Dr Judith Winter

PhD Social Anthropology, University of Aberdeen
Doctor of Philosophy [PhD]

Status	Complete
Part Time	Yes
Years	2022
Project Title	Un-learning Bauhaus: searching for ways to imagine and transform collective futures
Project Description	The thesis investigates the pedagogic principles of art education and their socially transformative potential through a study of one of the most iconic inter-disciplinary schools of art and design in the 20th century, namely the Bauhaus. Its core premise is that we can learn from the ways similar challenges to those we face today have been addressed by our predecessors. The questions they asked are ours as well: how do we see, handle and challenge our own assumptions? How do we navigate the speed of change, both technological and scientific? How do we shift our perspectives and make informed judgements that are responsive to changing conditions? How do we learn with materials, people and places? This is not, then, a study of art that would address the Bauhaus as a cultural object. Rather than presenting the Bauhaus as a chapter in the history of art and design, the study is primarily concerned with the lessons it holds for us today. To this end, it foregrounds three of its foundational ambitions: (1) to see the world anew; (2) to listen to what materials tell us; (3) to shape and transform environments. The pedagogic ethos of the Bauhaus, it is argued, was born of a social idealism and pragmatic disposition that was anthropological at core, underpinned by the premise that the art school acts as a ‘grindstone of the senses’ (visual, haptic, acoustic, auditory, spatial, temporal). This approach overturns the prevailing hierarchies of knowledge that have always tended to separate practice from theory. It has the potential to offer future generations a reservoir of material on which to draw in order to challenge current social, aesthetic and educational norms along with the instrumentalization of knowledge on which they rest. Taking a lead from experiences of working with artists in site-responsive ways; the research that underpins this thesis has grown from an abiding belief in the transformative potential of art school reform. From the Bauhaus to Black Mountain College and beyond, it pays close attention to animating forces in art education that still reverberate in the 21st century. It makes a strong case for rejecting premature professionalism, in favour of giving students time and space to experiment with support and genuine mentorship. This is to set in play forces that, rather than homogenizing experience, generate heterogeneity and atonality. Instead of focusing on consistency, hybridity and variation are celebrated. This makes both creative and economic sense, since it helps to crystalize skills, perception and intuition. Supervised by Emeritus Prof. Tim Ingold, University of Aberdeen
Awarding Institution	University of Aberdeen

Dr Judith Winter's Qualifications (4)