(SoN) is an independent programme based around enacting social justice in the university and beyond. Through many streams of intervention, dialog, case studies the programme provides resources and opportunities for critical reflection and action around racism and social justice for both staff and students in every part of the university.
How could I apply the resources to my own teaching practice?
I will use Shades of Noir to continue my learning and engagement with issues around race and social justice. I have found SoN extremely helpful in helping me shape my pedagogical approach and consider the effect my own positionallity can have on students from different backgrounds and how i can mange this to reduce the burden of bridging any cultural or relational barriers on students.
I have already used SoN resources as a starting point to source and introduce examples of work from diverse creatives into my teaching and will continue to do so.
I will also recommend SoN resources to students so they can explore platforms which host the work of creatives from marginalised groups which may be less well known than dominant platforms and inspire students with tangible examples of how their work can develop and be seen.
I will also signpost students who need support with specific instances of racism or discrimination to the advice and mediation services SoN provides.
How could I integrate the research/work my students do on this subject into my teaching/professional practice?
I am increasingly using the work of students and graduates from marginalised backgrounds as examples for current students.
I intend to make more space, as I plan my teaching and delivery, for students to reflect on and share their experience of different aspects of the courses, how they intersect with their backgrounds. As well as their experiences of exploring identity and race within their work. This will provide feedback for me to shape and improve my teaching practice in the future. It will also encourage students to reflect on and acknowledge the personal trials and tribulations involved in studying and creating introspective work.
Can I cite examples?
Working with the UAL outreach team I’m involved in planning and delivering courses and workshops aimed at supporting students who face barriers to HE into university. I’m supported by Outreach Ambassadors (students or graduates) who have, themselves, been through the outreach program. They present their work and discuss their experiences with the outreach cohort. I always make sure I choose Outreach Ambassadors from a diverse range of backgrounds so applicants at this key stage can see diverse work and hear the perspectives of students from a broad range of marginalised backgrounds.
I have seen the positive effect of this approach as students who may lack confidence and a sense that they ‘belong’ at university meet students and graduates they can relate to. Providing a solid, relatable example of how they can belong and succeed while creatively exploring their own identities and experiences in HE.
Shades Of Noir. 2021. Shades Of Noir. [online] Available at: <https://shadesofnoir.org.uk/>
Hi Josephine,
Thank you for this blog, it’s great to hear your ideas on how the resources we’ve been engaging with on this unit can be practically implements in teaching – I find it very inspiring! Your use of SoN as a sort of resource database sounds really good, and I hope your work with the outreach programme is going well and has been enriched by these materials. I would love to hear more about this, it seems like vital work.
Hannah
Hello Josephine,
Great post thank you for sharing. It’s really good to see that you are already using SoN as a starting point to source examples, I hope that collectively we will all be integrating the showcased work and signposting SoN regularly. I am very appreciative that students are sharing their stories on the platform because it not only helps us as staff, but I am sure it validates other students experiences too.
Hope that it goes well in the future with students investigating how the course experiences intersects with their backgrounds – there could be such a beautiful variety.
Hi Stephanie, Thanks for your comment. I completely agree! I find the instances where the students share their own experiences so impactful, and I now see it as my job to make a space and platform for this. I think the ‘Tell us about it’ project is an amazing example of the power of students expressing their perspectives creatively, and I intend to incorporate examples from that project into my teaching next term.