race

unit two – inclusive practices

blog post 3 (including extended activity)

shades of noir (son)

 my inclination to paint,” packer has said, “especially from life, is a completely political one. we belong here. we deserve to be seen and acknowledged in real time. we deserve to be heard and to be imaged with shameless generosity and accuracy.” – (whitney.org, n.d.)

shades of noir (son)

“this is a program that creates opportunities for marginalised groups and their need for safe spaces to articulate self-determination and liberate the struggles from oppressive structures both in education and society” – (– shades of noir 2023)

shades of noir was created in 2009 by aisha richards and supports:

• curriculum design
• pedagogies of social justice through representation
• cultural currency
• accessible knowledge

(– shades of noir 2023)

i have been aware of shades of noir as a resource and i do refer students for a safe space to discuss instances of racism and/or discrimination (as well as) offering a safe space to explore this in the counselling room. i would like to say that there have been infrequent referrals but this is not the case, sadly. shades of noir often comes up in our clinical meetings when we are discussing student cases and looking at the best way to support students.

we have had lots of new members of staff join our team in recent times, and it might be useful to invite a representative from shades of noir to one of our business meetings, to look how we can best work together.

overwhelming anxiety, resulting from the pressure of crits is something we see in the counselling and health team all too often and so I am so pleased that shades of noir offer a ‘safe crits’ resource.

shades of noir was first established at ual and now liaises with a variety of academic institutions.

the inclusive classroom netiquette will be an invaluable resource when I am planning my online psychotherapeutic workshop on imposter syndrome as an aid to making the online space inclusive and anti-racist.

i will work through the reading list provided on the shades of noir website and constantly look for ways of incorporating black voices into my work and my workshops.

i will also add shades of noir as a reference for further reading and useful resources  to my workshops.

hahn tapper (2013) ‘a pedagogy of social justice education: social identity, theory and intersectionality’ Pp. 411-417 (and see diagram on p.426)

“this article explores a theoretical and practical understanding of social justice education through an examination of an US-based intergroup educational organization running conflict transformation programs since 2005. based on in-depth interviews conducted with and surveys completed by administrators, educators, and student participants of the organization’s programs, this article analyzes a case example of social justice education that integrates freirean thought, social identity theory, intersectionality, and experiential education, including empowerment and responsibility education. offering different programs aimed at distinct constituencies yet all based in the same pedagogy, the organization’s primary goal is to empower participants to engage in social justice activism.” – (apa psycnet)

freire on education and social justice

one thing i learned from the text is about freire on education and social justice. i hadn’t heard of freire before starting the module and as I keep coming across his work i am beginning to understand how important his philosophy/pedagogy is to inclusivity in education.  freire believes that fundamentally education is imperative to social justice “freire contends that education provides venues for students to achieve freedom, both intellectual and physical – the “indispensable condition for the quest for human completion” (apa psycnet).

freire writes about his own experience of growing up in poverty in brazil and states that education either domesticates or liberates both students and teachers. he is interested in the notion of power and goes as far to say that “it is impossible to think of education without thinking of power..the question is not to get power, but to reinvent power” (apa psycnet).

freir asserts that it is important to understand classroom dynamics from the starting point that not all students and teachers are starting from a level playing field and he emphasises the importance of taking into account the individual student’s identity. he also adds that the identity and social status of the teacher additionally plays a role in the classroom environment. he says that teaching needs to take place with students and not for students and so in a sense it is non-hierarchical.

freire expresses the way he perceives the majority of academic institutions perpetuate inequality by using what he coined the ‘banking system’ of teaching, where teachers ‘deposit’ information into students minds. this method is not effective, according to freire as it does not take into account the individual student and their reality in the world, and their socio-economic background.

freire asserts that a move away from inequality and towards freedom can be attained by teachers taking into account students backgrounds and offer a structure whereby teachers and students engage in authentic critical reflection.

intersectionality and intergroup encounters

a second thing I learned from the article is that of intersectionality and intergroup encounters. tapper starts the discussion on this topic with a quote my marin luther king jr, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere” (apa psycnet). intersectionality says that oppression in one place is oppression everywhere. as oppression is connected to structures, and structures are connected to social identities, black, white, straight, gay etc, and their link with power, oppression is the consequence of uneven structures around identity and power. dynamics such as these favour one identity over another, causing inequality.

the author asserts that an important part of intersectionality is deexceptionalization. it maintains that as well as individual characteristics, there are commonalities found across people, intergroup dissonance for example, and that there are patterns that occur within group conflict. every conflict is unique, and at the same time there are things which are the same. by deexceptionalizating students, and the intergroup conflict, there is room for a re-examining and re-understanding of oneself and the opportunity for transformation for the individual, and the group. this intersectionality-bases understanding is important when it comes to social justice in education.

as a psychotherapist and having worked with groups there is often a dynamic that plays out, called the karpman drama triangle, with the victim, persecutor, and the rescuer. one may maintain their position – say the victim, however it is likely that each individual oscillates between these positions at different points. (berne e. 1961).

within intersectionality-based approaches to groups it is encouraged for students to embrace that they often have more than one social identity, based on ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, class etc, and individual personalities are shaped around these identities.

a provocation is how can we/i use freire’s theory in an attempt to move away from inequality and towards freedom by taking into account student’s backgrounds? firstly i may not be privee to this information, and secondly by asking direct questions it has the potential to leave the individual student/s feeling vulnerable and exposed. as i am asking this question i am thinking to the questions to address in this blog post – 1. how could you apply the resources to your own teaching practice? 2. how could you integrate the research/work your students do on this subject into your teaching/professional practice?

in psychotherapy we look to making the unconscious conscious – the first step to change is awareness, and so to answer these questions, the first step of integrating the learning into my teaching practice is awareness – it might not be necessary to know that a student has come from a low socio-economic background but to be conscious that not all students have a secure safety net. some students may have caring responsibilities, have to work long hours to make ends meet, have family members with dependency issues, mental health problems, come from single parent families, for example.

rather than enquire about such identities or intersectionalities directly I can create a safe space – by using the psychotherapeutic frame of; time, breaks, boundaries, confidentiality, ground-rules, etc, for students to feel more comfortable sharing their experience in the world. many students may not wish to share, and that is okay. what i can do is to make every effort to show that they are represented through the reading list, support materials, videos, and talking about inspirational people who have been through what individual students may have gone through. an example of this is in the imposter syndrome workshop i show a video discussing famous people with imposter syndrome, such as maya angelou, and albert einstein, these are figures to look up to and it is comforting to know that they have struggled in a similar way.

i will also use the work my students produce to inform me of my practice. i will use what they have shared openly and also what they have provided in the feedback.

image source: (www.coventry.anglican.org, n.d.)

figure 1. the core pillars of the organization’s pedagogy of social justice education

image source: hahn tapper (2013)

the diagram shown above by hahn tapper (2023) represents the core pillars of the organisation’s pedagogy of social justice education and is a useful illustration of how i can make my teaching more inclusive

1. freirean theory – this is new to me, as i am not a tutor but something i will certainly think about when delivering teaching
2. social identity theory
3. intersectionality – kimberle crenshaw’s term for illustrating how different forms of identity such as class, race, gender intersect and can come together to create oppression or privilege within societal and educational structures.
4. experiential education – methods and activities used in teaching
5. responsibility and empowerment – for educators and students alike

watch the ted talk video “witness unconscious bias” video

image source: (alexander, n.d.)

in this ted talk video, ceo of a sanfransisco tech firm, valerie alexander, talks about unconscious bias. she starts by asking the audience to visualise a scenario of running late for a plane, saying hello to the pilot, talking to a couple at the next table when you sit down for dinner that evening at the destination, and listening to a talk given by a tech entrepreneur. she then asks the audience to describe the pilot, the couple, and the tech entrepreneur. was the pilot black? the couple gay? the tech entrepreneur a woman? probably not.

this is because the brain likes what is familiar. as a female tech entrepreneur, she talks about the unconscious bias that she has experienced in her work environment, and explains the science behind unconscious bias. when feeling under threat or scared of what is not familiar the brain kicks into ancient survival mode, coming from the amygdala- this is what signals a flight or flight response. this was useful in times when we could potentially be eaten by a tiger if our survival instincts were not switched on, but not so anymore. the pre-frontal cortex has evolved since the amygdala to calm us down and to make rational decisions. however, when the amygdala is triggered and we go into a fight or flight response, it is very difficult to think clearly and logically.

i use this all the time in my psychotherapy work, teaching clients, through psychoeducation about the fight or flight response, and how it is very hard to think logically and fairly when we are triggered, and so rather than trying to rationalise when in that response, it is better to focus on using the pre-frontal cortex and to calm the nervous system before addressing the situation.

alexander ends the ted talk by giving three things we can do to challenge unconscious bias. because the flight or flight response is triggered by fear and the unfamiliar, leading the brain to choose what is familiar over what is accurate, right, or fair (therefore we make poor decisions and act irrationally when we are triggered), what we need to do is to make conscious choices when we are not triggered.

when we are calm we can do this visualisation exercise and visualise a black pilot, a same sex gay couple, and female tech entrepreneur. do this often with day-to-day scenarios, the doctor you are going to see, the tutor on the course, the ceo of the new company, open yourself to possibilities that are more inclusive. the second thing is, when we do encounter unexpected scenarios, question your behavior, is this how i would respond to someone who looks like me, or to someone who doesn’t look like me? thirdly, surround yourself consciously to that which is unexpected and that which doesn’t need to be, hire the employee, vote for the candidates, for the people who a challenging the norms and who have earned the position.

“there are enormous and long-ranging consequences when we can change the unexpected to the expected. consider this, we have two entire generations in the world who’s first visual image of a united states president is black.. we normalise things by making them expected, that is the first step”. (alexander, n.d.)

‘retention and attainment in the disciplines: art and design’ finnigan and richards -2016.

discuss two things you learnt from the text. and one question/provocation you have about the text.

one thing i learned about the report by terry finnigan, london college of fashion, and aisha Richards, central saint martins, is that it looks at attainment and retention of students from diverse backgrounds, within the art and design field in education. it looks at related data and offers recommendations.

it gives a snapshot of what is going on in education to make certain groups more vulnerable to attainment. it references key texts and offers interventions, and further research to attempt to address the imbalance within the art and design sector in education and to achieve higher attainment rates. the report is intended to be used in various education institutions, with the view of a shared commitment to change.

the report also looks at the context of higher education and the diverse student population, brought about by more international students, positive changes in disability legislation, and widening participation initiatives.

a second thing i learned is that it was found that students from diverse backgrounds learn and achieve at different rates, within the discipline of art and design. case studies are used to show what is happening and what can be done about attainment for students from diverse backgrounds, “the case studies are examples of activities from institutions across the country that have begun to intervene and make attempts to enhance pedagogy, the curriculum, student experience and/or destinations to employment.” (finnigan, n.d.)

the case studies are a reflection on how the subject discipline of art and design can either exclude or privilege certain groups. the report aims to offer guidance to the sector as a whole as to how it can best equip staff to implement changes that will aid attainment.

the report looked at areas such as key pedagogies, curriculum, assessment practices, and also a lack of diversity within staffing. it offered interventions, which have been shown to positively impact attainment in students from diverse backgrounds, such as, race equality, staff training and student centred learning. it offers recommendations for further research and sees the report as a start to putting in continued effort to implement positive change.

“art and design students studying a more diverse curriculum and experiencing a more inclusive pedagogy should succeed at a higher level and reach their full potential.” (finnigan, n.d.)

giving staff greater opportunity to reflect on their practice should also contribute to student success. the teaching excellence framework (tef) also affords opportunity for a focus to align pedagogy, within the art and design sector, and inclusive practices.

in the future it is important to, encourage more research into art and design pedagogy, with specific emphasis on attainment for people of colour. make the curriculum more inclusive, by having more diverse reading lists and key visual resources, as well as more inclusive pedagogies generally, look at student centred learning, and a better opportunity for students to feel like they have greater ownership over their environment. to also involve staff of colour to lead research and to be involved in strategic planning and support senior staff in representing students from diverse backgrounds, to collaborate and inform relevant external organisations, use multi-media and not just the written word to express ideas within the art and design sector.

a question i have about the report, is how to audit the effectiveness of crits. the report highlights how crits can be detrimental to attainment as students are required ‘constructive criticism’ with regard to their work. this is often a hugely emotionally charged experience and can lead to students feeling worse about their work and come away feeling vulnerable and unmotivated to progress. it would be a useful exercise to audit the effectiveness of crits in art and design and look at ways to make them less intimidating, more useful, and more inclusive.

we discuss the impact of crits a lot, within our multi-disciplinary team of counsellors, psychotherapists, mental health advisers, and chaplains, and the impact they can have on students. this is something we could look at more closely – how do crits affect the mental health of our students? and what can be done to make them less anxiety provoking? more useful? and more inclusive?

read the terms of reference from son around race and choose an article to reflect on.

please consider the context of the article and respond to the questions

a note from terry finnigan

in terry finnigan’s review in shades of noir on the terms of reference (tor) around whiteness, she talks about how over recent years she has become increasingly more comfortable with talking about whiteness and continually reflecting on her own actions and unconscious bias.

she describes herself as a critical pedagogy theorist, social activist, and a strong ally in this work. she describes the work as being a creative exploration – with academic discussions, poetry, and student and staff reflections of their lived realities.

she mentions as an example, an article by ines, a white portuguese film maker, who describes her experience of whiteness in the ex-portuguese colony, mozambique. i also read this article and thought how relevant and essential it is to participate in the ongoing dialogue around the concepts of blackness and whiteness as social constructs and to set about the process of deconstructing and restructuring them in order to better understand racist structures and how to fight against this going forward.

she references the interview with a white academic who found it difficult to talk on the topic, as they are not a black woman, how could they comment? they were able to think about it more on reflection and it was thought that it might be useful to carry out the interview again at a later date to see if her views had changed. the interview highlights white discomfort. they were able to answer, in a formulaic way about what diversity is, although not in an authentic way, it was stated.

finnegan references other authors in the publication and talks about the work she has been involved in over the past 25 years in being part of an anti-racist framework within higher education within the discipline of art and design, she outlines her positionality and states that education is not neutral and therefore requires critical thinking. she quotes belle hooks in stating that education should also involve ‘acts of concrete reclamation’ and she says that the terms of reference and the work of shades of noir do just this. she talks of her commitment to reflecting on her own whiteness – white fragility, and white discomfort, and the potential impact on black staff and students of colour. it is emotional work, she says, and again quotes hooks on choosing love.

this is something I can do in my own practice, as a psychotherapist a lot of the work is about facilitating clients to sit with discomfort, rather than trying to distract from it or avoid it, and this is something i can do – sit with the discomfort of really looking at my own whiteness and white fragility and make a conscious effort, on a daily basis to check my unconscious bias.

we can also do much more as a team by reading more from authors in the field who are people of colour, have more people of colour come to our meetings to talk about various topics, to work together and in allyship.

in work with students i can offer many more resources from people of colour and also ask for feedback, to give students permission to feedback, and to listen to student voices.

the article made me think of how i can add shades of noir as a resource more often for students, and have it as one of the essential resources for my workshop. it also made me think about how to stay open to the difficult conversations, and about how important it is to be gaining feedback from students around inclusion, and again making this an essential part of my practice.

references:

1), serpentine galleries. (n.d.). jennifer packer: the eye is not satisfied with seeing. [online] available at: https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/jennifer-packer/

2), whitney.org. (n.d.). jennifer packer: the eye is not satisfied with seeing. [online] available at: https://whitney.org/exhibitions/jennifer-packer.

3), 27061696 (n.d.). peekaboo we see you: whiteness. [online] Issuu. available at: https://issuu.com/shadesofnoir/docs/peekaboo_we_see_you_whiteness.#

4), hooks, b (1999), all about love: new visions: william morrow publishers: england

5), www.coventry.anglican.org. (n.d.). the race equality steering group (resg) – diocese of coventry. [online] available at: https://www.coventry.anglican.org/the-race-equality-steering-group-resg.php [accessed 3 jul. 2023].

6), alexander, v. (n.d.). how to outsmart your own unconscious bias. [online] www.ted.com. available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/valerie_alexander_how_to_outsmart_your_own_unconscious_bias.

7), apa sycNet (no date b) american psychological association. available at: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2013-26546-003 (accessed: 22 June 2023).

8),https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128009512000042

9), berne e. (1961). transactional analysis in psychotherapy: a systematic individual and social psychiatry. new york: grove press.

10), hahn tapper (2013) ‘a pedagogy of social justice education: social identity, theory and intersectionality’ Pp. 411-417 (and see diagram on p.426)

11), shades of noir (2023) shades of noir. available at: https://shadesofnoir.org.uk/ (accessed: 22 June 2023).

12), finnigan, f. (n.d.). retention and attainment in the disciplines: art and design. [online] available at: https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/hea/private/ug_retention_and_attainment_in_art_and_design2_1568037344.pdf [accessed 25 Jun. 2023].