The Decolonising Arts Education Fellowship Scheme
Throughout the PG Cert and in my role as a course leader, I seem to be naturally drawn to conversations about diversity, inclusivity and how to decolonise the curriculum. I think the interest have sparked through my personal observation of under representation of diverse bodies within the performance industry which I have been working in for 25 years now.
I also have a personal interest, and experience working and teaching globally, having lived, and worked in the Far East in as both practitioner and teacher within the arts and performance for many years. This experience has expanded my view on cultural and social distinctions working with students and productions from all over the world.
Only last week an opportunity – The Decolonising Arts Education Fellowship Scheme, was emailed out; This Fellowship scheme for academics – who are responsible for curriculum design – will enable them to embark on the work of curriculum development free from the pressures of day-to-day teaching and administration. The ambition of the Decolonising Arts Education Fellowship Scheme is that UAL curricula grow in their diversity and relevance to all students, whatever their cultural and social backgrounds. It is envisaged that over the long term this work will contribute to eradicating inequality in students’ degree outcomes.
Link to UAL webpage: Call for applications: Decolonising Arts Education Fellowship Scheme
Once this PG cert work is submitted I have only one week to apply and send my proposal as deadline is already 28th March! I feel strongly this opportunity would suit me. However, my concerns are around stepping down from my course leader role for a year as I obviously feel committed and so much work have been input from myself and the team… I do feel ready to take on another challenge though.
The below link is helpful thinking about what can be done and actually is highlighting what we are already doing on the course.
Debunking decolonization: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0039/294699/Debunking-Decolonisation-PDF-128KB.pdf
What can you change in your course, studio and classroom? Here are some questions to think about:
- Are your reading lists diverse? Do they include non-Eurocentric perspectives?
- Are the examples used in class diverse and global?
- Can all students bring in diverse examples from history and global flows that would make learning more dynamic and exciting?
- Can all students bring in perspectives that are not strictly seen as ‘academic’? These may include social media resources, oral history, and life experience.
- Can all students choose to do research and creative projects that are not Eurocentric and that engage with diverse resources, identities and research questions?
I believe our course is already doing all of the above and examples mentioned in my response to the tutor observation; “We are now, using less Eurocentric texts for our units and examples have been in the last couple of years; My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, a novel by Nigerian writer Amos Tutuola, Monkey, a Chinese novel published during the Ming dynasty by Wu Ch’eng-en (Author), Arthur Waley (Translator) and Of Love and Other Demons, by Columbian writer Garcia Marques.
We have also for our 2nd years collaboration unit used influences from the Studio Ghibli collection for their performance outcome bringing in Japanese culture and history”.
The reading Emily recommended below has also helped to think about my focus area in my proposal:
Decolonising pedagogy and curriculum: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0035/228986/AEM-Decolonising-pedagogy-and-the-curriculum-PDF-224KB.pdf
I am excited to continue my research and working on decolonising the curricilum, either as a course leader or if accepted, part of the Decolonising Arts Education Fellowship Scheme.