Imagination, Australian Cultural History and Outdoor Environmental Education: Bushwalking as Time Travel

Abstract

In this plateau I reflect on my pedagogical practice and explore the role of imagination as a teaching and learning strategy while undertaking bushwalks focused on Australian cultural history. I draw on the Deleuzo-Guattarian concept of lines of flight (a small act of deterritorialization) to consider how aspects of a place might be understood through imagination. I review aspects of the education research literature dedicated to the role of imagination within learning. I briefly explore how imagination has shaped the European settlement of Australia. And I share some of my pedagogical approaches to using imagination to read and understand the cultural history landscapes of central Victoria. The role of imagination in outdoor learning, I argue, is a neglected corner of research that warrants further consideration as a means to extend the learning of students in outdoor environmental education.