The accidental potential of diffractive thinking technologies: Mapping and colouring social differentiation in/of schooling as an example

This paper presents our joint work with using and developing Donna Haraways concept of thinking technologies for putting research into play in cooperation with practitioners within the field of education. First we shortly present the conceptualization of thinking technologies and why we have found this conceptualization useful in our work and cooperation with practitioners. Secondly we present the development of the ‘colour map’ as a specific example of a thinking technology and introduce what we shall coin as the accidental potential of working with research informed thinking technologies on the particular question of social differentiation and schooling. Finally and we shall use this case as a basis for reflecting upon what it means to take up what has been coined by Braidotti as a pragmatic positioning and to enact affirmative critiques.