“If you have a project in mind, then go with it and don’t let orthodox, small-minded people, stop you from doing something amazing. It is your project after all!”
Suzanne Bouclin Associate Professor, Common Law Section, Faculty of Law
On the final day of the 4th Autumn School on the Methodology of Research in Law, Professors Suzanne Bouclin and Aimée Craft of the Common Law Section joined with Professor Sarah Berger Richardson of the Civil Law Section to talk about their experiences using creative methods of knowledge mobilization, particularly the use video, to share their research.
The panelists spoke about what can be gained by sharing research through visual media, but they also noted the challenges they have faced. While a video interview may allow the subject of a given project to express themselves in their own voice and with genuine emotion – something that Professor Craft noted was particularly important when conducting research with Indigenous communities – researchers must also be aware of not letting their project outputs become a “soapbox” for someone who wants to express a specific point of view. Added to this are the significant technical and artistic challenges that come with organizing, filming and editing a video project.
Ultimately, the researchers spoke of the need to be respectful and responsible during the process of translating research into an audiovisual form – respectful of those who participate in the research and who have placed their trust in the researcher; and responsible in how knowledge and meaning are constructed in the process of creating audiovisual outputs. This video delves deeply into this burgeoning area of research knowledge mobilization.
