As a white Australian who grew up on the ancestral lands of the Thunggutti/Dunghutti First Nations people, I acquired a questioning mind regarding dominant voices and fictionalised histories. My early educational experience of watching BBC documentaries of the British discovery of Australia alongside fellow indigenous students shaped my pedagogical approach that looks for systemic colonisation. As a foreigner and migrant, I connect with my students through the lens of the visitor and the homeland. Leading on Critical Studies at West Dean College has enabled me to address problematic content focused on the Global North by expanding reading lists and rewriting lectures to include the Global South.
While my references attempt to decolonise and my essay writing seminars are designed to support neurodiversity, the concept of intersectionality is in the background. I would like to foreground it in a way that highlights the richness that intersectionality brings, in a way that echoes Rekis’ (Rekis, 2023) notion of granting credibility to offer integrity that expands the maker and viewer’s worldviews. I want to test how this can be done aesthetically, owing to students revealing their faith through their work, and allowing for students to choose not to disclose aspects of their identity such as a hidden disability, non-visible faith or sexuality. Within the Art & Society project, I want to develop a collaborative session that can mobilise individuals’ intersectionality by inviting them to paint/draw a symbolic representation of a hidden aspect of their identity. This would be timed so the object/image remains in a state of ongoing metamorphosis to mirror how each artwork is shaped via each interaction with a different individual. Through visually sharing authenticity I hope to invoke a discussion related to persona pedagogy and Haraway’s notion of “oddkin”.
References:
Crenshaw, K. (1990.) Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review 43 (6), pp. 1241-1299.
Friere, P. (1970.) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Reprint. Penguin Random House: London, 2017.
Haraway, D. (1998). Situated Knowledge: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective. Feminist Studies Vol. 14 No. 3 (Autumn 1998) p. 575-599. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3178066(Accessed 21 Mar 2024)
Hooks, B. (1994). Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York, NY: Routledge.
MUMAmonash (2021). Dale Harding: Through the lens of visitation, Artist Interview. Available at: vimeo.com/560267928 (Accessed Nov 2023).
Thomas, C (2022). Overcoming Identity Threat: Using Persona Pedagogy in Intersectionality and Inclusion Training. Social Sciences 11: 249. Available at: researchoutput.csu.edu.au/en/publications/overcoming-identity-threat-using-persona-pedagogy-in-intersection
Rekis, J. (2023). ‘Religious Identity and Epistemic Injustice: An Intersectional Account’, Cambridge University Press, Issue 38, pp. 779-800, Available at: 10.1017/hyp.2023.86
Yale University (2017). Donna Haraway, Making Oddkin: Story Telling for Earthly Survival. Available at: youtube.com/watch?v=z-iEnSztKu8 (Accessed 20 Nov 2023)