Inaugural Professorial Lecture Series 2024 -Professor Amanda Taylor-Beswick

Born into the Troublesome, Living in the Liminal:
Navigating Boundaries to Transform Realities

The world that we enter will never be the one that we depart, but between our arriving and our leaving is the space of being and of becoming. A toing and a froing that can, and in lots of ways, should, be experienced as troublesome. An entering and exiting of liminal spaces, a complex process often collapsed into terms such as self-actualisation, individuation, or maturation. What we know about being and becoming is that it requires the necessary conditions in which to thrive, or for some, in somewhat less fortunate circumstances, the necessary conditions in which to survive.

In this inaugural lecture, Professor Amanda Taylor Beswick invites you to accompany her on a journey through the pivotal experiences that have supported her actualisation, those that have shaped the where, why’s and how’s of her work and approaches.

Beginning with the context, which is reflected in the prologue of Amanda's doctoral thesis, where she outlines how “Spending the formative years of my life in the ‘Troubled Northern Ireland’ (Kapur and Campbell, 2005), a socialising experience peppered with conflict, left her with a less than normative view of difference. Difference, in that context, was used divisively, leading to a form of ‘othering’ (McManus, 2017, p.412) that posed a risk to anyone brave enough to present a challenge. Conformity prevailed over choice and choice came in two forms. It was Amanda's inability to choose, her refusal to conform and her search for coequality that eventually led to a career in social work.”

Even though Amanda spent early life, with a friend from ‘across the divide’, conjuring up ways to stop ‘The Troubles’ her professional trajectory began with her ‘falling into’ or so she once thought, community mental health work, and thereafter progressing through roles as a social work practitioner, educator, academic, researcher, and now, as a Professor. Each transition has brought challenges, opportunities, and new curiosities, and has accumulated into her work today, where she examines various digital intersections. All of which has, and continues to enrich her thinking, in particular about the intricate interplay between context, individuals, rights, and opportunities.

Through interdisciplinary collaboration and practical engagement, Amanda continues to bear witness to the potentialities and perils of the ‘new’ context, including the often uncritical implementation of technology into everyday life, education, and professional practices. Thus, amidst this digital evolution, Amanda remains steadfast in her commitment to fostering relational and transformative education and professional practices. Experiences that pay attention to the ‘intra’ and the ‘inter’ personal, and to the intended and unintended consequences of new technologies by the various ‘actors’ and potential ‘actants’ operating within this space.

Amanda will also share insights gleaned from her research and empirical observations, illuminating the inescapable need to accept and embrace technology into our lives, education, and professional practices, while also acknowledging the inherent conflicts, and the threat they pose to hard won rights. It remains Amanda's view, that for our collective future, it is imperative that we equip students with the critical thinking skills necessary to thriving and surviving in this new iteration of our world, while also supporting them to maintain a deep sense of social responsibility, for the self, and for every single other. Because ‘inaction, as well as action is a choice. If we choose to do nothing, and we decided to default to our traditional ways and discard the promise of technological change for fear, say, of rocking the boat, then this is a decision for which the later generations can hold us responsible’ (Susskind and Susskind, 2015: 307).

Amanda warmly welcomes your active engagement and spirited discourse, to reflect on and traverse the intersecting realms of social sciences, technology, and education, and our collective responsibilities going forward.

About Professor Amanda Taylor-Beswick

Professor Amanda Taylor-Beswick is a digital social scientist whose research interests and work spans a range of socio-technological intersections. A qualified social worker by background, with extensive practice experience in psychiatric social work and social work with d/Deaf children and their families. Through these practice experiences, Amanda developed a curiosity about how advancements in technologies could and should be harnessed for social good. Progressing into academia, this became focused on the contemporisation and real-world relevancy of higher education, with a particular emphasis on professional disciplines and how relational curriculum design, content, delivery, and assessment supports graduate preparedness for an increasingly digitally saturated world. As a multi award-winning and internationally published academic recognised for leading critical and ethical discourse regarding social work and digitalisation, Amanda is a leader in the development of pedagogic approaches that support the progression of digital knowledge and literacies for academics, students, and practitioners.

Host or Publisher Research & KE University of Cumbria