VIRTUAL MADRID FOCUS ON PEDAGOGY

Abstract

Decolonizing the classroom is not just about content.

I teach the History of Graphic Design and the Introduction to Art History. In both, I encourage students to question the field’s history and hidden biases. We talk about who is included, how the work is contextualized. Yet being inclusive isn’t enough. If we continue to function under the old European structures that institutions like universities were built on, we haven’t really changed. For example, many of my students are regional and graduated from overcrowded and underfunded high schools in the area. Many are helping to support their families and working at least one job. Some are bilingual. Many of them – while smart, hardworking, and talented – come into my classrooms saying they “don’t read” or that they “can’t write.” In discussions with colleagues about this problem, a common response is that college classes require college-level skills, and if a student doesn’t have the skills, they shouldn’t be in our classrooms. In this situation, representation alone won’t decolonize the classroom. Instead, it allows us to feel good about inclusive content while maintaining an institutional structure that denies students the opportunity to engage with content, form educated opinions, and think about their relation to the world. If selected, my presentation will elaborate on ways I’ve modified my art/design history classrooms to reduce the amount of content covered and academic readings assigned, while increasing student engagement (untangling, thinking, questioning) with the content covered. In other words, how I’ve redirected academic difficulty to increase academic rigor. I’ll also provide tips for creating an inclusive classroom structure.