Art as a cultural tool: deconstructing exotified notions of Balinese society during an American study abroad programme. (20th October 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Pipitone, Jennifer M.; Raghavan, Chitra
• Is Part Of: Pedagogy, culture & society. Volume 30:Number 5(2022)
• Page Start: 659
• Page End: 680
• Publication Date: 2022-10-20
• Subjects: Study abroad -- exoticism -- Bali -- place-based pedagogy -- cultural tool -- arts -- aesthetics -- museum -- experiential education; Education -- Curricula -- Periodicals; Education -- Periodicals; Education -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; 370
• DOI: 10.1080/14681366.2020.1844788
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1468-1366

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The exotic aura surrounding Bali was embraced as a teaching and learning opportunity in the four-week, faculty-led study abroad programme at the centre of the present inquiry, which asked: how might a place-based pedagogical intervention shape student experiences of an exotified cultural environment? Grounded within sociocultural psychology and the philosophy of place-based education, we developed an intervention using Balinese arts and aesthetics as a pedagogical entry point. In this article, we conduct a longitudinal comparative case analysis of two Bali cohorts, one of which received the intervention. Data include three weekly narratives and one-year post-programme interviews. Findings suggest the intervention functioned as a cultural tool that mediated not only how students related to the Balinese cultural environment, but also their participation with the arts one-year later. How the intervention functioned as a cultural tool is discussed alongside pedagogical implications for study abroad futures, including the imagining of a 'virtual turn.'