An IASH Work-in-Progress seminar, delivered by Dr Helen Shutt (GENDER.ED Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 2026).
Crafting Relations: Towards a Care-Centred Practice of Gender Research
My Fellowship project draws upon the values of care ethics and techniques from artistic practice to propose a relation-centred, adaptive approach to gender research. In this work-in-progress discussion, I will explore the different ideas and professional experiences that have led me to pursue this line of enquiry, bringing together knowledge from the disciplines of Theatre Studies, Gender Studies and International Development. I reflect upon analysis I have conducted on new and evolving expertise making working practices in the UK theatre sector safer and more accessible, recent scholarship on the intersection of care and arts, namely James Thompson’s concept of ‘care aesthetics’, and the insights gained from conducting fieldwork on a project investigating female circumcision in Sierra Leone. My aim in bringing these different strands together is to illustrate how attention to relational dynamics and the embodied experience of each person engaged in the network of research is essential if scholars are to craft a research practice underpinned by respect for, and sensitivity to, the people and environments with which they work. I shall attempt to find the universal in the particular, offering localised examples from fieldwork in Sierra Leone to then propose key principles that can be adapted for different research contexts towards richer, more fulfilling interpersonal relations for all.
Meeting ID: 384 971 962 716 1
Passcode: nV6Rg79e