Poetic Inquiry Between Arts and Social Sciences: An Interdisciplinary Research and Pedagogical Tool
Sabiha Nil KurtulanWith the increased need for multiple methods in social sciences that allow a deeper understanding of interdisciplinarity and cross-cultural interactions in research and pedagogic contexts, scholars have started using arts-based methodologies worldwide. Among these, poetic inquiry is one used within art-based research studies (ABR) and is also one of the most convenient and expressive forms. This study aims to offer an extensive introduction to the field of poetic inquiry so as to introduce the concept and its areas of application by drawing upon my own studies as examples for the application of poetic inquiry as a pedagogic research methodology. Within this framework, the study will underline the collaboration between poetic inquiry and anthropology and expand on how ethnographic poetry can be inspirational alongside the poetry of other poets such as ethnographic poets in order to gain insight and deeper meaning in their fields of research. This is the means through which an artistic way of knowing can be acknowledged and honored in the field of social studies. The use of ABR and poetic inquiry can radically change the pedagogy in multidisciplinary classrooms, and this is observable in the ethnic poetry of anthropologists and other social science researchers as well as the poetry of literary scholars.