• INTRODUCTION:

Following my intervention proposal of a code of ethical practice for students joining the CCP collaborative unit between students of all courses of the School of Performance at WCA and Polka Theatre, we are reminded of the immense responsibility that comes with exploring the rich and complex world of folklore. My revised proposed intervention now becomes a timely and crucial step towards decolonising our approach to folklore and ensuring that our work is rooted in ethical principles.

As we delve into the intricacies of global majority cultures, we recognise that folklore is not just a collection of stories, but a vital part of identity, community, and heritage. It is a reflection of the lived experiences, struggles, and triumphs of marginalised communities who have been historically silenced, erased, or manipulated by dominant cultures. It is our duty as artists, educators, and researchers to approach this subject with sensitivity, respect, and a deep understanding of the power dynamics at play in such situations.

This code of ethical practice is not just a set of guidelines; it is a commitment to disrupting the status quo and challenging the dominant narratives that have shaped our understanding of folklore. It is a recognition that our work must be informed by the voices and perspectives of global majority communities, and that our role as facilitators is to amplify their stories, rather than appropriating or tokenising them.

As we all embark on this journey, we acknowledge the complexity of intersectionalities that shape our identities, experiences, and practices. We recognise that folklore is not just a reflection of individual experiences but also intersects with issues of race, gender, faith, disabilities, and other forms of oppression. Our code of ethical practice must account for these intersections and prioritise the voices and needs of those who have been historically marginalised.

Through this report, I aim to critically reflect on my own positionality, biases, and power dynamics as facilitator as well as on all of those involved in this collaboration. We will examine how our practices can be adapted to centre global majority voices and experiences, acknowledging the tensions and challenges that arise from doing so. We will also explore ways to foster inclusive and decolonized spaces for dialogue, collaboration, and creativity.

Ultimately, this code of ethical practice is not just a means to an end; it is an end in itself. It is a commitment to creating a more just and equitable world where marginalised voices are amplified, respected, and valued. As we embark on this journey together, we invite you to join us in this call to action: let us decolonise folklore, decolonise practice, championing untold stories on stage and co-creating a more inclusive and just future for all.

• RESPONDING TO MY OWN POSITIONALITY:

As a Black Queer Foreign-born educator, my positionality is deeply informed by my own experiences of intersectional identities and the power dynamics that shape my role as an educator and as an artist. In the context of the proposed intervention, my positionality is crucial in acknowledging the historical and ongoing marginalisation of global majority cultures and communities. My commitment to equity, inclusivity, and cultural responsiveness is reflected in my recognition of the need to create a more inclusive and supportive learning environment that values diverse perspectives and experiences.

This also informs my understanding of the importance of interrogating my own biases, assumptions, and power dynamics as an educator. This self-awareness is essential in navigating the complexities of decolonising folklore and ensuring that the code of ethical practice proposed here is not only a set of guidelines but a lived commitment to ethical principles.

The proposed code of ethical practice is deeply rooted in my recognition of the need to disrupt dominant narratives and centre global majority voices and experiences. By acknowledging the intersectionalities that shape my own identity and practice, I feel better equipped to understand the complex power dynamics at play in folklore and to create a more inclusive and decolonised space for collaboration for our students.

Now ready for the challenge, this underscores the importance of reflexivity and self-awareness in navigating the complexities of decolonising folklore. By continuously interrogating their own biases and power dynamics, all participants in the collaboration (myself included) can ensure that their teaching practices are responsive to the diverse needs and experiences of our students.

In this sense, my positionality statement serves as a guiding framework for the proposed intervention. By acknowledging and centring my own positionality, the author is able to create a more inclusive and decolonized space for collaboration that prioritises global majority voices and experiences. The proposed code of ethical practice is not just a set of guidelines but a living document that reflects the author’s commitment to equity, inclusivity, and cultural responsiveness.

As educators, it is our responsibility to create an inclusive and supportive learning environment that values diverse perspectives and experiences. To achieve this, we must acknowledge the power dynamics at play and interrogate our own biases and assumptions. This is not a one-time exercise but an ongoing process that requires continuous self-reflection and awareness.

For international students, this may involve recognising the cultural and historical contexts that have shaped their experiences and understanding of global majority folklore, be that familiar to them or not. For British students, it might involve exploring how their own cultural norms and biases may impact their approach to folklore and the project. By acknowledging these complexities, we can work together to create a more inclusive and decolonised space for collaboration.

The proposed code of ethical practice is designed to guide our actions and decisions throughout the project. However, it is essential to recognise that positionality is not a fixed concept but rather a dynamic and context-dependent process. As we navigate the complexities of folklore, we must remain open to adjusting our understanding of ourselves and our role within the project.

• THE CODE OF ETHICAL PRACTICE:

To support this process, I encourage you all to engage in regular self-reflection and dialogue with your peers. Ask yourselves questions like: What are my assumptions about folklore? How do my cultural background and experiences influence my understanding of folklore? What are my biases, and how can I challenge them?

Here are 12 action points that will support our adherence to the proposed code of ethical practice:

1. Acknowledge and respect diverse perspectives: Recognise and respect the diverse cultural backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of all stakeholders involved in the project, including students, colleagues, and communities.
2. Interrogate own biases and assumptions: Regularly reflect on own biases and assumptions about folklore and the project, and take steps to challenge and overcome them.
3. Inclusive language and terminology: Use inclusive language and terminology when discussing folklore, avoiding language that is culturally insensitive or offensive.
4. Contextualise folklore within its cultural context: Recognise that folklore is embedded in specific cultural contexts and avoid extracting or appropriating it out of context.
5. Centring marginalised voices: Prioritise centring the voices and experiences of marginalised communities in the project, particularly those who have been historically excluded or silenced.
6. Power dynamics awareness: Be aware of power dynamics at play in the project and take steps to mitigate them, such as inviting marginalised voices in our decision-making processes.
7. Inclusive storytelling practices: Practice inclusive storytelling by using multiple narrative structures, genres, and forms to represent diverse cultures and experiences.
8. Collaborative research methods: Engage in collaborative research methods that involve marginalised communities in the research process, ensuring their voices are heard and valued.
9. Decolonising pedagogy: Implement decolonizing pedagogies that prioritise student-centred learning, critical thinking, and empowerment, rather than Eurocentric or other dominant cultural norms.
10. Open communication channels: Establish open communication channels for feedback, criticism, and concerns, ensuring that all participants/stakeholders feel heard and valued.
11. Continuous self-reflection: Engage in continuous self-reflection throughout the project, recognising that positionality is dynamic and context-dependent.
12. Evaluating impact: Regularly evaluate the impact of the project on those marginalised communities, acknowledging potential unintended consequences and taking steps to mitigate any harm it may be caused.

These action points can serve as a guide for implementing the code of ethical practice in daily activities, ensuring that the project is guided by a commitment to equity, inclusivity, and cultural responsiveness.

By embracing this collective effort towards reflexivity and inclusive practice, we can work towards creating a truly decolonised space where global majority voices are amplified, respected, and valued. Together, we can co-create a more just and equitable world where folklore is celebrated as a means to promote understanding, foster cultural exchange, and honour diversity.

• CONTEXT OF THE UNIT AND INTERVENTION PROPOSAL:

The Collaborative and Collective Practices Unit, which this work attempts to contributes to, is designed to address:
• Welcome and Belonging
• Embedding Climate Racial Social Justice Principals
• Engaging with the wider community and services

This unit explores transdisciplinary, collaborative curriculum design to equip students with:
• Developing confidence to work across disciplines.
• Working within a multidisciplinary team.
• Harnessing the ongoing potential of new, transdisciplinary working across disciplines in a globalised world.
• Learning personal and cultural values, intercultural awareness, self-directed learning and co-creation of knowledge.
• Employability skills such as communication, teamwork, self-management and resilience.
• Networking, communication, teamwork and presentation (all essential skills required to undertake the challenges of the creative industries.
• Creation of a growing community and a sense of belonging.

The unit is focused on teaching and providing an opportunity for collaboration, and reflection on the process undertaken as part of a collaborative project (as opposed to focusing on the outcomes produced, eg. a costume). The outcomes are a vehicle for the process in the case of this unit.

In the case of the collaboration with Polka Theatre, my colleague Geraldine O’Reilly, Lecturer of BA Technical Arts As Co-Project Leaders on this Unit, we are expected to:
• Support the students to function in a collaborative way, problem-solve as a group and help them find direction.
• Build group dynamics and engagement.
• Deliver unit content and lead discussions, crits and activities in response to emerging group challenges.
• Guide students in their individual reflective practice, and group outcomes.
• Support identification of connections between projects and the university’s justice principles and professional practice skills, and can identify potential connections to other teams.
• Provide assistance in developing an exhibition or activity as a social and celebration of the unit, showcasing student work, knowledge and learning.
• Support the final submission and guide student practice in reflective writing.

This proposed intervention and code of ethical practice follows a comment raised by senior management in our first collaborative project with Polka Theatre, where students from all BA courses at WCA recreated folkloric stories onto stage for younger audiences through the use of puppets. The comments addressed the issues of cultural appropriation which may be brought up when groups with a majority of students perceived to be white is manipulating puppets of an African or East/South-East Asian folklore-based dramaturgy.

Addressing those comments, I must bring to our attention once again the vast complexity of not only the assumptions of a cultural background from appearance-only, but of the very core of all acting and performance endeavours which is to bring the story of another to the limelight; and ultimately, to become another in front of the audience.

I sincerely doubt anyone involved in both theatre and performance professional settings has not asked themselves the question as to whether or not our increased sensitivity to cultural identities, trauma and aggression spells doom for the actor’s art form. This conversation, though, seems to focus almost solely on the artist-audience relationship and seems to neglect a much more fundamental place where these changes are playing out: our classrooms.

How can we train students to become actors if we allow them to insulate themselves from the perspective of upsetting material? How can we build the emotional resilience necessary for a professional actor and performance maker if students are afraid of any negative experiences or even sitting with the discomfort of not having all the answers before experimentation?

This line of questioning starts from the fundamental misleading assumption that we teachers know what is best and our students know nothing. This can go so far as to convince ourselves—and I include myself as to have fallen victim of this hubris —that when we give students controversial material or provoke them to a particular emotional state within a scene or dramaturgical material, we are doing what is best for them. We congratulate ourselves, thinking that any emotional response students have is productive and that we have done a good job by pushing them through their own boundaries.

“One cannot expect positive results from an educational or political action program which fails to respect the particular view of the world held by the people.” FREIRE, Paulo.

This type of thinking is, to my mind, a perfect example of what Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire, in his landmark 1968 work Pedagogy of the Oppressed, calls the “banking model” of education. In the banking model, knowledge is a fixed quantity that must be deposited from a knowing teacher to an ignorant student, like pennies in a jar. The student’s job in this case is to be a receptive object instead of an active participant.

However, Freire shows us with his practice and Critical Pedagogy that students are not blank canvas but full agents of their learning process. And in order to start this debate, we must understand that students will bring their own knowledge and cultural background when delving into the study and representation of global majority folklore.

It is harmful for tutors to be the sole choice-makers, coming from the assumption that students are not able to work through those complexities themselves. Even more problematic it is to withhold teaching material or engagement of a group of students during the exploration of representing said folklore on stage due to their race, ethnicity or any other protective characteristic.

In response to the comments and to our own biases as educators, the proposed intervention/code of ethical practice is fundamental to address those complexities and to guide all participants in the collaborative unit towards creating the aforementioned truly decolonised space where global majority voices are amplified, respected, and valued.

• FEEDBACK AND FINAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The peer-feedback on the revised project proposal elicited interesting reactions from our group. Augusta’s comments highlighted the need to revisit the scope of the project, specifically in light of the cultural appropriation issue raised by senior management. This feedback suggests that the proposal may be too broad in its scope and may benefit from a more focused approach, which I believe was addressed with the adapted format of a code of ethical practice and call to action. On the other hand, Hedieh’s suggested that perhaps this did not need to serve as a direct response to the senior management comments and instead focus on the reflexive praxis of the project which in her view was more interesting. This could allow the intervention to stand alone as a reflection of the group’s values and commitment to cultural sensitivity.

Satya’s input was particularly valuable, highlighting the new forms of commodification of racial and ethnic stereotypes that have emerged through social media. Their observation about the democratisation of content creation platforms for creators from Africa, Asia, and Latin America is also noteworthy. This could be an important area for further exploration in future expansion of this intervention, as it speaks to the complex power dynamics at play in the digital landscape. Overall, the peer-feedback provides a rich set of perspectives that has helped me refine and strengthen the intervention proposal.

Reflecting on the possible outcomes of this intervention proposal, it is clear that the window of opportunity is limited, with the project only being able to be implemented in December 2024. However, even with this constraint, the potential impact could be significant. By addressing the potential cultural appropriation issue raised by senior management and exploring the suggested approaches here, the project has the potential to raise awareness and spark meaningful conversations about the importance of cultural sensitivity and respect. Moreover, by bringing students to understand themselves as agents for the implementation of this code of ethical practice allows for further understanding their own positionality within the project and the intersectional identities at play when approaching global majority folklore.

As Kimberle Crenshaw writes in her book “On Intersectionality: The Original Hacker’s Guide”, “Intersectionality is not just about adding together the effects of multiple forms of oppression. It is about understanding how these forms are intertwined and how they produce unique experiences of marginalisation.” This highlights the importance of considering the intersections between different forms of oppression and marginalisation, and how these intersections can create unique challenges and opportunities for change. By applying this intersectional lens to our intervention proposal, we can work towards creating a more comprehensive and effective approach to addressing cultural appropriation and promoting diversity and inclusion in the CCP Unit in collaboration with Polka Theatre.

• REFERENCES:

YOUNG, H. (2013) Theatre & Race (at Theatre &… book series) , Bloomsbury Publishing, London.
METZGER, (2019) S. Race in Performance (at Oxford Research Encyclopedia)
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HOOKS, b. (1992). Black Looks: Race and Representation. South End Press.
LORDE, A. (1984). Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. The Crossing Press.
CRENSHAW, K. W. (2017). On Intersectionality: Essential Writings. The New Press.
FREIRE, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Bloomsbury Publishing.
HOBGOOD, B.M. (1987). The Mission of the Theatre Teacher. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 21(1), 57–73. https://doi.org/10.2307/3332813 (Last access – 04.03.2024)
BOAL, A. (2008). Theatre of the oppressed. Theatre Communications Group.