Haydeé Jiménez Mac Farland – Q-Hatch & the QBC Method: Revising Knowledge Production
In order to explore the potentials of knowledge creation processes and its connection to the production of culture and artifacts, this paper puts into question the discourse of knowledge production and its relation to power and language. In particular, the value of knowledge is juxtaposed with the discourse of doubt and criticality through the creation of the Q-Hatch project and QBC Method which focus on the act of proposing questions, not in the search for in- depth knowledge and answers, but to revise existing knowledge in order to form new and alternative possibilities to what is already known. The search for truth, the reliance on belief systems and the creation of answers and explanations has long been a force that has dominated social systems and processes throughout time. Since the beginning of philosophy, questions have been asked and answers have been searched for, ideas discussed and conclusions and definitions have been created. The production of knowledge was in the hands of those who held elite positions which allowed them to acquire the tools and positioning to develop, share and record thoughts. Today’s Information Society and Knowledge Economy allows for the development of new ways for people and communities to interact with information, giving way to multiple approaches to information and practices around the sharing and production of knowledge. Mobile technology, ever more present in the daily lives of people across the globe, can bring information to the palm of a hand. The meaning that is produced is dependent on the actual design of the interface and information, which in-turn, is affected by a complex web of social and environmental relations. If information and how it is perceived and processed by an individual or community is reliant on where it comes from, when it was created and how it was received (meaning by which medium), then information’s only constant is change. Why then do we seek fixed answers and single solutions in existing knowledge? How does discourse get created and transformed into mechanisms of power? What would happen if new forms of discourse aimed at deconstructing knowledge, instead of simply improving it? The Q-Hatch project proposes the application of a combination of techniques such as questorming, brainstorming and critique (the QBC Method) in an online setting where chosen issues at hand can be dissected, deconstructed and revised in order to reach alternative possibilities to existing knowledge. In other words, Q-Hatch emphasizes on the value of exploring the unknown – the waiting room for innovation and the future.
Elke Zobl, Elisabeth Klaus ( 2012): Cultural Production in Theory and Practice. In: p/art/icipate – Kultur aktiv gestalten # 01 , https://www.p-art-icipate.net/cultural-production-in-theory-and-practice/