- Positionality Statement
This seemed one of the most central and foundational element of the reflexive approach needed in this unit.
I am a mixed race, half Ugandan, half irish, cis gendered woman who grew up in Birmingham. I am heterosexual, married and have lived in London for over a decade. I am a Lecturer in Illustration and creative practitioner who has been to university.
As such, I am familiar with the values and experiences of different generations of immigration and communities formed by people who have come from elsewhere. I have experience of being a person of colour in both diverse and overwhelmingly white environments.
As I have one black and one white parent. I am aware of the challenges and issues of being black through experience whilst also not wanting to write off the ability for white people to be meaningful allies and friends. The complexity of situations and structures has always been clear to me. Sometimes people and structures are racist, acting and embodying hate. However, sometimes language, actions, behaviours and situations are racist and unequal while people are not. It is necessary to confront and challenge without making assumptions.
Due to my profession and education, I am now middle class. However, I was raised primarily by my mother who is a sales assistant and who had to leave education early. This experience has enabled me to see the ways in which financial and family backgrounds can impact educational and professional experience. I have benefited from her sacrifices and the support of individuals, programmes and initiatives working pro-actively for equality.
I do not have experience of being non-binary or homosexual nor of what it means to live with a disability. This has meant and continues to mean that I need to educate and train myself regarding relevant issues and debates. While also listening, calling and making space for people with these perspectives in all learning spaces I create, inhabit and facilitate.
- ‘Re-conceptualise induction into a series of participatory encounters.’
‘Meta-cultural sensitivity’ – understanding of difference
Drew (2008)
These seemed like crucial values to embed in course, curriculum and all teaching. They feel like threshold concepts, ideas that can transform everything.
Mind the gap : expectations, ambiguity and pedagogy within art and design higher education
(2008)
Vaughan, Suzi and Austerlitz, Noam and Blythman, Margo and Grove-White, Annie and Jones, Barbara Anne and Jones, Carol An and Morgan, Sally and Orr, Susan and Shreeve, Alison.
In: Drew, Linda, (ed) The Student Experience in Art and Design Higher Education: Drivers for Change. Jill Rogers Associates Limited, Cambridge, pp. 125-148.
- Cultural Capital
This is something I have sensed before as a student but never had the language to describe. Can’t wait to think about how to address this more as a teacher.
Burke and McManus (2009)
Certain types of art can only be decoded and appreciated by those who have been taught how to decode
Bourdieu – meritocracy is a lie