Formative Submission

A gallery exhibition: Considered, anonymous letters collated on the theme of inclusion.

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Voltaire

Gallery space remains a space for us to consider and have our views challenged. This specific project within Fine Art Foundation would organise an exhibition of anonymous unsigned letters under the theme of Inclusion to highlight the need to seek unheard voices by utilising a rich set of engagement tools and to also mitigate silenced activity through mobilising a strategy within the form of an exhibition whereby safety is protected.

It is ventured that a significant number of students feel unable to truly express their views for fear of being criticised for not following set narratives challenged. In this way it would afford the opportunity of giving voice to all staff and students of whom wish to expose anonymously and safely their personal experiences of inclusivity – and their lack of, ineffectual or othering, in a sharing space which insures it may safely raise awareness benefiting others productively.

We have a duty of care towards all of our community to protect from one sided arguments, discrimination and hiprocy through ableism, gender, faith, racism including antisemitism and islamophobia, and to celebrate difference, free thinking and empathy in academia. To collectively participate in raising awareness of marginalised, silenced and reserved voices and to promote sharing and discussion around views which have been otherwise misunderstood, overlooked, less tolerated or considered due to our campuses feeling either unsafe limited or inadequate.

In such a concretely polarized time within education and academia, the intention is in support of asking that others take the time to; listen, consider, examine, compare and learn from the very varied experiences of their immediate community, to look at these sources with tolerance and compassion whilst trying to mitigate hate, microaggressions and embed thoughtfulness when considering other perspectives of those close to them.

No doubt there may be some valuable information shared, while commemorating important notes for less-represented communities to be taken into consideration on a lecturing and programming level too, when planning sources, artist talks, gallery visits, projects and academic references, student-related activities, that promote diverse understanding and engagement within the wider community.

I would very much like this intervention to help foster a cohesive culture of understanding and acceptance that allows for everyone to be themselves so that they can perform their best.

Once I have established and collated outcomes (in this case exhibited letters) to drive this work forward, analysis can be carried out so as to consider any gaps.

By engaging in collaboration with the students and staff on inclusion I intend to:

1. Temperature check how people consider this approach to inclusion, which will allow for measurement of disparities of experience with different groups and track future progress.
2. Understand if people can relate to the proposed priorities, so that it can build on what the university stands for and tackle hate, microaggression, racism, ableism, and create a safer space including phycological safety.
3. Gather insight into what actions the community thinks should be prioritised, to make sure the exhibition is meaningful and dynamic.

This method will allow space for us all to develop the priorities, objectives and actions. It is vital these are informed by listening and learning from the university community, in order to facilitate continuous reflective change for all.

Result

Sustaining a working dialogue with underrepresented students and colleagues might help the university to prioritise what is important. To be committed to flexibly listening to concerns, talking about barriers, sharing ideas and, importantly, trying to adopt actions from its engagement on the ground. This approach may be a means to enable the university to better understand how staff and students can work together to better eradicate discrimination and hate. The opportunity for everyone to enjoy equal opportunities and equal outcomes in a more inclusive community. To make sure that what university stands for is living up to its ideals, so that present and historically underrepresented and less-heard communities can have a voice.

Bibliography

• Crenshaw, K. (1991) ‘Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color’, Stanford Law Review, 43(6), pp. 1241-1299.
• hooks, b. (1994) Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. Routledge.
• Ladson-Billings, G. (1995) ‘Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy’, American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), pp. 465-491.

Silencing Jewish Voices

• Gross, Z. (2019) ‘Anti-Semitism and Education: Past, Present, and Future’, Jewish Education, 25(3), pp. 213-228.
• Heber, A. (2020) ‘The Silencing of Jewish Voices in the Academic World’, Journal of Jewish Studies, 71(2), pp. 221-240.
• Pollack, S. (2013) ‘Jewish Identity and Silence in the Classroom’, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 36(7), pp. 1109-1126.

Psychological Safety in Education

• Edmondson, A. C. (1999) ‘Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams’, Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), pp. 350-383.
• Schein, E. H. (2010) Organizational Culture and Leadership. John Wiley & Sons.
• Van den Bos, K., & Lind, E. A. (2002) ‘Uncertainty Management by Means of Fairness Judgments’, in Zanna, M. P. (ed.) Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. Vol. 34. Academic Press, pp. 1-60.

Gallery as a Space for Social Justice

• Bishop, C. (2012) Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship. Verso Books.
• Kester, G. H. (2004) Conversation Pieces: Community and Communication in Modern Art. University of California Press.
• Sholette, G. (2017) Delirium and Resistance: Activist Art and the Crisis of Capitalism. Pluto Press.

Inclusion and Representation in Art Education

• Efland, A. D. (1990) A History of Art Education: Intellectual and Social Currents in Teaching the Visual Arts. Teachers College Press.
• Desai, D., & Chalmers, G. (2007) ‘Notes from the Field: Art Education and the Politics of Representation’, Studies in Art Education, 48(2), pp. 117-134.
• Stuhr, P. L. (2003) ‘A Tale of Why Social and Cultural Content is Often Excluded from Art Education—And Why It Should Not Be’, Studies in Art Education, 44(4), pp. 301-314.

Books and Articles on Inclusivity in Higher Education

1. Ahmed, S. (2012) On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life. Duke University Press.
2. Psychological Safety (n.d.) Available at: https://psychsafety.co.uk/types-of-silence/ (Accessed: 1 June 2024).
3. Greenebaum, J. (1999) ‘Placing Jewish Women into the Intersectionality of Race, Class, and Gender’, Race, Gender & Class, 6(4), pp. 41-60.
4. Beck, E. T. (1988) The Denial of Difference: Jewish Women and the Feminist Movement. University of Massachusetts Press.
5. hooks, b. (1994) Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. Routledge.
6. Hiraldo, P. (2010) ‘The Role of Critical Race Theory in Higher Education’, The Vermont Connection, 31, pp. 53-59.
7. Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W. F. (1995) ‘Toward a Critical Race Theory of Education’, Teachers College Record, 97(1), pp. 47-68.
8. Sensoy, Ö., & DiAngelo, R. (2017) Is Everyone Really Equal? An Introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education. Teachers College Press.

Case Studies and Reports on Inclusivity and Diversity

9. Gurin, P., Dey, E. L., Hurtado, S., & Gurin, G. (2002) ‘Diversity and Higher Education: Theory and Impact on Educational Outcomes’, Harvard Educational Review, 72(3), pp. 330-366.
10. Brown, M. C., & Dancy, T. E. (2010) ‘Predominantly White Institutions’, in Hill, T. L. (ed.) The Sage Encyclopedia of African American Education. Sage Publications, pp. 526-530.

Methodologies for Inclusive Engagement

11. Freire, P. (2000) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Continuum.
12. Schmeichel, M. (2012) ‘Good Teaching? An Examination of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy as an Equity Practice’, Journal of Curriculum Studies, 44(2), pp. 211-231.
13. Bryson, B. S. (2017) ‘The Intersection of Race and Gender in Higher Education Administration: An Autoethnography’, Higher Education Policy, 30(1), pp. 113-131.

Exhibition as a Tool for Inclusivity

14. Bishop, C. (2012) Artificial Hells: Participatory Art and the Politics of Spectatorship. Verso Books.
15. Leader Maynard, J. (2023) ‘Could it Happen Here? The Holocaust and Atrocities in the 21st Century’, Just Security. Available at: https://www.justsecurity.org/85080/could-it-happen-here-the-holocaust-and-atrocities-in-the-21st-century/ (Accessed: 1 June 2024).
16. Dewhurst, M. (2014) Social Justice Art: A Framework for Activist Art Pedagogy. Harvard Education Press.
17. Simon, N. (2010) The Participatory Museum. Museum 2.0.

Relevant Quotes and Philosophical Foundations

18. Voltaire (n.d.) “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”