaching out for an interview: https://fsu.zoom.us/rec/share/FeNMRkYiOoXywPwd_YZ4QVn3foJxC1V7UIW23i1pYorrWta4QB42ekIua8oJ21ta.i3Fz5I_PqZQu340v
Thank you,
Amber Ward, PhD & Hsin Fang, PhD Candidate

Project Description

This project uses “crafting with” as a methodology to explore historical craft pedagogies through craft-oriented folk school programs for purposes of foregrounding (non)living things as underrepresented in craft histories and advancing craft through a focus on its relational teaching practices.

Research Tasks: A research methodology I am calling ‘crafting with’ will be used to explore programs affiliated with The Clearing Folk School in Door County, Wisconsin, that address craft pedagogies over time from 1955-2023. Crafting with uses thinking and making as a means to engage craft pedagogies, or relational teaching practices between learners, educators, researchers, artists, materials, animals, land, plants, sky, and more in “conversation” with each other and The Clearing. Crafting with facilitates becoming when unforeseen invitations lure the thinkers and makers* away from The Clearing and toward unconventional ways of knowing, being, and doing. Crafting with includes three phases. First, data from The Clearing programs (program covers and years, teacher names, and class title and description) will be entered into a spreadsheet application (in progress). Second, data will be analyzed on the topic of historical craft pedagogies. Specifically, interactions between self, research assistants, and relevant program data will be documented through craft to co-craft meanings about relevant pedagogies, illuminating what craft was taught, how it was taught, for how long, and by whom. Finally, findings will be produced on the topic of historical and contemporary craft pedagogies to emphasize how and why craft comes to matter.
*In this case, the thinkers and makers are the research mentor (Dr. Amber Ward), research assistant supervisor (Hsin Fang), and the proposed undergraduate research assistant (TBD).

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: An openness to ambiguity, play, and creativity. Familiarity with Google Sheets.