An hour in the dark/an idea worth trying

From: Rob Walker
Date: Thu Sep 4, 2003 08:31:23 Europe/London
To: various friends
Subject: An hour in the dark/an idea worth trying

Next year, the UN has as one of its main priorities a concern with violence against children. Last week I was in Innsbruck with a small group of researchers where we were discussing ways of doing research with children, using images to help them investigate their responses to experiences of violence (structural, political and personal). In the project we are planning, we are especially interested in deconstructing violence in terms of its polar opposites, though in doing this we are aware that there does not seem to be a singular opposite, and that the concepts we, as adults, tend to use to describe the opposite of violence - 'peace', for example- are either 'negative violence' or not those concepts immediately obvious to children.

Between our discussions, my friends directed me to 'Sinne', a project which grew from a popular exhibition that toured Austria and Germany a while ago, in which sighted people are introduced to the world of those with visual disabilities. Sinne is based in an old cinema in the city centre, it has a foyer with a bar and cafe and it provides various experiences, a restaurant (Cafe Noir) where you can eat a meal in total darkness, a dance/party space that can be hired and a 'tour'.

The 'tour' takes about an hour and you are guided, in complete darkness, through a space in which you encounter simulations of a woodland walk, a ride across a lake in a small boat, a shop, crossing a road and buying a drink in a bar.

Of course you experience almost total helplessness as you learn to orient yourself and navigate this space, step by very small step. But even in this short time you also experience some strong positive feelings - there are small accomplishments (recognising that an object in the shop was one of those carousels for displaying postcards - even though you could not see the cards - and the feel of the wind and the spray as you sped across the lake). You learn too how quickly you become dependent on your guide and on the importance of his voice as a source of confidence.

There are similar centres elsewhere (Salzburg and Frankfurt, for example) and if you find yourself near one you should go! Some of them offer other and more extended experiences. Gerhild, one of my colleagues in the project, has run two-day management/leadership courses 'in the dark' and tells me that they are especially successful with those whose work has a strong visual orientation - architects, for instance. The obvious jokes and allusions aside, I can see that this could be an idea worth trying in the university. . . .
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Rob Walker
Centre for Applied Research in Education (CARE)
University of East Anglia
NORWICH NR4 7TJ
UK
____________________________________________________
http://www.uea.ac.uk/care
ph 01603 592870
fax 01603 451412
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