Engaging with other people’s blogs has provided not only a wealth of resources and perspectives but a feeling of support and solidarity. It has given me a sense of a community which I would like to continue and build on in future. Gordon Blaine West talks about the value of ‘having a group to go to for advice, support and solidarity – a community that can affirm your own emotional response and reduce your sense of isolation’ (2021, p.12).
(I have collated the comments here but they have also been posted.)
Disability
MLC
Loved your identification with Barokka’s intersectional initiative as a performing music practioner!
Completely agreed about the emotional nature of the Christine Sun Kim video!
Your highlighting of her discussion of the ‘Possession’ of sound was sensitive and really drew my attention to the way that power dynamics between majority/minority groups can play out in our artistic practice. It helped clarify that these ideas are embedded and not separate to what we make.
Thank you so much for sharing the story of your Grandad. Such an inspiring story which in itself works against victim narratives around disabled people.
PM
The learning activity you created in response to this sounded incredibly valuable. Particularly, posing students questions around the purpose of Disability Awareness week. This allowed you to get down to debates that lie at the heart of understanding and actioning social justice work needed in this area.
Your experiences in the disability system were illuminating. It’s comforting to hear that knowing the range of services available helped allay anxiety. Sometimes students can be so reticent about seeking out diagnosis/assessment and this is a real reminder that it’s truly worthwhile.
ST
It was an effective move to seek out the work of Khairani Barokka to help you connect with the article. In doing this, you were able to engage with and share details which make clear the excitement of their work. This feels like an empowering act, as it makes clear the fact that Barokka is more than the pain she experiences, yet in a way that is not a denial of her pain. It’s like you’re looking for additions, looking for multiple stories, looking for complexity – which seems like a great approach.
YA
The sentence you selected from Christine Sun Kim was a valuable one. It seemed relevant as a deep approach to apply to all areas of Inclusive Pedagogy – The idea of not accepting other people’s interpretation or mediation but working out meaning through our own experience.
One of the most engaging sections was where you discuss your own context in Graphic Design. Bringing in the work of Dexter McLean built on what the resources had begun to do, situating these social justice issues in art, design – visuals and making.
SM
The section on Sign Language was particularly fascinating. You added an extra rich layer on top of the discussion regarding expanded forms of communication, begun with the Sun Kim film. The different forms of language and the importance of descriptive/identifying terms really made me think again of all I don’t know – in a positive way! I’m reminded of the psychologist Adam Grant saying: ‘If knowledge is power, then knowing what you don’t know is wisdom.’
Also, completely agree about Inclusivity needing to be a core part of course design rather than a ‘patch on’.
Thank you for sharing your family relationship and context regarding the complexity and intersectionality of disability. Narratives of lived experience seem especially valuable in light of the absence of representation elsewhere in media.
Faith
AH
I found it really useful to see faith expressed through visuals and artwork in your analysis of the James Elkins resource. Using examples like this, is a concrete way of showing students the prejudice associated with the word ‘faith’ and the way what it means is already present in what we do and make.
Your reflection on your own views and experience was really thoughtful and meaningful. I feel like remembering your own experiences are only your own is such a key part of being a reflective and inclusive practitioner.
Thank you for including the SoN article: Artists in Faith: Interview with Samia Malik and Alaa Kassim. Their experiences give an immediate and unique perspective on the issue.
VS
I find it so interesting when you talk about the way that students don’t make work about faith or religion. I’ve found that too, and I’ve often wondered whether it’s because don’t feel comfortable to do so. With that in mind, I think it’s positive that you want to start more conversations around the topic. Also, the FMP’s sound like they’re a great opportunity to engage with students’ worlds and history.
It’s such an important point you highlight from Kwame Anthony Appiah regarding the significance of religion as component of identity for people in other parts of the world. It draws attention to the problem of its absence from university in inclusion terms. I completely agree with you that we need to remember it when dealing with our international cohorts.
RJTW
I’m from Birmingham too!
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, they massively resonated with me. Particularly the feeling of not belonging there and not belonging here.
When I was a student myself, I felt so much like all aspects of my identity were out of place. My accent, my race, my clothes, my tastes, the food I liked – everything. Even though I met so many people that are still my friends today and in learning terms I had meaningful experiences.
Your reflection on your own position and conversations with newly arrived students in London was thoughtful and sensitive. I’m glad they get to spend time with you at such a crucial and anxious-making time! Establishing and negotiating belonging and community is what makes this time so charged and from everything you talk about, you understand that in a core way.
JH
Thank you for sharing your context and personal history within your family with religion. Knowing the subject in terms of real people, places and communities is so valuable and important. You can balance respect along with differences in belief, between you and other people. I think this is so much what UAL and Higher Education needs in its approach to faith.
Also, I too have had the ‘Where are you from?’ conversation too many times! Also, yes, combined with speeches about everyone they’ve ever known and liked who are black. I never have anything to say, often I just let them run out of steam or try to distract them from the flow! I’ve often wondered what it’s about, something like manifestation of nervousness, uneasiness and lack of familiarity at finding a person of colour in a traditionally white space, fetishisation and exoticism? Thanks again for sharing though, means a lot to me that somebody else knows how it feels to experience it in a teaching context specifically. It’s such a common experience in life but it can feel even more isolating in a professional setting where no one has experienced it but you.
Race
VS
The reflection on your own position and difference in experience with others is a strong, open and positive start to this post.
Your creation of a reference list that is more representative is valuable. I’ve found that it can be difficult sometimes to find diverse practitioners in your own specific discipline because injustice at large is reflected in documentation of art and design histories. I’ve found it can help to think about the core qualities of your subject in an expanded sense as it makes your net as wide as possible. Secondly, I’ve found that you have to be on constant lookout for leads and then go out of your way to pursue those leads. Lastly, I’ve found that specialist archives and institutions can be really helpful, for example, the Black Cultural Archives https://blackculturalarchives.org/.
All the plans, approaches and opportunities you talk about implementing sound really useful and necessary – Good luck!
SH
Your starting point about not just representing PoC for their identity but for their whole selves is so true and so important!
I also found your thinking around ‘unconscious’ bias valuable too. You say that it should not be there because as teachers we need to be in constant reflection on ourselves. This really illuminated for me, the first part of the reflection process before we analyse, or problem solve going forward, which is -to make ourselves conscious – to see what we’re doing, saying and feeling at all. It made me think that we can’t always do this ourselves and we need to engage with others so we can see our blindspots.
AH
I found the thinking and doing around language and communication really useful, as I too feel like I need to do more work to support the international cohort I teach. I will definitely be looking at the SoN link you on Discourse and am excited by your native language artefact idea.
One of the strongest themes, throughout all your reflection is the importance of multiple shifts in focus. Away from yourself as the centre of the classroom experience, as the centre of racist incidents and as the centre of a meaningful curriculum. This feels like a vital and deep lesson about Inclusivity – Thank you!
NR
Thank you! – Your post shows a close reading and understanding of these resources. The questions you raise regarding how to create positive change in the light of practical issues, like diminishing physical space and large cohorts, are so important. Social Justice is built on practical foundations.
When talking about the Retention and Attainment report, you raise the question of ‘why a particular background creates disadvantage in Art and Design’. However, maybe the key question is a flipped one – Why does our education system /Art and Design not support all students to succeed equally and achieve their potential? What do these students have that is not being seen and valued?