FOCUS: CITATIONS IN PERSON WORKSHOP
Today, at the beginning of the session, Malika and Kwame (M&K) asked us ‘If your project were a weather forecast today, what would it be?’
Most of my colleagues had fairly positive responses – hopeful even. But after my early conversation regarding consent & ethics (and, of course, GENERALLY), I feel very gloomy. Stormy black clouds and not a great outlook. This all stems from feeling overwhelmed by work (for my practice, teaching practice and being a student), I am not feeling positive about my progress or thinking. The only consolation in all this is I don’t feel alone – I recognise that all my colleagues on the PGCert are more or less in the same boat. So, onwards and upwards, eh?
However, as the discussion in the room circled around preparing for the ARP and how we should identify and embed methodologies. I felt my mood slip further. When I reflect on this now, I see that it was the amount of work to do, whilst continuing my actual teaching and just life, that, whilst M&K discussed mapping our projects to the AR spiral, I was in fact spiralling. I recognised that M&K were only doing what they needed to prepare us for what lay ahead, to ready and activate us to consider which methods we would use to collect data (interviews, collective autoethnography, document analysis, creative autoethnology, questionnaires). I was dazed at this point!
D A Z E D
It was timely, and I was utterly relieved when we were asked to undertake a data collection activity. In small groups, take a walk around the ground floor LCC and identify the following:
- make a note of any visual data tools such as images, photos, spatial arrangements
- we were asked to reflect on any pitfalls we observes or could predict
- what could improve it?
- what refinements/adjustments could be made?
Jess, Carlotta and I went downstairs to the ground-floor coffee lounge area and reviewed the recent addition to the entrance area. The area (corner) in the immediate entrance area had been painted with blackboard paint, with an illustration to define the existing LCC tower (iconic in the area), with messaging on the walls ‘creative communication transforms’ and decals strategically placed on the floor with ‘pose here’ and ‘have your say’ messaging.
Within my practice as a spatial designer, I appreciated that this corner is difficult to make useful. However, Jess, Carlotta and I all agreed that it was an improvement, given that it sits within the entrance threshold, its proximity to the security barriers, and the amount of foot traffic passing through. The walls were covered in messages, some political, motivational, and international languages, and others were just doodles. It felt liberating to have a space that encourages freedom of expression, and something that should be more of a feature in our institutional buildings. There were two students sitting next to the wall, and we asked them if they would mind telling us what they felt about it. One was ambivalent, the other gave positive feedback.
The next space we reviewed was the noticeboard outside the library, another space defined by a blackboard painted black, framing a door that was covered with layers and layers of notices, overflowing onto the door. There was a poetic depth to the notices. It seemed that notices weren’t removed but covered with a refreshing randomness. I was particularly intrigued by the photo of a cute kitten with a speech bubble saying ‘Help me!’ and a QR code. Inquisitive, I clicked on the QR code and it took me through to a survey researching anxiety surrounding not replying to read messages. Clever marketing ploy using the picture of a kitten.
In the afternoon, we focused on citations. As part of preparatory reading, I looked at Living a Feminist Life, in which Sara Ahmed argues that theory is produced through ‘citational chains’, in which repeated citation reinforces which knowledge is recognised as authoritative (p. 8). She explores how the chains often privilege white, male, Western theorists, marginalising feminist and decolonial scholarship. Ahmed highlights that citation is therefore a political and ethical practice rather than a neutral academic convention. In response, she calls for the development of a citation policy (pp.15–16), framing citation as a feminist intervention that can challenge institutional power and reshape how knowledge is produced and valued. I found her voice captivating. When she says, “To live a feminist life is to live in very good company,” I looked around at my peers (who are mostly female), and I feel that quote resonates. Ahmed has courageously shunned the accepted texts that would happily pigeon-hole her ‘Are you a Derridean? No, so are you a Lacanian? No, oh, okay, are you a Deleuzian? No, then what? If not, then what? Maybe my answer should have been: if not, then not!’ It was refreshing and inspiring to find a voice that treads a path less travelled.
Ahmed’s writing aligns with the second paper we were asked to read. Here, Christina Templin cites Ahmed’s writing and argues that feminist research demands the recognition of ideas valued yet whose contributions remain unacknowledged. Similarly, in her article on citational justice, Diane Kwon highlights researchers’ responsibility to actively counter exclusionary knowledge systems. Reflecting on these texts, I could see that, within my own teaching and action research practice, this is a challenge that prompts me to cite more intentionally, seeking out feminist, decolonial, and practice-based voices, as well as recognising students’ lived experiences as legitimate forms of knowledge.
Next steps
In response to the citation challenge, my next step is to discuss citational filtering with UAL librarians, with a focus on identifying and accessing feminist, woman-centred and practice-based scholarship.
Alongside this, I will develop a timeline for my research project, recognising its importance in structuring the collection of evidence and data. Defining clear phases for data gathering, reflection and analysis to support a more rigorous and manageable action research cycle, ensuring that ethical considerations and reflective practice remain embedded throughout the project.
References
Ahmed, S. (2017) Living a Feminist Life. Duke University Press
Templin, C. (2021) Why Citation matters: Ideas on a feminist approach to research. https://blogs.fu-berlin.de/abv-gender-diversity/?s=Christina+templin
Kwon, D. (2022) The rise of Citational Justice: How scholars are making references fairer, Nature News. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00793-1 (Accessed: 13 January 2026).