This paper is a contribution to arts-based approaches to education. In the paper presentation I will make a proposition for pedagogy of dissensus, that means a pedagogy informed by the dissensual characteristics of art. The pedagogy of dissensus is developed out of French Algerian philosopher Jacques Rancière´s (2009, 2010) general philosophy and his concept of dissensus in particular, and through research conducted in a range of art educational contexts (Skregelid, 2016, 2020a, b, c, 2021). Rancière sees art as dissensus, and explains it as a rupture in the sensible, a break with habitual forms of imagination. Art has thus the capacity to contribute to new ways of seeing, hearing and sensing. When dissensus is used as an educational approach, the unforeseen and uncertainty is welcomed, and regular ways of teaching are challenged. The ruptures and uncertainties may lead to resistance, but I see this as a resource that leads to change in perceptions and attitudes. From this I argue that the pedagogy of dissensus enables the subject to come into existence, or what I frame as ‘events of subjectivation´ (Skregelid, 2016).
In the presentation I will argue for the pedagogy of dissensus by putting it into action and by practicing the pedagogy I call for. I will introduce images and statements that the participants will be asked to relate to, to comment and discuss. The images have all been part of my research and/or teaching sessions with students. Some have disturbed and caused intense debates, and others have challenged in more subtle ways.
With the images and statements as points of departure I aim to initiate discussions on how art and art theory can inform and inspire teaching and how we can do existential art educational practice. My latest arts-based project My Stunning Stream Made with a Little Mischief will be used for claiming a first-person perspective and lived inquiry in order to embody the pedagogy I call for.