This series of workshops invites us to explore the potential outcomes of a promiscuous research methodology for the curatorial, not only as a system of knowledge production but also as a generative framework through which theoretical, philosophical, artistic, and aesthetic modalities shape the research—not toward a complex unity, but as a site of diverse forms of becoming. It advocates for a methodology that embraces transdisciplinary inquiry and the integration of personal and heterogeneous perspectives within scholarly work. Thus, we seek to open a conversation around the following questions: Can cruising be a research method? What might promiscuous methodologies offer to the curatorial? How can these modes disrupt normative structures of knowledge production?

The intention is not to manufacture concrete answers to the initial questions supported by arguments that favor one author, theory, or project over another. To research is not solely to satisfy epistemological needs but also to desire something more, to move from need to desire, from a kind of automated response to obsession. Promiscuity is based on the impermanence and contingency of the encounter with the other, the moments of intensive involvement and moments of withdrawal as a way to experience the creation of knowledge.

Each workshop explores a specific methodology (lexicon) for curatorial investigation, while also functioning as a practical curatorial exercise. We will explore ideas and concepts such as “Citing, Site-ing & Annotating,” “Cruising the Library,” “Cruising the Archive,” “(Re)vision of the Body,” and “Cruising Curating.” These workshops are designed to help students build para-structures for their research. By the end of the course, students are expected to curate work-in-progress projects, where the processual and serendipitous overlap with speculative and open-ended forms of production. 

• Active participation in the workshops and contribution to the group discussions
• End-of-term curatorial work-in-progress project, accompanied by up to two pages of written text (details will be discussed in class)

Course Language: English

A weekly reading list—including essential and further readings—will be provided upon registration.

No previous knowledge or practical experience is required.

The workshops are primarily aimed at third-semester MA Expanded Museum Studies students.