The art of/in educational research: assemblages at work

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to challenge the present western policy to control and tame educational research practices. It suggests a research methodology approach inspired by Deleuzian immanent ontology and the concept of  ́assemblage ́. Based on my PhD-project  ́Assemblages of desire in pedagogical practices: Inspirations from Deleuze and Guattari ‘ the article draws on the overlaps between research, philosophy and art. After a brief introduction to Deleuzian ontology of immanence, arguments for a decentring of the researcher as a subject, and the idea of a research assemblage are suggested. To accelerate the production of thoughts in the research analysis a piece of artwork is included in the assemblage, to make possible an investigation at the sensations produced when paintings, field notes and the researcher work together as a ‘thinking-machine’. The assemblage is here put to work by investigating different circular and horizontal movements in the process of analysis.