Liminal spaces for citizenship and human rights in higher education

This paper explores student experiences of liminality in an action research project in citizenship and human rights education at a UK university. It draws on shared practices of citizenship and human rights education of using liminal spaces to free up students and academics from power structures to explore issues of injustice. These were interlocking liminal practices, spaces and times in the classroom, the university and the community that were at the margins of society and in between power structures. An innovative research methodology combining participatory theatre with experiential learning exposed students to questions of social injustice. The data shows how experiences within the spaces, and moving between them, enabled students to be critically reflective and reflexive of their citizenship and their perceptions of others as rights-holders. These findings challenge current approaches to global citizenship education and contribute to the emerging field of human rights education at higher education.