How do knowledge and power shape human experience and reality? What is the universal “truth”? Because reality is explained through language and representation, we can never know whether our  experience coincides with an objective reality. The “Word Game” focuses on deconstructing dominant narratives and questioning fixed identities. Using  8 different letters, we created 4 four-letter words that form the main concepts of the post-structuralist  approach. Each person had 2 letters, one pinned to their front and one to their back. This exercise shows that discourse is not a set reality, but rather an ever-changing fantasy. Using these 8 letters, we can make different words depicting a different reality, some “real” already existing in language, and some “fake”,  or rather not yet created.

Language is created and contested through discourse, as well as the relationship between knowledge, power, and social control. These complex networks create power relationships, which we are showing in  the game. To see the power of relationship through the construction and exertion of knowledge, and normalizing this, makes everyone become a vehicle for the exercise (Foucault, 1982). The lack of reflection through the game illustrates the productive capacity that shapes how people, identities, and actions are understood. A set of practices, rules, and systems that determine what can be thought about by narratives, texts, and institutions (Foucault, 1982). This experience is not true or false, but it is a fiction, something that is constructed, which exists after it has been made.

Access and download this resource: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SNupeoQ8dF9DNkZBDRUxlC3S5JVA7mR9?usp=drive_link 

References:

- Foucault, M. (1982). The Subject and Power. Critical Inquiry, 8(4), 777–795. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1343197 

Resource designers: Kunle, Liv, Nopparut & Minke

How can a single theory or visual capture the impossibility of meaning?Many different visual representations came up, while also all failed to really capture post-structuralism. Shortly after, the realization became clear, this is due to our own different perspectives on post-structuralism and our own interpretation of the concept. So, we concluded that there is not one visual that can represent post-structuralism. Which is precisely the point. What follows is not a final visual representation, but instead a collection of every image that came up before we realized that all ideas are valid. All ideas are representations of both the discourse within each of us individually, but also that of us as a group. So, we allowed all the ideas to be part of the piece, all valid, all holding different aspects of post-structuralism.  

We started with optical illusions, showing how perception can never be fully trustworthy, and how different views of the same object result in unstable meaning. The mirror picture reflects only itself, an image of an image, simulacra. The tulip, drawn from history, another depiction of simulacra and how an object shifts its original meaning throughout time. A theory of different colours: the idea that I would see my green as your orange but because we gave meaning only to the word, not the object, do we define this the same. The glass with a spoon distorts what it contains, bending truth through refraction. Finally, a mirrored picture of which you cannot say if it’s upside down or not. 

Together, these fragments form a constellation of attempts. Each piece gestures toward post-structuralism and enacts it based on their own interpretation. The work becomes its own argument: a visual essay on the impossibility of final meaning.

Access and download this resource:

Resource designers: Komang, Wiske and Luuk

We focus on the concept of simulacra, not only in the tourism context but also in our daily lives. As Baudrillard writes, “The simulacrum is never what hides the truth—it is truth that hides the fact that there is none” (Baudrillard, 1983). This perspective could be emphasized with the expansion of technology in the modern era, particularly along with the usage of artificial intelligence (AI).

AI is immersed in every moment of our lives. Whenever we ask any genre of question, it answers based on “general” perspectives and knowledge. On the other hand, could the words it generates be truth? As Nosta (2025) notes, “these AIs have devoured billions of human words—books, posts, rants—and mastered our linguistic patterns that "copy" our empathy, quirks, and sass.” Instead of interaction with the “real” knowledge, we just borrow someone’s desires, trends, outrages to imitate anything in this world. Let’s imagine the situation: When you ask AI about yourself, it will answer with a variety of information about you drawn from the Internet. However, it never knows who you really are, how different you are from others, or your personality. To compensate for its ignorance, it attempts to strengthen its statement with an overwhelming quantity of general information. 

This context could also apply to tourism. If we ask AI about tourism destinations, it is sure to provide a huge amount of information. However, it never reflects the passion of residents, the sense of connection we feel to our heritages, and any other intangible hidden context behind the visible experience. AI definitely makes our way of life more efficient, but it is not certain if it enriches our lives. 

References: 

• Baudrillard, J. (1981). Simulacra and Simulation. The University of Michigan Press. 

• Nosta, J. (2025). Imitation Without Desire: AI and the Digital Simulacra. Artificial Intelligence, Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-digital-self/202503/imitation-without-desire-ai-and-the-digital-simulacra 

Resource designers: Magor Szász-Bencsik, Nadia de Bell, Yusuke Mizusawa, Willemijn Smits

Post-structuralism is a theoretical perspective that challenges the idea of current fixed systems and frameworks, both politically and socially. It argues that meanings are always socially constructed through things such as languages, age and power relations. This is why we picked the use of charades as a method to display post-structuralism, as it allows us to present and effectively highlight the idea of there being no single “correct” representation of anything. Charades provides a way to highlight the post-structuralist idea of there being no single “correct idea” as the movements can be interpreted in a multitude of ways. For example, a simple action such as filming in public could be understood in a multitude of ways as some people might suggest it's someone posting for their social media whereas others might say they are simply taking photos and videos of their trip. 

This shows how the context given to us through things like age, influence and power can completely shape our perspectives on everything we believe in. Furthermore, the mistakes and misunderstandings of the guessing highlight how language and the actions are contested and open-ended. This highlights how charades can embody post-structuralism’s central critique of stability across systems and discourse.

Resource designers: Harvin Chaggar, Jiayi Dong, Nadine Waalkens, Suze Westra

“How a wolf and a red hood (are) change(d by) everything” is an incomplete account of various incarnations of the story of Little Red Riding Hood throughout time and is co-constructed by us as researchers. According to Poststructuralism, our understanding of reality is shaped through the knowledge and power constructed through discourse. Much like Little Red Riding Hood, it is a fiction (Rasiński, 2011).

The evolution of 'Little Red Riding Hood' is an example of how simulacra work (Baudrillard 1994). A simulacrum is an object’s representation and, according to Baudrillard, simulacra do not reflect the “real”, but rather the hyperreal, or no reality at all. They exert power through reshaping our understandings and meanings of daily life, even if that meaning is meaningless (Baudrillard, 1994).

In 'Little Red Riding Hood', these simulacra exist across four stages:

1. The first written telling was by Charles Perrault in 1697 and reflects a mediated reality of  oral stories stemming from Medieval times (Perrault, 2002). Despite that, it takes on a resemblance that’s publicly considered authentic.

2. Later retellings, for example from the Brothers Grimm in 1812, mask and no longer can be considered faithful versions of the 'original'. Here, Little Red Riding Hood doesn’t die but is saved by the woodcutter who kills the wolf. The message may be similar but is distorted.

3. Board games, mascot figures: these symbols don’t have an original reality, but we still identify Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf in them. We recognize the performative aspect within them, such as mascot figures at the Efteling pantomiming walking through the “woods”.

4. New stories of Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf falling in love, sexualized costumes and depictions share little resemblance to the earlier stories, and are only paradigmatically recognizable. In recent times, full simulacra has thus occurred.

Access and download this resource: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1VcAm16yExEt_aP3U2h6trsLZcCbZpD5dE2OvypV_fFc/edit?usp=drive_link 

References:

• Baudrillard, J. (1994). Simulacra and Simulation (S.F. Glaser, Trans.). University of Michigan.

• Perrault, C. (2002)."Little Red Riding Hood." In: M. Hallett and B. Karasek( eds.), Folk and Fairy Tales. 3rd Edition. Toronto: Broadview Press, pp. 6-8.

• Rasiński, L. (2011). The idea of discourse in poststructuralism: Derrida, Lacan and Foucault. Teraźniejszość– Człowiek– Edukacja, 1: A Quarterly of Social and Educational Ideas, 7-22.

Resource designers: Elke, Izzy & Gia

This piece contains four different perspectives on climate change: Indigenous/Western (CBC News: The National, 2022), Global South residents (DW Planet A, 2021), Globl North activists (Extinction Rebellion (XR) UK, 2020) and climate change deniers (TalkTV, 2019). Each audio clip in the piece lasts approximately 30 seconds.

Within the poststructuralist approach, the emphasis lies on the fluidity of knowledge and the absence of universal truths. Poststructuralists argue that the nature of reality can never be known objectively. Human perception is mediated through diverse discourses, leading to conflicting views on what people consider to be true or to exist. Poststructuralists see power and knowledge as being  intertwined.

The ‘Climate Change in a Flux: Competing Discourses’ piece explores the idea of the absence of any universal truth. Where one commentator fully acknowledges climate change, another rejects the claim that climate change is caused by human acts. Poststructuralists argue that this incongruence is a result of power. Moreover, the contextual nuances in discursive framings, e.g. between the Global North and Global South, are demonstrated. For example, a representative from the Global North-based Extinction Rebellion group argues for the need to act now before it is too late, calling for a revolution,  while, in anthoher commentary, a person from the Middle East argues that the Global South has to deal with the consequences of climate change caused by countries of the Global North.

Access and download this resource:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q7Elxs90bjsU3XpqOqDBJknUh_OoS7wE/view?usp=drive_link  

Resource designers: Daniëlle Schuijt, Tim ten Brinke, Reihane Sadeghazde & Ayla Brouwers

This diagram attempts to make the complex approach of poststructuralism simpler and more understandable by using “nature” as a relatable example to make abstract concepts more tangible. The diagram is divided into three parts:

1. Nature as a construct: The first part of the diagram aims to explain how we understand nature a construct shaped by language and culture. This shows very well the ontology of poststructuralism. There is no single true “nature” or reality but, rather, all we know is our constructed ideas of reality, in which no construction is better than the other.

2. Knowledge and power: In the work of Foucault (1926-1984), it is argued that knowledge and power support each other. The wolf example illustrates this: scientific knowledge about the wolf's ecological importance supports the political power to protect it. At the same time, power determines who can create and legitimize knowledge. It should, however, be noted that power is not just top-down for Foucault. In the example of the wolf, local communities and activists also contribute to shaping the discourse on conservation.

3. The discourse of nature: Understanding thie concept of disourse is  crucial to understanding poststructuralism. A discourse refers to the way in which language, practices, and knowledge shape how we see and understand the world. Poststructuralism focuses on understanding and analysing how people have represented and interpreted the world, rather than determining whether those representations are accurate or not. This shows the epistemology and methodology of poststructuralism.

Access and download this resource:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zqpRD1WJUQkZLROeAw0bAhI4U7MqW_zf/view?usp=drive_link 

Resource designers: Age, Pinelopi & Viva