“I don’t need them to like it, I’m gonna do it anyway.” A Lacanian Discourse Analysis of Agency in Art Education.

Zeldin-Steinmann, Nina (2019) “I don’t need them to like it, I’m gonna do it anyway.” A Lacanian Discourse Analysis of Agency in Art Education. Manchester Metropolitan University. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Higher education institutions have been forced to implement highly structured neo-liberal pedagogies that oppress agency, and result in impoverished learning (Friere, 2000; Mann, 2001). However, art schools may still promote agency and critique (Adams, 2013). Lacan’s four discourses have previously been applied to education (Johnson et al., 2014; Langer et al., 2018), but never to art education specifically. Lacanian discourse analysis was applied to understand five students’ experiences of art school. The research aimed to answer the following; Have the art students successfully progressed through Lacan’s four discourses (1959, 2007); Were the students able to express the optimal forms of agency (Subversive and Sublime) as discussed by Langer et al. (2018)? Did their education allow them to nourish their objet a (Johnson, 2014)? Individual analysis of the transcripts provided narrative descriptions. Implications of this research are outlined, including a recommendation to all education to look to the methods of art schools. A reflexive analysis was also carried out.