Zine-Making as a Pedagogical Tool for Transformative Learning in Social Work Education

Abstract

As a collaborative endeavor between teacher and student, we reflect on the process of creating and sharing social justice oriented zines in our classroom. Zines can be used as a pedagogical tool for awareness, education, empowerment and transformation. Created in the form of self-published work of original and/or appropriated texts and images, zines are usually presented in small booklet format in a variety of ways, from computer-printed text to comics to handwritten text. When shared, they represent a subversive form of media to deconstruct stereotypes and hegemonic representations perpetuated by mainstream media. Through our classroom project, we found that zines provided an opportunity for creative expression, connection and collaboration. As an experiential technique, they can serve to raise student self-awareness and allow for a broader understanding of power hierarchies. As a direct action tool they can be useful for promoting active class participation in the movement for social justice. We advocate for integrating arts-based projects in social work education in order to promote more embodied ways of learning and to facilitate personal and societal transformation.

Intersecting Interests: Qualitative Research Synthesis on Art in the Social Work Classroom

“…In the final selected article, Desyllas and Sinclair (2014) report on the outcome of a zinemaking assignment in a graduate social work class of 35 students. As both teachers and learners, the authors note the benefits of incorporating art-based projects into the classroom.…”

“…Following these guidelines allowed us to further narrow down the list of articles to three that contained original excerpts and thick description and that moved beyond anecdotal evidence to empirical qualitative research (Beatty et al, 2008;Desyllas & Sinclair, 2014;McPherson & Mazza, 2014). We then conducted analysis to code and derive the main themes from the articles.…”

“…340). To arrive at a place of being unconstrained by society's dominant framework required an active role on the part of the educator to acknowledge and resist traditional ways of teaching, such as how to assign value to students' work, as noted by Desyllas & Sinclair (2014):…”

Reporting or Reconstructing? The Zine as a Medium for Reflecting on Research Experiences

“…McCue (2007) demonstrated through her own experience, the positive impact that community-based art has on engaging students. Desyllas and Sinclair (2014) provided a more focused discussion on reflection and creativity; they write, "For many students, the zine assignment was a space to have a visual voice without inhibitions and an opportunity for creative self-disclosure. Zine-making allowed greater freedom of expression through art" (p. 310).…”

“…McCue (2007) and Desyllas and Sinclair (2014) focused on the creative aspect of zines that encourages depth in the students' reflections. McCue (2007) Reflection papers are in some sense, constraining, setting parameters for length, structure, and topic.…”