PhD Symposium

Doing Engaged Research Today: Bridging Activism and Academia

September 18, 13:00–19:00, followed by a closing Apéro Bern Academy of the Arts

Engaged research that aims to critically interrogate and change the world politically risks being either attacked and censored – as an increasing number of episodes have shown in different countries – or ineffective in achieving the radical changes that are needed. This PhD Symposium aims to explore the challenges, the ethics and the values of doing this kind of research in design and the arts.

The Symposium is introduced and moderated by Paola Pierri, Prof. Social Design at the University of Applied Science in Bern, Bianca Herlo, Prof. Eco-Social Design, and Andreas Unteidig, Co-lead of the MA Eco-Social Design from Luzern University of Applied Science

Two experts will provide an input drawing on their experience of doing engaged research and will act as discussants to address critical questions and unpack our topic: 

Hagit Keysar is Head of the Master’s Program in Visual Communication at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. Her practice-based research brings together visual work, activism, and critical theory. She completed her Ph.D. at the Politics and Government Department, Ben Gurion University, Israel; in her thesis, titled: “Prototyping the Civic View From Above: Do-It-Yourself Aerial Photography in Israel-Palestine”. 

Claske Dijkema is a Lecturer at the Institute for Social and Cultural Diversity at Bern University of Applied Sciences. Her research focuses on spatial aspects of violence, peace, social movements, and empowerment. Her experimentation with a range of participatory methods is driven by epistemic questions around the relation between knowledge and power, with a focus on marginalized communities.

What to Expect

During the symposium, you will have an opportunity to reflect and present your research and bring your own moral and political dilemmas and practical questions of doing ‘engaged research’.

The Symposium will touch on the following points:

• Introduction of different positions around engagement and involvement in the context of research and activism (engaged anthropology, design activism, research as activism versus research and activism, etc.)
• Reflections on the role of the researcher/activist: the risks, the emotional labour and the shifting boundaries of being in the field and reflecting on /during our action.
• Explore the dilemmas of doing engaged research, including addressing questions of academic rigour, questions of representation, and instances where activist research might not be relevant or inappropriate. 
• Challenges and good practices in sharing the results of engaged research (beyond academic publications): how is our research achieving political impact, what new formats – e.g. of authorship and dissemination – could we develop?

How to apply

Please submit the following documents by June 16, 2025 to: paola.pierri@bfh.ch

• A short proposal (max. 800 words, excl. references) outlining your current research, including the key questions and dilemmas you would like to bring to the symposium
• A brief academic CV