Shades of Noir website,
I found it useful to look through the list of artifacts and consider how I might use these teaching students based on other experience. I could set reflection tasks based on specific artifacts or send links to students who are dealing with similar issues.
I enjoyed reading through Aron Baileys experiences, in the posts ‘Over before it begun’ and ‘Fake it until you make?’ Aron speaks openly about his struggles with mental health, specifically anxiety and depression, and his challenges to balance this alongside his uni work. I thought these were levelling texts which took me back to my experience of uni and feeling quite overwhelmed by the culture shift. As a tutor its common to loose sight of struggles which may be happening on the ground for students so these texts helped me to reconnect with this.
‘A pedagogy of social justice education: social identity, theory and intersectionality’, Hahn Tapper (2013).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6XDUGPoaFw
I had not heard of the term social justice education before so was interested to learn ‘it explicitly recognizes the disparities in societal opportunities, resources, and long-term outcomes among marginalized groups’. Paulo Freire’s approach to education and social justice, social identity theory, and intersectionality are key references here. Freire posits education creates the opportunity for freedom, both intellectual and physical, insisting this is the primary pedagogical goal of all educational activities. Freire stresses that teachers should design content with students instead of for them, this is central to his thinking that identity should not be assumed and that teachers and student have different identities so a curriculum designed exclusively by a teacher may not be relevant or relatable. I thought this was particularly provocative for when this was written in the 1970’s. On my course I make a point of asking for unit feedback from students as well as taking part in student staff meetings with student reps. I would like to do more by expanding on identity politics within the cohort and aim for students to teach one another about social identities and intergroup dynamics using critical thought. I have to be mindful that my white discomfort doesn’t get in the way of challenging conversation and be open to the needs of my wide ranging cohort.
Witness: unconscious bias. UCU – University and College Union.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6XDUGPoaFw.
The speaker, Josephine Kwhali, refuses to acknowledge that unconscious bias is unconscious on the grounds that universities have been holding unconscious bias training since the 80’s and should be conscious by now. Kwhali argues that gender bias (which benefits white middle class women) has been/is being addressed but the same focus has not been applied to race. I am a white working class woman who is working to uncover and own my unconscious bias. Unconscious biased training is a tick box exercise for institutions to perform action, it is for white people to feel like they have proof they are not racist, real change can only take place through real action. Since taking the inclusive practice unit I have started to see how I operate within a racist system and therefore am making racist decisions.
‘Retention and attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design’ Finnigan and Richards (2016).
‘it is important to build trust with the student group to ensure that the students will find their voice. The tutor’s role here is key. If conceiving and making work is a key role for students, and the work itself produced is emotional, then the relationships with tutors are intrinsic to its development. ‘
I am from a white working class background and was the first person in my family to go to university. On my BA and MA considered steps to leave or transfer from the course because I felt so out of place in my year group. For example I couldn’t understand how everyone afforded to go to the pub after class but no-one had a job, afterwhile such micro anxieties began to translate into ‘You don’t belong here’. After reflecting in this unit I can see I felt out of place because of the class divide, dyslexia and low economic status. Back then I knew I wanted to make art but without family connections in the artworld I couldn’t figure out how to make work for me. My second year tutor made a future feel possible, she listened and step by step helped me to find my way.
As a tutor I organise a number of social events and offsite visits as a way to build trust between myself and the cohort. I think it’s important to get to know students to support meaningful change. On reading this report I am reconsidering what these social events might be. For example not all students might be able to have a day off work to go on gallery visits or have the funds for a drink at the pub after, leading to more isolation. Funded in course lunches and dinners are more financially assessable but might feel overwhelming for SEN students. After reading this text I think we need to offer an range of different social events : lunches, gallery visits, coffee mornings that are funded by the programme so all students can participate.
Artschool has the unique ability to be an exciting and eye opening melting pot of different background, ideas and approaches to art making. The crit is central to building other forms of trust to cement a strong community for these exchanges to take place.
‘The ‘crit’ should be seen as a process wherein the community supports the individual to create their work.’
I have witnessed crits transform cohorts (as a participant and leader). This is an examples of trust which is based on the articulation of an individuals self expression supported through community learning. To build on and support and grow the confidence of the range of voices in the room it is vital the university employ more lecturers from diverse backgrounds to better reflect the changing demographic of the student cohort.
White Academia: does this affect you? this affect you?
AISHA RICHARDS, Peekaboo We See You: Whiteness. Shades Of Noir
In this article Aisha Richards interviewed an anonymous senor lecturer. Richards ask questions about the interviewees understanding of social justice and how varied their friendship and work circles were. As the interviewee spoke they became increasingly aware of how they were doing ‘all the right things’ but still had limited diversity featuring in their personal and work lives. I could relate to wanting to do more to help social justice but not feeling like it was my place to do this. I was particularly interested to read the interviewee say:
SA: Ok, well…I don’t feel comfortable talking about race. I don’t really know if I should be saying anything. I am a little worried that I may say something to offend someone. I know this maybe seems like a cop out but I suppose what can I really bring to the table.(?) I haven’t really experienced prejudice I don’t know what it’s like to be a black female like you and you will know more about this stuff than me.
This is a bit like looking in a mirror before I started this course. Reading this made me recognise that a lot of the feelings on inadequacy and white guilt I had were shared by other people, and its normal to feel that way. Personal accountability is the first step towards meaningful change.
Re. White Academia:
Tiffany Webster, Peekaboo We See You: Whiteness. Shades Of Noir
In the follow up to the original article Tiffany Webster points out how important accountability is for people in senior positions. Citing,
Accountability often begins by simply accepting that none of us are perfect, and are going to mess up. It doesn’t mean we’re terrible people. It means that the work of dismantling oppression is a continuous process. – Jones. M, (2015)
Webster questions what the interviewee will have done in 8 months time when they have had a chance to act on their realisations. Webster points out their repose to what social justice and diversity means to them sounds like a textbook answer,
‘The question I found myself asking, is whether or not the interviewee actually practiced these points and could give more than one example of how they actively practiced and lived this way. They couldn’t.’