The relationship between professional identity and pedagogy: using objects in narrative inquiry interviews

In this paper, I will describe my experience of reconstructing the pedagogy of an early example of a stage design course, called the Motley Theatre Design Course. The reconstruction of the pedagogy of the course was made possible through a focus group with Motley alumni, where participants were asked to bring objects that they associated with being a student on the Motley course. The use of objects as a method for exploring memory and narrative is informed by Roland Barthes’ notion of ‘punctum’ (Barthes 1999) or, described by Hirsch and Spitzer (2006) as ‘points of memory’ (Ibid, p. 358) represented by ‘points of intersection between past and present, memory and postmemory, personal and cultural recollection’ (ibid, p.353), which will be explored in more detail later on in this paper. The rationale for the inclusion of objects in processes of ‘narrative inquiry’ (Connelly and Clandinin, 2003) in this setting was a response to a series of ‘absences’, including the absence of the archive and the absence of public discourse on the process of design and stage design pedagogies. Through this, I consider how the professional identities of alumni are shaped by the pedagogy of the course. This case study is part of a wider PhD study that examines the relationship between pedagogy, professional identity and creative practices of stage designers in both historical and contemporary contexts.