”I am disabled because society has not allowed me to shine.”
-Ade Adepitan
Reflection on resources:
Ade Adepitan provides a lens to understand disability as a failure by society to provide the necessary conditions for individuals to prosper. Counteracting oppressive systems requires a deep systemic investigation to challenge power structures that hold individuals back. Disability intersects with other aspects of individuals’ identities in scenarios where identity becomes an unwanted determining factor for eligibility and opportunity (ParalympicsGB, 2020). The situation becomes further complicated when statistics are based on singular identities/narratives and rooted in essentialism (Crenshaw, 1991). This can often further marginalise individuals that fall outside the dominant narrative of either of their identities (Crenshaw, 1989).
In the case of Christine Sun Kim, it’s clear that her disability intersects with her artistic practice; in many ways informing the content and visual language of her work. It also seems like the two are in constant dialogue with each other as well as the audience. One of the key terms she discusses is visibility; and the idea of how art can be used to normalise conversations around disability (Art21, 2023). This is evident from her interest in scale as can be seen in the project at Manchester International Festival where she uses the natural and built environment as her canvas to raise awareness about deaf lives.
In the case of Chay Brown, it was particularly insightful to learn about how his identity as a trans and gay man intersects with disability. He mentions not being neurotypical during the conversation and the impact that has on navigating the subtleties of queer communication and culture (Parapride, 2023). This was eye-opening for me as a cis-gendered man, to educate myself on the invisible structures that impede people’s multiple identities from existing simultaneously.
Recurring themes:
Some of the recurring themes that this investigation has brought forth for me are:
- Structural inequalities, both visible and invisible
- Art as a vehicle for conversations around social change and social norms.
- Normalising access and conversations around disability.
- Creating spaces for people to be heard.
- Radical approaches towards addressing structural changes.
Teaching context:
I often find myself confronting and accounting for disability in the planning and delivery of session content. Further, there is also an element of agility and/or flexibility required in being able to address and navigate situations that arise in real time. I’ve found opportunities for Pastoral support (planned and unplanned) to be useful avenues that allow students to check-in and feel heard.
Looking at UAL’s most recent Annual Report on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (University of the Arts London, 2024) – it’s interesting to note the differing percentages of declared disabilities between Home, EU and International students, with home students being the highest, followed by EU and International students. This has consistently been the data for the last five years. It’s important to consider how we break down these numbers looking at adequate support across all categories, but also investigating potential invisible correlations such as those between the motivation to apply for courses with declared disabilities and the lower percentages of international students with declared disabilities. It goes without saying that I strive to be better, keeping my eyes and ears open to educate myself as I continue to inculcate inclusive practices.
References:
- Crenshaw, K. (1991) Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039
- Crenshaw, K. (1989) Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum: Vol. 1989, Article 8. https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol1989/iss1/8
- Crenshaw, K. (2017) Kimberlé Crenshaw on intersectionality, more than two decades later. Columbia Law School, 8(1).
- Coaston, J. (2019) The intersectionality wars. Vox, 28, p.2019.
- ParalympicsGB (2020) Ade Adepitan gives amazing explanation of systemic racism. [Online video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAsxndpgagU&t=162s
(Accessed: 25 April 2024). - Art21 (2023) Christine Sun Kim in “Friends & Strangers” – Season 11 | Art21. [Online video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NpRaEDlLsI&t=770s (Accessed: 25 April 2024).
- Parapride (2023) Intersectionality in Focus: Empowering Voices during UK Disability History Month 2023. [Online video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yID8_s5tjc&t=1s
(Accessed: 25 April 2024). - University of the Arts London (2024) Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual report 2022/23. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/432141/SPCB23435-EDI-report-2022-23.pdf (Accessed: 25 April 2024).
Hello Ravin,
Your blog was a very insightful read, and I found your identification of recurring themes very helpful in providing some underlying understanding to the issues surrounding disability and intersectionality. I observed similar themes throughout watching the videos and agree with what you noted. Your comments on challenging power structures and the failure of society to provide necessary conditions for all people particularly resonated with me as a key point throughout. Also, your reflection on the teaching context and the opportunity for Pastoral tutorials demonstrates your commitment to fostering an environment where all students feel supported. I observed the same statistics about lower percentages of declared disabilities for International students and would like to take a closer look at this and how to support all students. If you’d like to chat about it, please let me know.
Thanks,
Amy
Hi Amy,
Thanks so much for your wonderful comment on my post as well as your time and effort in reading my reflection.
It would be great to continue the conversation around declared disabilities for international students and unpack that further as a group. Sometimes I find it challenging what to make of the numbers and how to draw a conclusion that feels representative of the student body or a subset of it. I’d be keen to have a small working group or discussion group where we could compare these things across courses, have conversations and continue to support the students as best as we can.
Thanks so much again Amy!
Hiya Ravin,
I loved reading this piece, thank you for the insightful thoughts!
In particular I really enjoyed your points about “Art as a vehicle for conversations around social change and social norms” (I point I think I missed in my own post!) and your summation of the reoccuring themes, you identified the points really articulately in a clear condensed way.
If you’d be open to it I’d like to hear your thoughts on an aspect around planned and unplanned pastoral support. Personally I will also undertake extra or unplanned pastoral support for students as needed, as I think it is the humane thing to do, and I would feel worried about potentially letting vulnerable students down by not seeming available for unplanned pastoral tutorials etc.
However I have had discussions with other staff who see anything ‘unplanned’ as a kind of parity issue – and that staff should not offer anything to individual students that is not also available to the wider student body. Not that they are saying you should reject a student in crisis, but more that anything seen as ‘additional’ should be processed through official channels (e.g. organised or approved through a Course Leader). And whilst this is something I feel wary of, I do understand that staff being seen to ‘favour’ certain students (not that I think that providing essential pastoral support is ‘favouring’!) can also feel really demoralising/unfair to students, who may then feel like they cannot ask for support themselves…
Sorry for the vent of ideas, I hope that makes sense! Also apologies if that isn’t quite relevant to your teaching context, I’d love to hear if anything feels relevant to your own experience at UAL 🙂
Would love to hear any thoughts you have if you have the time, but no worries if not!
Hi Peony,
Thanks so much for this wonderful comment. I really appreciate your time spent reading my reflection.
I do agree – it can be a balancing act sometimes and I resonate with the challenges around maintaining parity. I’ve found it useful to host drop-in sessions and/or office hours that students can sign up to. Although these are still planned, they are often open to all year groups (especially with office hours). This gives students a chance to see me in a setting that isn’t contingent on a particular brief or pastoral support within a unit. It isn’t perfect but it’s something. I’ve also been trying to point these opportunities out to students as many times as possible, as an additional layer of that support structure. I’ve noticed that (sometimes) these things can get a bit lost on Moodle – amongst all the other information.
Thanks so much for prompting this conversation – it’s really great and I would be delighted to keep it going!
Ahh sorry for the late reply Ravin – I don’t see these notifications on wordpress unless I’m here looking specifically!!
You’re right, office hours & drop-ins are a great idea – a good balance of providing additional support in an equal way.
Totally agree about things getting lost on Moodle too, and I really like your point about having a setting that isn’t ‘brief specific’.
Last academic year some of us on my course trialled having weekly office hours publicly in the studio but sadly they weren’t utilised very much by students. I do feel the students perhaps didn’t often exactly what we meant by the term office hours and we didn’t flag them in the correct way however, so I think with improved visibility it could have worked better
Thanks again for the thoughtful reply 🙂
Hey Ravin
I enjoyed reading your reflection blog on disability. It was insightful to read and I had similar thoughts, especially when you referenced Adepitan’s quote. I think a lot of us can relate to this, as well as our students because we all have the desire to shine no matter what we do in our lives when given the opportunity. It challenges us to think about how we view and address disability and suggests that making small changes will help accommodate and meet the needs of a diverse group of students by focusing on societal responsibility rather than individual disabilities.
You made a great observation about Christine Sun Kim and Chay Brown’s video highlighting their experiences with disability and intersectionality. I agree with your links about how Kim used her artistic practice to communicate, educate, and create conversations around disability.
I agree with your findings and summary of the UAL data that there is still a gap in supporting students with disabilities, particularly international students. The recurring theme you pointed out is spot on; I am also intrigued by your inclusive proposal on providing planned and unplanned pastoral care to students.