Exploring ‘Retention and attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design’, I was surprised to read that while UAL seems to retain students at subject discipline average (94%), the number of students gaining lower or no award is comparatively higher (6%); with a stark yet an unfortunately unsurprising difference between white students and Black student groups (Finnigan and Richards, 2016, p.4). When I began my academic work, I had always imagined that the creativity embedded within Art and Design studies would provide more opportunities for equity, equality and inclusion than other disciplines, and so I am now keen to investigate some of these discrepancies and possible interventions through my own practice.
On white fragility, Robin DiAngelo speaks of a socialisation that shapes our opinions about race “by swimming in the water of our culture” (DiAngelo, 2018, p.101). When we talk about personal identities and narratives, we must acknowledge the communities of which we are part, including our community perspectives. These will contain prejudices, relate to our own points of views and practices; however we cannot use this as an excuse for inaction. I very much acknowledge that even though I open opportunities for students to participate fully as themselves through their creative work and enable them to freely express their identities in the classroom, there remains a power imbalance between me, as a white man, making decisions on how learning takes place and how learning materials are designed, for example. DiAngelo (2018) writes that even though individual white people may be against racism, they can, and will, still benefit from the distribution of resources controlled by ‘their group’, and I feel there is a parallel to be drawn here between this larger social construct and the microcosm of the classroom.
Aaron J. Hahn Tapper’s writing on Social Justice Education, the link to conflict resolution and ‘intergroup education’, is fascinating to me (Hahn Tapper, 2013, p. 422). Much of my work in the classroom positions me as a sort of facilitator to engage students in creative thinking and practice and this can create incredibly positive learning experiences. As the article highlights, this type of work requires an openness and understanding of different identities, and possibly an understanding of (pre-existing) power dynamics and inequalities, from everyone present, me and my students. I hope that the identity exercise I have designed as part of my Artefact will make a positive contribution towards this work.
Aisha Richards (2023) offers through Shades of Noir a range of practical tools, such as the virtual learning netiquette, which I want to explore integrating into my future lectures. I think the website offers a fantastic resource of journals, which could offer students a brilliant insight into this area of work, highlight to them a range of personal narratives to help them reflect on their own identities and creative practices, and support their research. I frequently ask students to consider their own geopolitical, sociological and identity-based perspectives, how these impact their creative work and the stories they tell, and these resources could support effectively such activities.
See my comments on other posts on this topic
- Susana Guinau Molina’s blog
- Sarah Leontovitsch’s blog
- Sarah Masters’ blog
- Simon Bank’s blog
- Tonicha Child’s blog
Further notes and reflections
The university retains exclusionary practices that align to an old-fashioned idea of Art & Design studies being a privilege to enter in the first place. Art and Design being such a huge field, however, I wonder if there are recognisable differences between art practices and if there are areas of the university that are more successful than others in including everyone.
In my own teaching practice, there are conversations to be had with students about their own identities, particularly in position to the institution and me as their tutor; giving them sufficient time to reflect and respond. Identity exercises, like the one embedded within my Artefact, could foster this.
I thought Josephine Kwhali comment on unconscious bias aligned with Shirley Anne Tate’s lecture on hiding behind unconscious bias, calling on us to stop using the unconscious as an excuse for bias and racism. Kwhali very much addresses staff, but I wonder how we address this with students in a meaningful way.
In my student experience strand of work, I would love to table some of the diversity questions highlighted on the Shades of Noir website. I frequently work with colleagues on experience and curriculum design and these questions are helpful prompts to unpick some of the practices, processes and designs currently in place across UAL online education.
Bibliography
DiAngelo, R. (2018) ‘White Fragility’, Peekaboo We See You: Whiteness, pp. 100–105. Available at: https://issuu.com/shadesofnoir/docs/peekaboo_we_see_you_whiteness (Accessed: 15 June 2023).
Finnigan, T. and Richards, A. (2016) Retention and attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design. rep. York: Higher Education Academy, pp. 1–24.
Hahn Tapper, A.J. (2013), A Pedagogy of Social Justice Education: Social Identity Theory, Intersectionality, and Empowerment. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 30: 411 445. https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21072
Richards, A. (2023) Shades of Noir. Available at: https://shadesofnoir.org.uk/ (Accessed: 14 June 2023).
Witness: unconscious bias (2016) ucu black members’ standing committee oral history project. The University and College Union (UCU). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6XDUGPoaFw (Accessed: 15 June 2023).
Whiteliness and institutional racism: Hiding behind (un)conscious bias (2018) YouTube. Chair for Critical Studies in Higher Education Transformation (CriSHET) at the Nelson Mandela University, South Africa. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lur3hjEHCsE (Accessed: 16 June 2023).
I’ve enjoyed how you put all your thoughts together and kept me reading till the end of your post. I would love to be one day in one of your lectures and observe/learn how your approach these topics with your students. It looks like you try your best to be conscious to create the best learning experience.
I would also be curious to understand the differences between creative students’ retention and if there are areas of the university that are more successful than others in including everyone. That could be a good starting point to improve those figures.
You also brought to my mind the concept of “virtual learning netiquette” and “diversity questions”. Definitely these are tools I will explore too.
Although you mentioned that maybe there is a power imbalance in your classes, from your text I can see you are taking action and that’s exactly what we should be doing. Congrats.
Your thoughtful engagement with the readings presented in the blog is commendable. Your understanding of the broader societal constructs mirrored in the classroom and the acknowledgment of the existing power imbalance underscore the necessity of creating an equitable learning space.
You write so eloquently for such deep topic of discussion. I also enjoyed listening to Josephine Kwhali video and Shirley Anne Tate’s lectures on hiding behind unconscious bias. I found them very compelling and made me question why this is still such a big problem within society. I found this podcast by David Gilborn talking about critical race theory and how it links to unconscious bias. He explores the notion that there are no safe spaces to talk about this as if the space is safe, it is not challenging the discussion enough for real positive change. Like DiAngelo, he confronts the notion that even though you can be white and anti racist, you will benefit from current systems in place controlled by the white elite, and how they fight to keep their power structures in place.
https://www.theantiracisteducator.com/podcast/episode/3dfcd3fc/critical-race-theory-with-david-gillborn-staying-critical-and-realistic-about-racism
Thanks for writing this thoughtful blog. Your reflections on how your practice aligns with social justice education are fascinating to read. And now having listened to your presentation on your artefact, I can see a concrete example. I think your workshop will benefit your students enormously.
I am very interested in your reflections on how you might use these resources to unpick some current practices. I also wonder if you have come across the ALT Anti-racism Toolkit. Which was produced to help Learning Designers apply an anti-racist approach to their work. You can read about it here https://reflect.ucl.ac.uk/ar-lt-tool/
Thank you so much for your comments; I’ll explore the tool, it sounds very interesting and really relevant, much appreciated.
Its amazing to read your honesty on while being limited to, but still allowing students to freely express their identities, they will appreacite that. It would definatly a good idea to have other inputs or relatable and current content to the learning materials that are designed and provided. Some times I can look at materials/ content and wonder if people are on the same planet. There needs to be a shift.
It is great to read that my insecurities in this topic is not personal and widespread, but commendable to see you provide and allow the discussion on race and safe spaces!
Identity is everything and as a whole, I personally believe the university could do a lot more to encourage identity with the in the arts to shine more brightly when creating art.
Thank you for allowing us to come into your view and see how are you have digested this unit!
I think your reflection about wether certain subject areas within the university are more successful than others when it comes to inclusivity. This has made me consider if there are some courses that are further behind in inclusive practise than others, is this linked to the industry and their habitual practices. Critical race theory proves that society still has a way to go in terms of equality, but some industry areas within art and design are making an effort to make changes and does this reflect through the courses linked to those industries.
I have also experienced tutors who have worked within the university for a long time and are resistant to change, because its much easier to stay the same way and its a generational trait. As the next generation of teachers join UAL, I hope that there is an understanding of the systemic issues within UAL and they have the motivation to make changes happen.