The materials in this task sit in tension with reflections from our workshop on race. Both expose the friction between institutional frameworks and the lived experience of exclusion.
Bradbury (2020) draws on Critical Race Theory to show how UK assessment policy erases racial inequality through the pretext of neutrality. This resonates with how policy and institutional processes also police creativity. In class, we discussed how bodies can intervene – and be policed – in teaching. An example raised was Santiago Sierra’s UK flag artwork soaked in Indigenous blood, an explicit critique of colonialism, which also faced censorship. It reminded me of the Cypriot ministry censoring a Venice Biennale publication for using ‘inappropriate’ dialect – revealing how culture is regulated to uphold national identity.
Ahmed (2012) writes that diversity often becomes institutional PR – a surface commitment masking inaction. Speaking about racism can feel like “becoming the problem” itself, where critique is seen as a threat to the institution’s self-image. I see this when students’ creative exploration is constrained by policies of ‘appropriateness.’ When these barriers arise, students withdraw – not just from creative risk, but from engagement with technical spaces, creating distance from us as technicians.
Garrett’s (2024) work on racialised PhDs shows how structural racism shapes constrained futures, while Sadiq’s (2023) TEDx presents a palatable, corporate DEI focused on innovation. Yet, as Ahmed suggests, this reframes diversity as a tool for reputational maintenance rather than real change.
The question I’m left with is: how do we create space within institutions to talk about racism without it being neutralised by the demand to ‘stay positive’?
References:
Ahmed, S. (2012). On Being Included: Racism and Diversity in Institutional Life. Durham: Duke University Press.
Bradbury, A. (2020). A critical race theory framework for education policy analysis: The case of bilingual learners and assessment policy in England. Race Ethnicity and Education, 23(2), pp.241–260.
Garrett, R. (2024). Racism shapes careers: career trajectories and imagined futures of racialised minority PhDs in UK higher education. Globalisation, Societies and Education, pp.1–15.
BBC. (2021). Santiago Sierra: UK flag soaked in Indigenous blood artwork rejected. [Online]. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-56505840 [Accessed 6 June 2025].
Cyprus Mail (2025) Culture Ministry orders withdrawal of Biennale publication. Cyprus Mail, 4 June. Available at: https://cyprus-mail.com/2025/06/04/culture-ministry-orders-withdrawal-of-biennale-publication (Accessed 6 June 2025).
Sadiq, A. (2023). Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Learning how to get it right. [Video]. TEDx. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR4wz1b54hw [Accessed 5 June 2025].
Orr, J. (2022) Revealed: The charity turning UK universities woke. The Telegraph [Online]. Youtube. 5 August. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRM6vOPTjuU [Accessed 5 June 2025].
Channel 4. (2020) The School That Tried to End Racism. [Online}. Youtube. 30 June. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1I3wJ7pJUjg [Accessed 5 June 2025].