What was the challenge and the context?
Although the importance of celebrating diversity is widely supported often the focus is on the problems presented by diversity such as discrimination and disadvantage. There was therefore a desire to create a module which both genuinely celebrated the diversity of London and recognised that the diversity of the capital goes back thousands of years before the arrival of the Windrush generation.
What did we do?
A module was delivered through lectures, but also guided diversity walks in: Westminster, Spitalfields and the City of London, a visit to the Museum of Docklands and a Caribbean artists’ exhibition in Tate modern. There were three themes: finance, power and challenges and a focus on ethnicity, gender and sexuality.
Formally the aims of the module were to:
- Celebrate the history of London in relation to diverse communities
- Place the lived experience of diversity within the wider process of economic, cultural and socio-economic change
- Identify the challenges faced by minoritized communities and celebrate their achievements
- Develop research skills in relation to diverse communities in London
Less formally the aims were to:
- Make students tourists in their own city
- Make students tourists in their own lives
The assessment was to present souvenirs (examples below collated in presentation) of London in a 5-10 minute presentation per student. The student also had to separately provide a 500 word caption for the souvenir explaining the context with two references.
What happened? or what was the impact?
The focus on the ethnic variation of London, going back 40,000 years was successful. Gender proved somewhat more difficult, and the historical contribution of sexual diversity was very hard to unearth.
The students were enthusiastic about the module. There was 100% submission and 100% pass rate with a wide range of imaginative presentations. 94% said that they enjoyed the module and 88% said that they had leant a lot. The assessment became, in effect, part of the teaching with students learning a lot about each other’s culture and backgrounds.
- It’s super interesting I never really noticed how diverse London is
- Because it gives you a wide knowledge of how London was in terms of diversity and why it is now one of the most diverse cities in Europe and also its history
- I would recommend the option because getting historical facts of diversity can be helpful to reduce the occurrence of racism in society
- It would help students understanding why London is diverse and continues to attract different people in the country
- This is a great addition to the social work degree. It helps open your mind and build on your cultural competence
Students also began to explore their own backgrounds (one discovered that his grandparents were Irish).
Further, it can be argued that this activity as part of the module content and pedagogical approach supports decolonising the curriculum in particular by foregrounding students’ lived experiences and connecting with their own identities and backgrounds. It is worth noting that this pedagogical approach not only celebrates diversity but also decentres the university and utilises learning outside the classroom.
Could the practice change be rolled out more widely?
Focusing on the history of a city, like London, offers a different perspective on diversity and a chance to celebrate it. This approach can be adapted for various discipline/learning contexts by selecting from a wide variety of diversity dimensions and cultural aspects to be explored by students.
As this teaching method heavily relies on students’ mobility, visual and aural capacity, facilitators will need to review and adapt their approach to be inclusive of students with impairments to fully participate.
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