Intermedial heterotopia in contextual studies

In this article, I investigate how heterotopic space(s) can be formed through the use of different media in contextual studies in theatre and performance. Specifically, I examine the use of cameras and screens in developing learning practices for undergraduate students. These learning practices frame students’ exploration of identity and promote intermedial interaction as a place of seeing/being and taking part. The intermedial options presented transpose the everyday use of communication technology to a set of creative tools that augment and expand practice-as-research, holding the exploration of various identities at the centre of the learning process. The theoretical framework of my study draws from theories of space and place in relation to experience; I argue that heterotopia(s) can be considered as a place of learning and creativity for analysing and re-shaping context, and I examine how approaches to digital learning can be usefully combined with contemporary intermedial practices. The paradigm of ‘doing-thinking’, as outlined by Jo Scott, supports and contextualises the effort in Higher Education more broadly to establish practice-as-research principles in the pedagogy of contextual studies. As a case study to illustrate my arguments, I outline my teaching practice in workshops that I designed and delivered in 2023 at London Metropolitan University, UK.