The Institutionalisation of Graffiti in Higher Education Institutions: Saudi Innovation

ABSTRACTThis article is informed by the Fun Theory, a theory that calls for the institutionalisation of fun in social settings. It highlights how the academic and non-academic literature shows some individuals to find the practice of graffiti to be fun. It then attempts to build an empirical framework for the idea of institutionalising this fun practice in the social settings of the higher education sector. It addresses the research question: To what extent does the institutionalisation of graffiti in the societal culture of higher education institutions enhance public expression among members through their reflection on daily social and academic life? This question was addressed by a semester-long experiment, wherein graffiti was incorporated into the day-to-day social activity of a Saudi public university, by officially allocating certain walls that members could legally write upon and, further, draw whatever they wanted. The experiment appeared to be fruitful in the sense that the allocated walls were full of writings and drawings, enabling and promoting among members a sense of public articulation based on consideration of their own daily academic and social experience. Thus, it could be suggested that the Fun Theory in general and the institutionalisation of graffiti in particular could hold value for organisations in general and for higher education institutions in particular.Key Words: innovation, higher education, graffiti, Saudi, fun theoryIntroductionThis paper is liberal with the word 'graffiti,' defining it as all the various types of writing and drawing placed on any public surface. The institutionalisation of graffiti that this article proposes involves the integration of this practice into the 'built environment' (Roof and Oleru, 2008) of higher education institutions. The term 'built environment' here refers to 'the human-made space in which people live, work and recreate on a day-to-day basis' (Roof and Oleru, 2008). The institutionalisation of graffiti in a higher education institution means the legal assignment of certain walls in the institution on which passers-by (be they students, support staff, staff or even guests) can write or draw whatever they want.This article is informed by the field of social behaviour, in particular by 'the Fun Theory' (Volkswagen, 2009). This theory is a recent innovation that calls for the institutionalisation of fun in social settings. It highlights how both academic and non-academic literature show some individuals to find the practice of graffiti to be fun (Reisner and Reisner, 1971; Macdonald, 2001; Ganz, 2004; Lewisohn, 2008; Castleman, 1982; Hager, 1984). It subsequently attempts to build an empirical framework for the idea of institutionalising this entertaining practice in the social settings of the higher education sector. It addresses the research question: To what extent does the institutionalisation of graffiti in the societal culture of higher education institutions enhance public expression among members through their reflection on daily social and academic life? This question was answered through a semester-long experiment. In this experiment, graffiti was incorporated into the day-to-day social activity of a Saudi public university, by officially allocating certain walls on which members could legally write and draw whatever they wanted.The article first discusses the rationale for conducting the research, followed by a literature review. It moves on to the methodology and data analysis, then going on to interpret and discuss the findings. The article closes with a number of concluding remarks and recommendations. What should be made clear at the beginning of this article is that this study is not essentially about the art of graffiti per se. Rather, it is about organisations, particularly how graffiti can be exploited for the benefit of organisations. Thus, throughout this article, the focus is placed not on the artistic aspect of graffiti but rather on the organisational component of graffiti. …

Récupéré en direct depuis OpenAlex et désinversé. Les résumés ne sont pas conservés dans cette base de données : les index inversés représentent 8,6 Go des 9,3 Go de texte de la base, et le serveur dispose de 13 Go libres.