An Atlas of Pedagogical Material and a Pedagogical Museum for Educational Innovation in Higher Education

Gloria Jové

This article introduces a novel methodology to advance educational training by incorporating cartographic materials[1] from the Pedagogical Museum of Castelló's archive. The methodology promotes critical cartographies and diverse perspectives on sustainability in higher education by fostering a connection between the museum's archival materials, the local territory, and beyond.

Contextualization

The National Pedagogical Museum, established in 1882 within the Institución Libre de Enseñanza (ILE) framework, played a pivotal role in promoting educational innovation and teacher training. Inspired by Bartolomé Cossío's tour of Europe's pedagogical museums, it aimed to collect, store, and display objects for educational use while serving as a centre for study, training, and pedagogical innovation. The museum's vision was to connect the institution to the country's future education, science, and arts reform projects.[2]

However, due to political events in 1941, Spain's pedagogical museums were closed, and their revival only began in the 1980s. The Pedagogical Museum of Castelló (PMC), championed by the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences at Jaume I University, represents a reinvigorated vision of the original museum. The PMC fuses historical perspectives, artistic performativity, and critical reflection on reality to create a dynamic engine for innovation and pedagogical inquiry in its territory. Furthermore, by forging partnerships with various groups and professionals from diverse backgrounds, the PMC functions as a vibrant community project, strengthening the social structure of its territory around the educational heritage.

 A Journey through the "New Illustrated Atlas" Exhibition in Castelló 2018

The PMC's teaching materials include maps and cartographic elements, which formed the basis for an immersive exhibition designed to strengthen connections between educators, citizens, and the city's territory. The exhibition showcased various cartographic materials across four iconic locations in Castelló (Valencia, Spain): the Jaume I University campus, the Menador cultural space, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Contemporary Art Space.

In an unprecedented collaboration, artist Damià Vives (2018) was invited to chart the exhibition's route using a truly innovative approach. Recording his pen movements in a car as it travelled through the city's exhibition sites, Vives captured the essence of the exhibition's interconnectedness. This ground breaking approach deepened the understanding of the relationship between education, culture, and territory from a multidisciplinary perspective.

One notable example from the exhibition was the display of geological prototypes from the Pedagogical Museum of Castelló at the Museum of Fine Arts. These prototypes were thoughtfully juxtaposed with contemporary works such as Fragmentos Naturales (1999-2001) by Josep Biot Molins and Vanities Europe by Fernando Vicente (2004-2005), establishing meaningful connections between these diverse exhibits and inviting further exploration and reflection.

"Notes on the impossibility of the image of the world" Exhibition in Lleida, 2019

The "Notes on the Impossibility of the Image of the World" exhibition, held in Lleida's Sala Gòtica at the Institut d'Estudis Ilerdencs from September 20th to December 1st, 2019, showcased cartographic materials from the Pedagogical Museum of Castelló (MPdC) archive. This unique exhibition aimed to deepen our understanding of the relationship between education, culture, and territory from a multidisciplinary perspective while encouraging the reimagining of new cartographies.

To breathe new life into the cartographic materials, three contemporary artists – Roc Domingo, Maite Villafranca, and Walmor Correa – were invited to create artworks inspired by the MPdC's archival resources. Each artist brought their distinctive vision and interpretation to the materials, producing thought-provoking and imaginative pieces that encouraged viewers to reconsider traditional cartographic representations.

Roc Domingo presented "A Map as a Self-Portrait," Maite Villafranca showcased "A-les," and Walmor Correa exhibited "Who Knows Where?" For instance, Correa's artwork focused on the invisible aspects of the Alosa Becuda (Dupont's Lark) – an endangered bird species native to Alfés, a village near Lleida. By highlighting the bird's unique habitat and coexistence with a 20th-century aerodrome, Correa's piece drew attention to the delicate balance between economic development and ecological sustainability.

How these exhibitions provoke to draw new cartographies

In higher education, it is crucial to cultivate formative, reflective, and critical practices to prevent students and teachers from becoming passive recipients of knowledge.[3] In our initial training at the University of Lleida, we explored contemporary art, artistic practices, heritage, and territory to develop interdisciplinary projects within university education, extending beyond traditional classrooms.[4] Our research highlights how art and contemporary practices can inspire projects that foster educational practices attuned to their participants' social, cultural realities, and local environment.

With its expressive richness and capacity to raise multiple questions and propose diverse horizons, art plays a significant role in shaping receptive, critical, dialogic, imaginative, and reflective individuals.[5] As O'Sullivan suggests, art can be an enhancer of possible worlds and a strategy for developing rhizomatic thoughts.[6]

According to these authors, a map is not a static representation but a dynamic performance, experience, practice, and evolving space. We interact with maps in various ways - creating, using, translating, reading their intertexts, and reconstructing their meanings while they simultaneously reconfigure our sense of the space they depict. Likewise, our bodily experiences contribute to mapping, shaping, and reconfiguring our perception of the world. In this age of images, the world is decentralised, and many images and maps reveal the impossibility of a unified worldview.

Thus, the maps and cartographic materials displayed in exhibitions can catalyse dialogue and create new images, realities, and possibilities, expanding our understanding of maps and the inherent complexities of a unified world.

In the 2019-2020 academic year, undergraduate and master's students from the University of Lleida, the Lluís Castells School in Riudaura (Spain), and the Princep de Viana School in Lleida (Spain) collaborated to launch the exhibition "Notes on the Impossibility of the Image of the World." This marked the beginning of various projects that unfolded throughout the year.

During the exhibition, artist Javier Peñafiel was invited to help us perceive the invisible aspects of maps, challenging our understanding of cartography and the potential for new insights and interpretations.

In the context of the project "Notes on the Impossibility of the Image of the World," a dramatised lecture features a character bewildered by the world's realities. This elite fool, with a knowing smile and affinity for whistling, is invited to re-examine school maps and explore them with contemporary inquiries:

1.     Why do modern infographics deceive us as informative maps?

2.     Can the Earth's crust, seabed, and outer space accommodate maps for resource extraction or sustainable living?

3.     Does our species remain a geographer, or have we lost our sense of scale?

The adult-centric drama unfolds on a desk, with the character whistling between maps, inspired by the Mapuche people, who have twelve words for whistling but none for music.[7]

After visiting the exhibition, participants - including Javier Peñafiel, Soraya González, Carla Ibars, Carlos Martínez, Marta Pérez, Natàlia Pladevall, Bea Prior, and Laia Torrelles (undergraduate students and future educators) - were motivated to explore waste and sustainability further. They collected waste generated in their homes for a week and displayed it at their faculty, intending to create new cartography reflecting their findings.

This project demonstrates the potential of contemporary art, dramatised lectures, and interdisciplinary collaboration in inspiring deeper engagement with complex issues such as cartography, waste, and sustainability. By challenging traditional perspectives and exploring innovative approaches, participants gain valuable insights and develop new ways of understanding the world around them.

The students' project aimed to raise awareness of the waste we generate, its impact on our planet, and its consequences on our lives. They engaged in an epistolary dialogue with the Riudaura school, sharing the projects developed in both contexts. The school pupils, aware of the massive amounts of waste generated and its environmental effects, were inspired by the video "Plastic Islands" to search for new maps that revealed hidden aspects of the world. This exploration led to the creation of a new critical cartography.

Following this, Soraya González, Carla Ibars, Carlos Martínez, Marta Pérez, Natàlia Pladevall, Bea Prior, and Laia Torrelles (undergraduate students and future educators) initiated the ECOACTES Project.

The students wrote: “Ecoacts” was inspired by the exhibitions “Notes on the Impossibility of the Image of the World,” curated by Quim Bonastra and Glòria Jové at the Institut d’Estudis Ilerdencs (IEI); “The End of Innocence” by Mat Collishaw at the Fundación Sorigué; and “The experiment Year 2100” at CaixaForum. These, combined with the reading of “Las 3 Ecologías” by Guattari and the dialogue established with the scholars of Lluis Castell School of Riudaura, enabled us to execute a project focused on raising awareness about our actions’ impact on the planet’s sustainability.

We created a panel using newspaper printing paper rolls remnants, showcasing contradictions within five themes: public health, Low Emission Zone (ZBE), COP25, companies and banks, and the political sphere. Viewers were invited to participate by recording their perspectives and conceptions on the final blank scroll. The panel was installed in the university corridor, allowing other students to contribute and learn from the project.

Projects like these demonstrate the potential for developing critical cartographies and diverse perspectives related to sustainability. Furthermore, by sharing the project with the community, a new learning context is created, paving the way for future projects built on a rhizomatic and interconnected approach that views the construction of shared knowledge as an ongoing learning process.

In conclusion, exploring contemporary art, interdisciplinary collaboration, and creating critical cartographies offer valuable opportunities for students and educators to develop a deeper understanding of complex global issues. By engaging with art and contemporary practices, participants can challenge traditional perspectives and uncover innovative approaches to address pressing concerns such as cartography, waste, and sustainability.

The "Notes on the Impossibility of the Image of the World" project and subsequent ECOACTES initiative showcase the potential of dramatised lectures, exhibitions, and collaborative efforts to raise awareness about the waste we generate and its impact on our planet. These projects also inspire participants to seek new maps that reveal hidden aspects of the world, fostering the creation of critical cartographies and promoting diverse perspectives on sustainability.

Inviting the community to participate in these projects creates a new learning context, paving the way for future projects built on a rhizomatic and interconnected approach. This process acknowledges the construction of shared knowledge as an ongoing and collaborative learning experience, ultimately empowering students and educators to address our planet's challenges and contribute to a more sustainable future.

What can help us to go on?

He had bought a large map representing the sea,

Without the least vestige of land:

And the crew were much pleased when they found it to be

A map they could all understand.

"What's the good of Mercator's North Poles and Equators,

Tropics, Zones, and Meridian Lines?"

So the Bellman would cry: and the crew would reply

"They are merely conventional signs!

The Hunting of the Snark, Lewis Carroll (1876)

Notes

[1] This material was used in two exhibitions. "New Illustrated Atlas”; this exhibition took place in Castelló from April 13th to June 30th, 2018,curated by Glòria Jové and Quim Bonastra, professors at the University of Lleida; «Notes on the impossibility of the image of the world» this exhibition took place in Lleida from September 20th to  December, 2019 curated by Quim Bonastra and  Glòria Jové professors at the University of Lleida.

[2] Arnaldo, Javier. «El permanente esfuerzo de legitimación intelectual del museo,Museos.es: Revista  de la Subdirección General de Museos Estatales [Ministeri d’Educació, Cultura i Esport], núm. 9-10 (2013-2014), p. 70-85.

[3] Giroux, H.A. La guerra del neoliberalismo contra la educación superior. Madrid: Herder, 2019

[4] Jové, G. Maestras contemporáneas. Lleida: Publicaciones de la Universidad de Lleida. 2017; Jové, G, Traver, J, Bonastra, Q. “Un atles de material pedagògic i un museu pedagògic per a la innovació educativa.  L’experiència del museu pedagògic de Castelló i del projecte «El museu és una escola» de la UDL” Educació i Història: Revista d’Història de l’Educació, núm. 39 (gener-juny, 2022): 213-237

[5] Eisner, E. El arte y la creación de la mente: el papel de las artes visuales en la transformación de la conciencia. Barcelona: Editorial Paidós Ibérica, 2004.

[6] Deleuze, G & Guattari, F. Mil mesetas, capitalismo y esquizofrenia. Valencia: Pre-textos, 1995; O’Sullivan, S. Art encounters Deleuze and Guattari: Thought beyond representation. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006;

[7] Javier Peñafiel, 2019

[8]https://www.google.com/search?q=islas+de+plastico+mapa&rlz=1C1GCEA_enES948ES948&sxsrf=AJOqlzWoqdtu31Sj59DedY9CHkoKQIx0Ow:1678701323090&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjswa_g0dj9AhWfTKQEHRq_BqUQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=1536&bih=754&dpr=1.25#imgrc=PRqJ0mgh2joH0M(December, 2019)