I have responded to the following resources in more depth in their own individual blogposts, and will try my best here to summarise my reflection from each below.
Shades of Noir (SoN) – (Click here for full blogpost)
The stories, case studies and interviews with the SoN journals highlight the inequities both students and staff face within UK higher education and the impact that these inequities have on them. Reflecting on these experiences and being able to question what I would have done in that situation (as I have in this blogpost) allows me to address my own bias and understand how to best avoid/resolve similar experiences if and when they happen to me or a student/colleague.
A resource I was unaware of until now are the ‘Diversity Questions’ which aim to ‘develop a better understanding and build strategies and policies responding to specific contexts for impactful and purposeful changes towards social justice environments.’
These are questions I will be referring in my upcoming team planning meetings to understand how to address student attainment, inclusive assessment and decolonising the curriculum. How are we embedding social, political, racial and environmental issues and approaches within the units we teach? Do we discuss and teach them in a way that allows for intersectionality, diversity, flexibility, and room for evolution?
A Pedagogy of Social Justice Education: Social Identity, Theory and Intersectionality – Hahn Tapper (2013) – (Click here for full blogpost)
Hahn Tappers article although focused on one organisation based in the US, there are parallels to the UK education system. Both the US and UK have blatant systemic and institutional issues surrounding race, class, religion, gender and disability. Although the specific intergroups in this study may vary to those here in the UK or even within my own classroom, the key premise of taking students social identities and positionalities into consideration in education is relevant wherever you are, irrespective of geographic location.
So how am I already enacting a social justice pedagogy and where else can I do to embed this more with the curriculum? I touch on a unit I already teach within the main blogpost, however the theme of social justice also was prevalent in a workshop I recently took part in called ‘Roots and Routes: Climate, Cultural and Social justice in Fashion’ co developed by Gabrielle Miller and Adam Ramejkis of UAL. The workshop aims to raise awareness of biases and injustices within the fashion industry, and contribute to inclusive, responsible and accountable practices.
“If you think of culture always as a return to roots — R-O-O-T-S — you’re missing the point. I think of culture as routes — R-O-U-T-E-S — the various routes by which people travel, culture travels, culture moves, culture, develops, culture changes, cultures migrate, etc.” – Stuart Hall
How can I build a version of this workshop into my students curriculum that allows them to explore and share the different routes they each took to get to the same place, fully embracing an expansive notion of culture and identity.
Witness: Unconscious Bias – Josephine Kwhali – (Click here for full blogpost)
Watching the video Kwhali rightly states that there is a lot of work happening within HE institutions in the UK and globally surrounding topics of anti-racism, decolonising the curriculum and EDI. So, if these bias ‘are still unconscious then there is something really worrying about what it will take for the unconscious to become conscious.’
It’s a strategic and misplaced use of the prefix ‘un’; how can we be so conscious of something and then claim to be simultaneously unaware of it? These e-modules and perpetuation of the phrase ‘unconscious bias’ are away of addressing the issue without actually solving it. Universities ‘have sought a means of addressing whiteliness that avoids an acknowledgement of structural and systemic racism.’(Tate & Page, 2018)
3 years after I took the UAL ‘breaking bias’ training e-module, what can I do to now as an academic to tackle this issue?
I need to stare my bias straight in the face, confronting them. Questioning why do I have this bias and how do I address these thoughts? Not hide behind the phrase ‘unconscious bias’ or be complicit in maintaining structural and systemic racism – which as a cis white male would be easy, the current system is built for me to succeed.
Retention and attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design. – Finnigan and Richards (2016) – (Click here for full blogpost)
Something that now seems obvious but wasn’t at the forefront of my mind is the explicit impact of having POC role models in teaching staff to retain students. I have a Brazilian colleague who joined UAL at the same time as me, and she was contacted by a south American YR3 student who reached out just to say how happy she was to see south American representation within the teaching staff and how excited she was to work with her. A case study right there in front of me which shows that diversity within teaching staff makes an impact.
This also got me thinking about applications and how having more diversity among teaching staff will encourage more diverse students to apply. On our course home page we have the names of the teaching team and small blurbs about ourselves. Seeing representation within the teaching staff when looking to apply for a course is important, and could encourage some students to apply who might not have otherwise.
I am not in a position currently where I am involved in the process of on-boarding new staff, however what I can do is make sure that I support and amplify the voices of my POC colleagues who will inevitably face more inequities than me as a result of structural and institutional racism.
Shades of Noir: Terms of reference on Race – Teaching Within. – (Click here for full blogpost)
I chose to reflect on this article (pg 70-73) as it follows on nicely from some of the points I was exploring from Finnigan and Richards Retention and Attainment report around diversity within teaching staff.
I think this initiative by Aisha Richards is so important and have benefited from the programme first hand. I have been fortunate to work with a colleague who is currently part of the Teaching Within programme, who has been helping with design tutorials in the YR1 unit I have just led.
The Teaching Within programme highlights teaching talent and provides opportunities to those that may not otherwise get those opportunities due to systemic and institutional inequities. It’s important that I and my team continue to work closely with the Teaching Within programme and provide opportunities for as many academics as possible, but the question still remains how can we change the systemic racism that exists within ‘traditional’ employment practices?
See comments on other posts on this topic here, here and here.
This is a fantastic reflection James! I really like the fact that you are immediately considering how to implement what you’ve found in your research, for example when you state your intention to use the diversity model in planning meetings.
I found your point on the importance of taking into account students’ positionalities as well as your own, wherever the geographic location, really interesting. It made me think about how we can carry these assumptions based on our own positionality with us if we travel (the terrible trope of the British tourist springs to mind), and that anyonw who is travelling to the UK to study is therefore bringing their positionality with them. This is also true when considering the nuances of demographic and differences in backgrounds within UK residents as well.
I also found your comment on the strategic use of the prefix ‘un’ very insightful, it really seems to relate to the idea of covering oneself by declaring the intention was not there, if the conscious knowledge was not there, yet all guidance on harassment based on protected characteristics states that the end result is what is important not the intention.
Your statement on how useful you have found the teaching within initiative is a really hopeful note to end on, and I would like to be able to connect with Teaching Within myself.
Hi James,
Thank you for writing this reflection on race.
I related a lot to your comments on Josephine Khwali’s discussion on ‘unconscious bias’. I too feel that the ‘breaking bias’ modules we undertake as part of starting UAL are nowhere near enough in terms of mandatory EDI training. I know that in my roles as a Short Course Assistant and an HPL no further discourse has been offered or recommended, and I think this is an opportunity missed. The onus is most definitely on the individual at this stage to do the work, the institution, should, in my opinion, be supporting these developments for staff through paid opportunities to revise practices and biases.
I would be interested to hear more about where you have potentially identified biases in your teaching, and how these could be addressed in your sessions.
I thought your points regarding Poc role models were really pertinent and your cross-examinations of the UAL course page contents were really valuable in terms of beginning to critique the image UAL projects as to who has access to education, or what the face of UAL looks like.
I am thinking back to Freya’s infographic regarding ‘diversity’ in television. There is similar material in the 2022 EDI report: https://www.arts.ac.uk/?a=389423
Interesting to see that 69.3% of academic staff are still currently white at UAL, which seems very unbalanced.
I admire your openness about how there is work to do with regards to biases and finding ways to do the work, I feel like I am in a similar position and it is great to be able read a similar experience.
Best,
Joe
Hi James,
Thank you for writing this reflection on race.
I related a lot to your comments on Josephine Khwali’s discussion on ‘unconscious bias’. I too feel that the ‘breaking bias’ modules we undertake as part of starting UAL are nowhere near enough in terms of mandatory EDI training. I know that in my roles as a Short Course Assistant and an HPL no further discourse has been offered or recommended, and I think this is an opportunity missed. The onus is most definitely on the individual at this stage to do the work, the institution, should, in my opinion, be supporting these developments for staff through paid opportunities to revise practices and biases.
I would be interested to hear more about where you have potentially identified biases in your teaching, and how these could be addressed in your sessions.
I thought your points regarding Poc role models were really pertinent and your cross-examinations of the UAL course page contents were really valuable in terms of beginning to critique the image UAL projects as to who has access to education, or what the face of UAL looks like.
I am thinking back to Freya’s infographic regarding ‘diversity’ in television. There is similar material in the 2022 EDI report: https://www.arts.ac.uk/?a=389423
Interesting to see that 69.3% of academic staff are still currently white at UAL, which seems very unbalanced.
I admire your openness about how there is work to do with regards to biases and finding ways to do the work, I feel like I am in a similar position and it is great to be able read a similar experience.
Best,
Joe
Hi James,
I was really inspired by your deeply meaningful, critical and comprehensive posts, that tackled important considerations for us as educators to engage with issues of race in our teaching practice.
I have been involved in hiring some staff, and I am aware that UAL has a policy in place by there needs to be a BAME member of interview panels. However, I am mindful of the fact that so few people are in this list, and they are overwhelmed with requests, and are often left wondering whether they are invited just because of their ethnical minority or for a genuine interest in their expertise and experience. You are right in saying that sometimes we have little or no control over certain things, and I agree with your commitment to amplify the voices and practices of our POC colleagues, and we need to do much more to tackle structural and institutional racism.
I also loved your commitment to constantly interrogate our ‘unconscious bias’, beyond the training we undertook at the start of our work at UAL, and I also believe such training (or a better one) should also be made available to our students. For instance, Adam Ramejkis has devised an ‘Intercultural Communication’ training for students which I find very useful.