Having read Kimberlé Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality at the start of Unit 2, I was able to understand the intersectional issues conveyed in all three interviews as “potential coalitions between race, gender and disability,” (Crenshaw, 1991). While Ade Adepitan, Chay Brown, and Christine Sun Kim’s lived experiences are unique, I took note of certain parallels. For example, there is a clear need for and reliance on the disabled community they identify with. In Sun Kim’s own words, “a perk of being a member of the deaf community is you have a shared culture, a shared language, and so people like to stay there. They don’t want to be oppressed the way they are in the hearing community, but sometimes they get trapped in that echo,” (Art 21, 2023). Meanwhile, the Paralympic community has given Adepitan evidence that, when society gives disabled people opportunities to thrive, “the sky is the limit,” (Paralympics GB, 2020)
Moreover, there is a recurring notion that it is not the disabilities that impact the quality of life of the interviewees, but rather society that makes their disabilities feel like a hindrance. In the interview with Adeptian, he says that he is “disabled because society has not allowed [him] to shine,” (Paralympics GB, 2020). Adversely, Sun Kim’s experience of living as a deaf artist in Berlin demonstrates the improved quality of life that can be achieved when you live in a country where the ” government actually supports their people,” (Art 21, 2023). Oppression and discrimination are particularly apparent in the interviews with Adepitan, whose physical disability intersects with race, and Chay Brown, who hidden disability intersects with gender. The reason for this is likely to be that society has historically attached a lot of shame and stigma onto people of colour, the LGBTQ+ community, and mental health illnesses. Yet, Brown acknowledges that being a white trans male with a hidden disability makes him more privileged than some members of the neurodiverse, LGBTQ+ community (Parapride, 2020). This statement resonates with Crenshaw’s point about accounting for “multiple grounds of identity when considering how the social world is constructed,” (1991).
According to UAL’s EDI Annual Report, 21% of students studying at CSM in 23/24 declared a disability, which is 3% higher than 22/23 and the highest figure across all the UAL colleges (UAL, 2022, pg. 21). Interestingly, the attainment gap between non-disabled and disabled students was only 2% in 22/23, which suggests that educators are fulfilling additional support needs. With regard to disability considerations in my own teaching context as the Curriculum Development Curator of the CSM Museum & Study Collection, I am yet to encounter declared hidden or physical disabilities. The reason for this is likely to be that I rarely teach the same group of students more than once, so either the tutor or student don’t feel the need to tell me in advance if there are disability considerations I should be aware of before delivering object-based learning workshops. However, having taught more than 500 students in the last six months across all colleges and levels of education, I feel confident to say that neurodiversity impacts most of my students. In one instance when the tutor was present in my workshop, he spoke with me afterwards in private about the conduct of a particular student who was quite disruptive, alluding to undiagnosed ADHD.
I commented on Yasi, Michael, and Sid’s blog posts.
References
Art 21 (2023), Christine Sun Kim in “Friends & Strangers” –
Season 11 | Art21. 01 November 2023. Available at: Christine Sun Kim in
“Friends & Strangers” – Season 11 | Art21 – YouTube (Access: 06 May
2020)
BBC Three (2023) Rose Ayling-Ellis: Signs for Change. 2 July. Available at: BBC One – Rose Ayling-Ellis: Signs for Change (Accessed: 24 May 2024).
Crenshaw, K. (1991) ‘Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity
politics, and Violence against Women of Color’, Stanford Law Review, 43(6), pp.
1241–1299. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039.
Paralympics GB (2020), Ade Adepitan gives amazing explanation of
systemic racism. 16 October 2020. Available at: Ade Adepitan gives amazing
explanation of systemic racism – YouTube (Accessed: 06 May 2024)
Parapride (2020), Intersectionality in Focus: Empowering Voices during
UK Disability History Month 2023. 13 December 2020. Available at: Intersectionality
in Focus: Empowering Voices during UK Disability History Month 2023
(youtube.com) (Accessed: 06 May 2020)
UAL (2022). Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Annual Report
2022/2023. UAL. Available at: UAL
Equality Diversity and Inclusion annual report 2022/23 (arts.ac.uk)
(Accessed: 06 May 2024
Hi Dayna,
I really enjoyed reading your blog post, particularly the insights you provided on the intersectional issues between race, gender, and disability. Your reference to Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality helped frame the experiences of Ade Adepitan, Chay Brown, and Christine Sun Kim in a meaningful context.
Your discussion of the “shared culture” within the deaf community, as highlighted by Sun Kim made me reflect on the ways in which communities of individuals with disabilities can provide both a sense of belonging and, at times, an echo chamber that limits their experiences.
I also found the statistics from UAL’s EDI Annual Report interesting, particularly the relatively small attainment gap between non-disabled and disabled students at CSM which on the surface seems positive.
Your reflections on your teaching context raised some important points about the challenges of addressing disability considerations, particularly when teaching different groups of students. What do you think you might have done differently in the session with the student with ADHD if this had been disclosed to you prior to the session?
Thanks again for sharing your insights Dayna, and I look forward to reading more of your work!
Thanks for your thoughtful comment, Yasi.
I agree that communities for individuals with specific disabilities can go both ways in terms of being supportive and limiting, depending on the context. I watched an insightful documentary by Rose Ayling-Ellis while writing this blog, which helped me understand deafness better and the power of community. Here is the link to watch it: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001n9sr.
To answer your question, I think I would have prepared myself better by factoring in pockets of time during my workshop to check in on the student with suggested ADHD, so he felt supported and the rest of the class didn’t feel disrupted.
Best,
Dayna
I was interested that you drew parallels between the ‘intersectional issues conveyed in all three interviews as “potential coalitions between race, gender and disability,”’; each interviewee had a particular experience that they articulated, they were each affected in multiple ways by the intersecting areas of inequality that they faced. It is interesting that you point out, ‘there is a clear need for and reliance on the disabled community they identify with,’ – this shows how having the support of people who also face similar challenges can be vital to withstanding the pressures of being faced with intersectional inequalities.
You state how, ‘there is a recurring notion that it is not the disabilities that impact the quality of life of the interviewees, but rather society that makes their disabilities feel like a hindrance,’ here the experiences of people who are affected by intersectional inequalities are highlighted as being particularly vulnerable to the limited viewpoints and provisions towards accessibility that are present in society. I was also struck by how Christine Sun Kim described how an ‘improved quality of life…can be achieved when you live in a country where the “government actually supports their people.”’ Discussing the experiences of Adepitan and Brown, in which different categories of inequality intersect (i.e. race and disability, being trans and having a hidden disability) you highlight Crenshaw’s point about ‘accounting for “multiple grounds of identity when considering how the social world is constructed.”’ This highlights the necessary complexity when addressing people’s varied experiences and shows that taking a nuanced view towards individuals’ and groups’ experiences can be transformative.
Similar to me, you highlight UAL’s EDI Annual Report, in which ‘21% of students studying at CSM in 23/24 declared a disability’. This high figure makes it clear that experiencing a disability is common and embedding accessibility in approaches to learning and teaching is critical. Similar to me, you commonly experience students who don’t disclose their learning support needs, while you acknowledge that quite a high number of your students are neurodiverse.
Thank you for your interesting comment, Sid.
I agree with your point about UAL’s EDI report. In fact, I just learned that 50% of UAL’s students identify as neurodiverse, which is not surprising considering this goes hand-in-hand with creativity.
Best,
Dayna
Hi Dayna,
I didn’t realise the number of neurodiverse students was so high, that’s really interesting.
Best wishes,
Sid
Dear Donya.
It was great reading your response to the reading material and YouTube video clip- workshop 1&2 blog tasks set for us to research-intersectionality, disability, race, and gender. I like your observations and summary of the materials: Kimberly Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality (Crenshaw, K 1991). Chay Brown’s intersectionality in focus (Brown, C 2023). You have found a recurring notion that disabilities that impact the quality life-but rather society that makes their disabilities feel like a hindrance, highlights the experiences that disable people must live through and at times endure.
This is an experience as teachers/educators causes a feeling of surprise because as we are not made aware of these issues and as teachers, we must try to put systems in place so that disadvantaged or those with disabilities are not left behind. You point out clearly, Sun Kim’s experiences living as a deaf artist in Berlin. Shows us when a society like Germany puts financial resources in place with a determined aim to improve the quality of life.” government actually supports their people,” (Art 21, 2023).
Do you feel that our country /government are fully engaged in supporting our disabled community. Are they are fully integrated in our society?
You clearly articulate Ade Adepitan experiences with his physical disability intersects with his race can be oppressive and discriminatory and impactful on his life. As a Technical Coordinator, Performance Technical and Teaching Resources, I am now challenging my views in how to combat this, not only within the educational system-at UAL but how I face it outside ‘in the wider society’.
The ‘hidden disabilities’ that Chay Brown reveals through her experiences where, race, colour, gender intersects. Chay feels that her colour and race give her an advantage. As teachers, we must be attuned to the ‘unseen’ disabilities and in some cases the advantages which can be a great challenge for us if the student does not make us aware of their supportive needs. Please find attached below paper cut out – Georgia Meacham-Metro news Paper, Thursday, May 9, 2024.
You highlight UAL statistics with close reference to UAL’s EDI Annual report which gives us statistical percentages off students studying at CSM in years 2023 to 2024- showing percentages in disability across all UAL colleges (2022, PG .21) suggesting that educators are fulfilling additional support needs.
With reference to your own practise as ‘Curriculum and Curriculum development Curator of the CSM Museum and Study Collection’ you make the point that you do not encounter or have declared to you students with hidden or physical disabilities, as your role is rarely teaching the same student group more than once. And the tutors of those groups do not feel they need to tell you in advance if there is a disability for you to consider while delivering your object-based learning workshops. This information is not forthcoming.
You engage with 500 students in a six-month period across all colleges. Do you feel there should be some system that should be in place to cater for ‘hidden disabilities? Is this something that you should instigate beforehand? Can it be a questionnaire?
Maybe you can ask the tutor to prepare a list of those students who needs extra support for you to be aware of unseen disabilities.? This can be action for the tutor of that year group to provide so that you’re forewarned and adapt your class accordingly. As you pointed out. There was a disruptive student who may have had diagnosed ADHD.
I enjoyed your blog very much, thank you for sharing.
Regards Michael
Thank you for your thought provoking comment, Michael.
It has made me reflect on what I should focus on for my intervention, which seems to be addressing information gaps I have about my students as a consequence of not teaching a regular cohort. I like your suggestion of creating a questionnaire that I distribute to my workshop group in advance to assess whether I need to make provisions for visible and hidden disabilities.
Having used questionnaires to gather feedback, which I talked about in Unit 1, I know it is an effective way to collect data that can lead to change. If I am to actualise this intervention, I will need to go through UAL’s ethical research approval process.
Best,
Dayna