Co-creating sustainability science communication through aesthetic formats: This is what a transdisciplinary moment looks like

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Sustainability science calls for new methodologies and collaborations that go beyond disciplinary boundaries. This points to a new role for sustainability science communication. Here, we explore how science communication can employ aesthetic formats (e.g., storytelling, performance, artistic installations) to promote transdisciplinary collaborations. We conducted a series of experiments in a master-level science communication course at the University of Copenhagen, engaging students, practitioners and researchers in experimental collaborations and qualitative data collection. Through thematic analysis of classroom observations and interviews, five elements of transdisciplinarity emerged: Acknowledgement of disciplinary identities, negotiation of diverse vocabularies, disruption of hierarchical structures, experience of novel insights and evident learning processes among participants. These moments challenged direct observation but became discernible through post hoc analysis. We suggest they constitute a sequence that together describes a transdisciplinary moment. We thus conclude that the aesthetic formats we employed were instrumental in disrupting conventional boundaries and enhancing collaboration across disciplines. However, we also acknowledge the complexities of achieving transdisciplinary moments and emphasize the importance of reflective practice.
Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Education for Sustainable Development
Volume17
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)179-199
Number of pages20
ISSN0973-4082
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Bibliographical note

We want to acknowledge the many students who made it possible for us to conduct the experiments described and analysed in this article. In addition to our four student authors, Sarah Kisbye, Jens Good Kristoffersen, Cecilie Mathiesen and Laura Thinggaard Hjortkjær, we owe a profound thank you to Kristine Bergstein, Amalie Beate Albrechtsen, Anna Falbe-Hansen, Carl Gustav Henning Hansen, Sarah Hellebek, Sofie Ahrens Hesselager, Karoline Krabbe, Ida Bredahl Larsen, Kristina Vallentin Larsen, Louisa Mathies, Anders Nørrekær Mortensen, Emil Koch Pedersen, Anna Puggaard, Caroline Rude, Emma Sofie Vestergaard and Elena Volchkova. Without your collaboration, there would be no research.

    Research areas

  • Faculty of Science - sustainability, transdisciplinarity, aesthetic formats, arts-based, sustainability communication, Higher Education

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