Aaron J. Hahn Tapper article ‘A Pedagogy of Social Justice Education: Social Identity Theory, Intersectionality, and Empowerment’ explores the idea of social justice education, using his own experience of a US-based intergroup educational organization, which he founded in 2003. Tapper’s proposition is underpinned by the ideas Paulo Freire and the fundamental argument that students achieve intellectual and physical freedom through education. But, according to Freire, education also plays a major part in preserving the status quo, where ‘patterns of inequality’ are maintained and this, of course, should be challenged. Freire suggests that students’ identities need to be taken into account and that the idea of imposing knowledge without appreciating the students’ ‘situation in the world’ is bound to fail.
This reminded me of the ‘Travelling Cultures’ case study (UAL Religion, Belief and Faith identities website) that I referenced in a previous blog post (On Faith, Contemporary Art and Pedagogy, 24.05.21). Steve Cross, Associate Dean of the School of Media LCC, discusses the ‘personal essay’ assignment, in which students are encouraged to reflect on the course using a personal writing style, to consider how (in Cross’ words) it relates to their own understanding of culture and identity. The emphasis here is on the student’s experience, personal voice and positionality. Cross also reflects on how much staff share their own experiences, positions and personal beliefs. It’s a good example of collective critical reflection that focuses on the personal experiences and social identities of individuals. I am interested in Tapper’s comment that the goal of his programmes is to have students teach one another about social identities and intergroup dynamics using critical thought.
I found Tapper’s reflections of Social Identity Theory useful. Social Identity Theory proposes that humans are largely social beings and that everyone identifies with a range of social groups (i.e. in terms of ethnicity, gender, class, religion etc.). Therefore, people relate to one another based on their perceptions of the social groups to which each other belong. As Tapper explains, consequently, individuals have group identities that they choose, as well as group identities that are imposed on them. Social Identity Theory places an emphasis on the ‘local-cultural characteristics’ of the groups involved and although this underpins Tapper’s approach to teaching and intergroup exchange, he also warns that this can be problematic if students’ individual interactions are overlooked and they are seen only through their larger social identities.