(K)not Mattering: Ethical (Re)considerations of Material, Methodological, and Pedagogical Responsibilities

Abstract

While working on a recent interactive art installation, the authors of this paper began pondering the ethical implications for researching/writing about processes of artmaking, especially regarding what/who comes to (k)not matter, which they discuss in this paper. They also invite you (the readers) to engage with them in thinking-with and making-with materials (via braiding, tying, knotting) while (un)tangling ethical practices and responsibilities related to arts-based research and what/who comes to matter and why in educational research and beyond. Specifically, they invite creative responses to the questions: what/who (k)not matters? And how can we extend the ideas of (k)not mattering into other philosophies/ways of thinking, into our material engagement with/in the world, into our research inquiries/methodologies, and, importantly, into our pedagogies to make a difference?