Collaborative Research as Pedagogical Method

Research by Suyin Haynes.

Start: 2026. With University of Westminster. PIs: Dr Sara Dominici, Dr Alison Hess and Dr Jennifer Fraser.

Overview

The RGS-IBG cares for hundreds of thousands of colonial-era photographic images. Yet, these resources are largely underused. Through a pedagogy of student partnership informed by the ideas of educator Paulo Freire (Peters and Mathias 2018), this CDA will bring together archival, visual and material culture methods with the practical challenges of real archive collections through a case study of one of the RGS-IBG’s most significant photographic collections: the almost entirely overlooked work of Elizabeth Wilhelmina Ness (1881-1962).

Suyin will use this material to develop an innovative pedagogical approach that fosters a critical interrogation of this troubling photographic heritage, bringing Ness’ work into dialogue with UG and PGT students at the University of Westminster (UoW). The project aims to formulate a new model of teaching and learning that will be applicable to the pedagogical mission of both cultural institutions and HEI.

Ness was the first woman to become a Member of Council of the Royal Geographical Society in 1930 and the President of the National Council of Women of Great Britain (NCWGB) during World War II. She was also an accomplished photographer who travelled extensively.

Ness has been researched within studies on women and geographical work (Evans 2016, Maddrell 2009) but no investigation of her photographic work yet exists. As a woman travelling in a male-dominated colonial world, Ness’ images are well suited to study how colonial-era photography can be meaningfully integrated into present-day interdisciplinary education and, subsequently, into museum learning programmes.

The project will explore:

• What are the main barriers to engaging with colonial-era photographic archives and how can HEI pedagogies support the cultural sector in dismantling them?
• How can co-creative activities lead to new pedagogic approaches that empower communities, critically address the troubling heritage in colonial-era photographic collections and reinterpret them for contemporary audiences?
• What new uses and interpretation of Ness’ visual archive can be co-produced with present day HE students?
• How can the work with HE students be activated to support visitors’ engagement with museum and archive collections holding colonial-era records?