Research group Culture & Education

Culture & Education

Expertise

The research group Culture & Education (C&E) is part of the Department of Educational Studies at Ghent University.

  • Its research focuses on critically unpacking educational and societal perspectives on culture, art and literacy, and on current challenges for cultural mediation and art education.
  • It critically explores and challenges institutional frames and contexts of knowledge production and dissemination.
  • The research starts from an interdisciplinary framework integrating (new) rhetoric, cultural studies, literacy studies, critical pedagogy, museology and (visual) anthropology.
  • There is a strong focus on integrating art in research and education.

Around these themes C&E frequently organises international conferences, exchanges and workshops. These research topics are also extensively explored in a number of special issues and edited volumes. For example:

Phd projects

In progress

  • Amanda Adam  - Rhetorical analysis as a framework for aesthetic literacy in (art) education (supervisor: Kris Rutten).
  • Simon Allemeersch – Een interpretatief onderzoek naar de probleemconstructies van armoede en sociale ongelijkheid in een stedelijke context. Artistieke praktijk en social werk in de Rabot torens in Gent  (supervisor: Griet Roets, co-supervisor: Kris Rutten).
  • Ishaya Anthony – Public Pedagogy and the Socio-Political Economy of Religious Media: A qualitative study of the Advent Cable Network Nigeria (ACNN) (Joint PhD with the University of the Western Cape, South-Africa; UGent promotor: Kris Rutten, UWC-promotor: Lee-Shae Scharnick-Udemans).
  • Emma Brijs - Words when they are Radically Missing’: Exploring Narrativity in Recovery from Psychosis (Supervisor: Stijn Vanheuele, co-supervisors: Kris Rutten and Stijn Vandevelde).
  • Johanna Couvée  - A rhetorical study of mediatized debates on mental health: towards a critical mental health literacy (supervisor: Kris Rutten).
  • Amber De Clerck – Unpacking cultural logics in educational contexts. A rhetorical approach (supervisor: Kris Rutten).

  • Ruini Huang – A qualitative study into the functions of art education in China (supervisor: Kris Rutten). 

  • Rosine Mfetgo Mbakam - On the way to my personal decolonization: my cinematographic gaze and my cinema (PhD in the Arts, KASK Supervisor: An van Dienderen, UGent supervisor: Kris Rutten). 
  • Luz Santa María Muxica - A qualitative study into the literary socialisation practices of adolescents (Joint PhD with the Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Spain; UGent supervisor: Kris Rutten, UAB-supervisor: Cristina Aliagas Marín).

Defended

  • Anneli Bowie (University of Pretoria, SA) - Re/framing design trends: a Burkean meta-rhetorical approach (supervisor: Duncan Reyburn, University of Pretoria, co-supervisor: Kris Rutten) [defended July 2018]
  • Arjang Omrani - Situated knowledge. An educational exploration of “shared anthropology” as a theoretical and methodological framework (supervisor: Kris Rutten). [defended May 2022]
  • Hari Prasad Sacré – Reading Illiteracy: A pedagogical study about cultural (il)literacy in Flanders (supervisor: Kris Rutten, co-supervisor: Sruti Bala, Amsterdam University). [defended July 2023]
  • Laura Van Beveren - Critical reflection in the social and behavioural sciences: a rhetorical approach (supervisor: Kris Rutten, co-supervisor: Griet Roets and Ann Buysse). [defended September 2020]

Research Partnerships 

The Mentally project

Mental health problems in adults are of great concern as they are highly prevalent and impact significantly on health, social welfare and economy. Psychological treatment – whether or not in combination with medication – is effective but has not been able to nullify the apparent mismatch of mental healthcare. There is under- and suboptimal treatment of some adults and overtreatment of others.

MentALLY’s strategic aim is to gather the necessary empirical evidence to accelerate the evolution towards a European mental healthcare that provides effective mental health treatment to all adults who are in need. A carefully designed dissemination and implementation strategy translates the empirical evidence to strengthen existing networks and improve existing practices.

GUM

Professor Marjan Doom is, in addition to being a senior academic staff member within the research group 'Culture & Education', also the director of the Ghent University Museum. At the GUM, we pick the brain of scientists. Which challenges do they face? How do they go about things? Is there room left for imagination, doubt and failure? How does that impact every aspect of our lives and way of thinking? And last but not least, which remarkable objects can illuminate this story?

At the new science museum, visitors can discover a highly valuable and exceptional collection covering various disciplines, ranging from Biology to Archaeology, and from Psychology to Medicine. The collection is where the history of science and contemporary research meet, while simultaneously offering a glimpse into the future. Throughout the exhibits and the programme, the GUM will be exploring the bridge between science and art.

De Krook

Since 2017, De Krook has been one of the most striking architectural landmarks in Ghent. The award-winning building, located at a bend or "krook" in the Scheldt River, houses the public city library, laboratories and offices of Ghent University, as well as the research center for nanoelectronics and digital technology, imec. There is also a café with a terrace offering views of the river bend and the city center.

The research group collaborates with De Krook for (research) projects and events, and, in addition to their office at the Dunant campus, also has spaces in the library.

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Conferences and Events 

    Publications