‘If it still is unconscious, then it’s really worrying’. ‘A bit of consciousness would be very welcome’ Kwhali J
Confirmation bias: the tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with one’s existing beliefs
Falsification bias: actively looking for evidence which disproves your point of view rather than confirms it.
Consciousness raising as an idea has been around since at least the 1960’s. I remember my mother talking about feminist consciousness raising in the 1970’s. Are we really pretending that in 2022 university staff are not conscious of racism, and that if staff do behave in a racist manner we can negate or explain it away as being done unconsciously?
It’s so inspiring to hear Josephine Kwhali talking straight, fearlessly, and clearly saying what she thinks. I feel that I’m not always listened to by colleagues at work. I have been told that when I’m expressing an opinion, I’m being aggressive or confrontational, I know that I was expressing myself in the same tone of voice as my colleagues were. This has had the effect of silencing me.
I have sometimes heard people of colour being called loud or aggressive by white authority figures and wonder if they too feel silenced by this characterization. I would use this oral history project resource as a way of showing students that we can challenge authority and in fact should challenge and question what we are told. I have completed Unconscious bias training on-line and in person at UAL and found it to be useful but generally an unchallenging activity. The inclusive practices unit on the PGCert has been much more challenging and effective in showing me the privilege I have and how I can begin to acknowledge my privilege and make changes in my role at UAL.
The course I work on is largely staffed by white middle-class, middle-aged women. Not only do we continue to employ white middle class women but often hire ex students who are white middle-class women with the result that the course does not change and everyone feels very comfortable.