Arts-Based Research and the Discourse of Danger

Abstract

This study examines an archive of peer-reviewed articles in which physical, financial, and psychological harm were used metaphorically as source material to elaborate on more literal concerns about arts-based research. We examined the ways metaphoric language shapes our notions of arts-based research by asking: What social conditions are enabled by the prevalence of danger discourse in relation to arts-based research? We explored common metaphorical themes including exploration, landscape, and warfare. Three categories of metaphor are discussed: danger as a cautioning agent or direct danger; reversals of danger or metaphors that frame danger as desirable; and danger that involves the loss of legitimacy. Metaphorical danger discourse serves a number of functions: reproducing cultural norms, promoting caution, encouraging risk taking, revealing networks of institutional power, and polarizing debate. This article ends with a discussion of the implications of the use of metaphorical danger discourse in the field of art education.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

An early draft of this article was presented at the Art Education Research Institute Symposium, Naperville, Illinois, 2017. Special thanks to Juan Carlos Castro for help in preparing this article and to peer reviewers for their valuable feedback.