Educational philosophies rooted in critical pedagogy assert that social justice, democracy, and equity are inalienable from teaching and learning. However, studies on higher education in conflict-affected contexts, for the most part, stop at the doors of the classroom or lecture hall. This paper asks how teaching practices - particularly arts-based, student-centred pedagogy - can develop skills needed for peacebuilding and equity in the context of conflict-affected higher education. Moreover, it asserts that such methods can themselves be used to support in-depth, qualitative education research. Reporting on fieldwork conducted at Koya University in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, I present a case study of using Pre-Texts, an arts-based pedagogical protocol, as a method for interrogating higher education teaching practices and as an intervention which provides culturally adaptable methods rooted in a critical pedagogy framework. This fieldwork successfully implemented Pre-Texts as an action-research method and demonstrates a promising methodological innovation for cross-cultural teaching and learning research. Initial findings of this work suggest that arts-based pedagogies can create a shift towards student-centred, equitable, trauma-informed pedagogy while developing competencies critical for peacebuilding.