Bringing room 134 into being
The right to have your say and be heard is empowering.
(Image credit: www.wilsoncareercoaching.com)
Room 134, was just a space until tutorial group six changed
it into a place, by using the room each week, applying meaning to it, making it
a safe and comfortable “home”, and by naming it, the room became “our tutorial
room”. Tuan (1991) wrote, “naming is power- the creative power to call
something into being, to render the invisible visible, to impart a certain
character to things”. (1991, pp.688)
Not only was the room named and turned into “home”, it also
became a place where free speech is allowed, no opinion is incorrect and
everyone has a voice. It became a place where everyone has the right to be
heard. According to Tuan, [T]he
right to speak and be heard…is empower[ing]” (1991, pp.685).
In room 134, every Friday, tutorial group six can be heard
laughing, debating academic subjects and discussing other classes. Everyone in
the room has the right to speak and be heard, even if they do not choose to
speak or be heard.
A form of narrative is created when the discussions start
and ideas are shared. The question is usually posed by the tutorial facilitator
and someone around the room picks it up and shares their opinion. The idea may
start small and be one person’s own opinion or an opinion of the week’s
readings, but the idea grows, more information is added to it and becomes
greater and larger than when it first started. Similar to the thoughts of
Chatwin, who says, “By singing the world into existence, the [Australian] Ancestors
had been poets in the original sense of poiesis, meaning 'creation'” (1987, pp
14).
The “world” of tutorial group six has been spoken into
existence, our own songlines
have been created.
Kuttainen (2016) states that “even ‘fictional’ stories can
reflect ways the author sees, visualizes and experiences the real world.” In
Room 134, the way the world is seen, experienced and visualized is in an open, safe
place, where everyone has the right to speak and be heard.
References:
Chatwin, B. (1987). The Songlines:
Australians Aboriginies. Social life and customs. Jonathan Cape Ltd.
London, UK. Kuttainen, V. (August, 2016) BA1002 Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place: Stories of Place: Story Lines. Retrieved from https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_2422320_1&course_id=_76323_1&framesetWrapped=true
Tuan, Y.F. (1991). Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 61(4), 684-696
West, K. (2015, September 7). Naji, Songlines on Screen [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/702805059531/naji-songlines-on-screen
