Jocelyne Stahl

Practices of (un)learning. What can and should a postcolonial cultural education at museums look like? An exploration using selected examples.

At the interface of Cultural Studies, New Museology and critical mediation, this research project investigates how aesthetic practices can break through and transform museum structures. In doing so, the potential of a postcolonial cultural education for the work in ethnological museums is taken into account. Starting point for a reflection on this potential will be the process of unlearning learned codes of thinking and behavior patterns.

How can practices of (un)learning in cultural education look like in order to become aware of power structures – and to oppose them? What can be further practices of a postcolonial education and mediation at museums to enable alternative structures? The starting point for answering these questions will be a critical reception of current power relations, a contextualization of knowledge productions, and a deconstruction of binary categorization, all following the postulates of postcolonial pedagogy by the educationalist Patricia Baquero Torres. Through examining examples, possible postcolonial practices of cultural education will be pointed out and further developed.

About

Jocelyne Stahl is a cultural scientist and works as a curator, mediator and researcher on issues of education and mediation in the context of (ethnological) museums and their colonial continuities. She studied media and cultural studies in Düsseldorf and cultural studies in Berlin. Her research focuses and interests are postcolonial and decolonial approaches, aesthetic practices in educational processes as well as theories of space and the inquiry of the dichotomy center | periphery. As a curator and mediator, Jocelyne Stahl works in the field of exhibition making, education and mediation. Since August 2021, Jocelyne Stahl is an Associate Member at the DFG Research Training Group "Aesthetic Practice" at the University of Hildesheim.

Publications (selection)

Stahl, Jocelyne und Sibilak, Carolin (2024): „Den Alienkönig zum Fliegen bringen. Potenziale und Herausforderungen von VR als Werkzeug der Bildung und Vermittlung in Museen“, in: Katharina Haverich und Lucas Kuster (eds.): „Das Metaversum zerstalten. Virtuelle Realität, Vielfalt, Kultur“, Bielfeld: transcript, pp. 108-121

Stahl, Jocelyne und Schimanowski, Maike (2024): „No Consent – No Object? Das Ausstellen von Leerstellen als Möglichkeit rassismuskritischen Kuratierens“, in: Anna Greve und Sithara Weeratunga (eds.): „Rassismuskritisches Kuratieren“, Kunst und Politik - Jahrbuch der Guernica-Gesellschaft, Band 25/2023, Göttingen: V&R unipress, pp. 97-106

Stahl, Jocelyne (2024): „Gelernt und Eingeübt? Zu Begriff und Praxis des Verlernens“, in: Jens Roselt und Ekaterina Trachsel (ed.): „Üben üben. Praktiken und Verfahren des Übens in den Künsten“, Reihe „Ästhetische Praxis. Transdisziplinäre Perspektiven“, Paderborn: Brill Fink, pp. 195-216

Stahl, Jocelyne (2024): „Das Fehlen eines Steins in Leipzig und am Kilimandscharo: Praktiken des Verlernens und Versuche visueller Gerechtigkeit im Kontext ethnologischer Museen“, in: Christopher Nixon (ed.): Visuelle Gerechtigkeit, kritische berichte - Zeitschrift für Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaften, Heft 2/2024, pp. 56-63

Stahl, Jocelyne; Nickel, Julia; O’Donnell, Darren; Kühne, Elli und Abd El-Rahman, Solaf (2024): „Humboldting! Schüler:innen forschen. Ein partizipatives Langzeit-Projekt an der Schnittstelle von Kunst und Bildung“, in: Standbein Spielbein 121 (1/2024), pp. 49-51 

Stahl, Jocelyne (2024): „Wessen Wissen zählt? Ausstellungen als Orte von Wissenstransfer und Praktiken des Verlernens“, KuBi-Online: https://www.kubi-online.de/artikel/wessen-wissen-zaehlt-ausstellungen-orte-wissenstransfer-praktiken-des-verlernens

Stahl, Jocelyne (2024): Tagungsbericht „Das Radikaldemokratische Museum (revisited)“, 21.-23.03.2024, Dortmunder U – Zentrum für Kunst und Kreativität; in: H-Soz.kult: https://www.hsozkult.de/conferencereport/id/fdkn-144193 

Stahl, Jocelyne und Schimanowski, Maike (2023): „Wie können wir Leerstellen ausstellen? Eine Werkstattausstellung im Humboldt Forum macht Leerstellen sichtbar“, in: "Vom kritischen Vermitteln und Verlernen im Museum”, Standbein Spielbein 119 (1/2023), S. 59-61 

Conferences

with lecture:

03/12/2024: Lecture together with students of the project “City Research”,
Conference of UNESCO School Directors at the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin,
Information on the project: www.humboldtforum.org/de/magazin/artikel/city-research/

07/11 - 09/11/2024: Lecture “Backstage becomes Frontstage. Practices of unlearning and the curating of museum practices at GRASSI Museum für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig”,
Conference “Decolonial Aesthetic Practices?” of the DFG Research Training Group “Aesthetic Practice”, University of Hildesheim

10/09 - 11/09/2024: Lecture together with Darren O'Donnell, Kaan Denli and Zara Yavuz: “Das Projekt 'Humboldting! How? MIT Schüler:innen!!” (as part of the activities at the Humboldt Forum),
Conference “WIE machen wir‘s? Methoden Kultureller Bildung überdenken” organized by the Network Research Cultural Education and the knowledge platform kubi-online, at the IU International University Cologne

12/12 - 14/12/2023: Lecture and participation “Community Representative Conference” in Dar es Salaam at the National Museum of Tanzania as part of the exhibition development of “Histories of Tanzania” (AT),
together with the curatorial team of the exhibition of the Ethnologisches Museum, the Humboldt Forum Foundation, the National Museum of Tanzania and representatives of various communities from Tanzania

08/11/2023 & 22/11 - 24/11/2023: Conference “Entangled Practices” of the DFG Research Training Group 2477 “Aesthetic Practice”, University of Hildesheim,
Chair & moderation of the panel on art history and transculturality, together with: Florentine Muhry;
Panelists: Dr. Felix Prinz, Prof. Dr. Monica Juneja, artist collective PARA/ Jonas Fischer

16/03 - 18/03/2023: Lecture “Wessen Wissen zählt? Ausstellungen als Orte von Wissenstransfer und Praktiken des Verlernens”,
Conference “Experiment Wissen. Wissenstransfer in der Kulturellen Bildung gemeinsam gestalten” of the Netzwerk Forschung Kulturelle Bildung, Wolfenbüttel

without own contribution:

25/04 - 27/04/2024: “Kolonialismus erinnern”, HKW Berlin

21/03 - 23/03/2024: Conference “Das radikaldemokratische Museum”, Dortmund (conference review written for Hsoz.kult)

08/02 - 09/02/2024: Symposium UdK “Unlearning University”, Berlin

Fellowship

Fellow of the MuseumsLab 2023: Fellowship and approx. 6-week programme with 50 young professionals from the museum sector from the African and European continent; developed and organized by: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, MA Museum Management and Communication of the Berlin Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft, African Consultancy Group The Advisors