Aesthetic expression and democratic voices - three year olds and digital cameras

• This presentation is based on a specific aspect of my on-going dissertation work. It focuses on the relationship between democracy and aesthetic expression in a Swedish preschool context, more specifically how photography as an aesthetic option in young children's hands can help to demonstrate democratic aspects of children's lives. On the basis of this focus, the presentation also highlights questions about children´s perspective, visual literacy (Elkins, 2008) and popular culture references with a starting point in the children's photographs and their photographic intra-actions (Barad, 2007). The research that takes part in the dissertation is based on a minor ethnographic study conducted in two different preschool settings together with tree year olds. The children have been offered a hands-on access to digital cameras in everyday activities. Any rules or specific issues have not accompanied the handover of the cameras, rather the children have been invited to use the camera in response to my question: What can you do with the camera and your preschool environment? As the children involved in the production of research material has not been instructed in how and to what they are supposed to use the cameras, they have had the opportunity to explore, investigate and they got to be mutual camera users. Children learned to see with the cameras and the cameras learned to see with the children. The framing capacity of digital cameras allowed children to see new and changed aspects of the world, and they studied and developed a changing visual sharpness. The children also contribute to changing ways of using cameras, which can teach both adults and other children something about cameras and their possibilities as ethical, photographic, democratic and aesthetic tools.    Barad, Karen Michelle (2007). Meeting the universe halfway: quantum physics and the entanglement of matter and meaning. Durham, N.C.: Duke University PressElkins, James (red.) (2008). Visual literacy. New York: Routledge

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Bildkonst (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Visual Arts (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

digital cameras

three year olds

pre-school

photography

democracy

aesthetics

aesthetic attraction

digital cameras

three year olds

democratic voices

aesthetic expression

aesthetic attraction

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)