I read ‘The Charismatic Lecturer’ (2004) by Macfarlane before Week 1B workshop, and it turned out that I focused on the entirely ‘wrong’ point. What we ended up discussing in the workshop was the process of peer observation. I should have seen this coming, since it of course led smoothly into discussions of our own peer observations (very clever!). But what I focused on as I read the piece was a conundrum that has niggled at me for many months now – how do we, as teaching staff, encourage diverse opinions while holding our own?
I have had discussions with colleagues about how we must remain impartial, unbiased in class. We must create an atmosphere where students can share opposing views freely and not feel judged. I take this point – I grew immensely while studying at my own undergraduate university in India due to classroom debates… but also because I studied at an all women’s college and in a course that was left-leaning and feminist. It made me a critical thinker and helped shape my political views to the extent that I did a PhD on the postcolonial impact that the British publishing industry has had on former colonies such as India. This PhD is highly relevant to the course I teach on, but it is of course a highly political research topic too. How do I utilise my research in class while maintaining ‘impartiality’? Do we need ‘impartiality’ on topics such as colonialism? And don’t UAL’s own social, racial and climate justice policies take a certain left-leaning stance (UAL nd)? UAL states in its ‘Breadth of Focus’ changes in its ‘Social Purpose Implementation Plan’ (UAL nd) that UAL will hone in on a set of priorities for the institution and this will be embedded in different aspects, including ‘Teaching’ (UAL nd):
Figure 1: Screenshot of UAL’s Social Purpose Implementation Plan (UAL nd) focusing on the ‘Breadth of Focus’
How can we embed these policies in our teaching yet remain politically unbiased?
So far, discussing my research on postcolonialism with students and staff at LCC has not elicited a response indicating that they miss the good ol’ days of the British Raj or that one people deserve to be oppressed by another. But what happens if I ever have a student who holds that view? This is not a thought experiment – it is the consideration of a very real possibility. We often stereotype artists and art students as being left-leaning, but that is of course a sweeping generalisation (Clarity 2o21; Fouweather 2023). Are the effects – ill or positive – of colonialism a topic that I must encourage discussion on in class so that I am inclusive of diverse perspectives? Can one truly both-side this argument?
References
Clarity, K (2021) ‘The Plight of the Conservative Artist in a Liberal World’, The Imaginative Conservative. Available at: https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2021/03/plight-conservative-artist-kay-clarity.html (Accessed 16 March 2025).
Fouweather, L (2023) ‘Why Do Creative People Tend To Be Left-Wing? ‘, Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@lisafouweather/why-do-creative-people-tend-to-be-left-wing-18c3c654de08 (Accessed 16 March 2025).
Macfarlane, B (2004) ‘The Charismatic Lecturer’, Teaching with Integrity: The ethics of higher education practice. London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Misra, S (2024) Whose Words Are We Reading? The Cartelisation of Anglophone Trade Book Publishing: the case of India.
UAL (nd) ‘Social Purpose’. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/social-purpose (Accessed 16 March 2025).
UAL (nd) ‘Social Purpose Implementation Plan’. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/411486/social-purpose-implementation-plan.pdf (Accessed 18 March 2025).