Abstract

Embedding climate, social and racial justice principles requires multiple pedagogical approaches to complex concepts and concerns. In response, members of our panel will discuss working across three different courses and specific units at master’s and undergraduate level. Approaches include combining practical projects with delivery of academic content, incorporating Student Knowledge Exchange (SKE) through project work with external partners, and applying responsible design principles through experimentation. Timely evaluation involving in-depth interviews with students, staff and project partners can be effective in providing meaningful feedback that can be fed into further iterations of innovative creative curricula tackling complex and timely issues.

Session and activities

In this panel discussion we will bring together three academics from LCF and LCC, who have taken different active approaches to designing units that will facilitate students learning to navigate complex issues fundamental to responding to climate, racial, and social justice. Chaired by the Evidence and Evaluation manager from the UAL Learning and Teaching Directorate, together we will explore different approaches to making complex themes live and relevant to UAL students.

Dr Francesco Mazzarella will discuss the approach he took in developing the unit he leads, ‘Fashion Practices for Social Change’, which brings master’s students from across LCF together to learn through academic content and group project work with external partners and to explore how fashion practices can activate positive social change.

Professor Helen Storey will talk about how, in the ‘Pockets of Love’ and ‘Healing map’ briefs, she has supported students to create textile artefacts in response to artworks created by refugees in Malawi to enable students to engage with geopolitical perspectives on social and racial justice.

Dr Rachel Clarke will discuss developing the ‘Responsible Design Unit’ at LCC within the Design School. Focussing on ‘Design for Art Direction’, her team introduces students to creative practices to that explore food cultures in Southwark to activate individual and collective gift giving, storytelling and connection with the aim of creating safe spaces for dialogue.

All three academics worked closely with Dr Rose Thompson over the previous and current academic cycles to evaluate their units and embed learning from those evaluations into the current iterations of their courses. In this panel discussion, we will reflect on the role of evaluation in supporting the evolution of curriculum.

We propose a panel discussion for the duration of up to 60 minutes, if possible. This panel brings together 3 linked presentations (by Dr Francesco Mazzarella, Professor Helen Storey, and Dr Rachel Clarke) of approximately 10 minutes around a shared topic (creative education focused on climate, racial and social justice issues, exemplified various units and student project briefs), with 15 minutes for discussion facilitated by the session chair (Dr Rose Thompson), and followed by 15 minutes of Q&A with the audience.

This session provides the opportunity for networking, to bring together colleagues from different disciplines and UAL colleges. It will also enable gaining attendees’ feedback to further develop ongoing work and advance creative education with a social purpose.