Branch of knowledge, subject:
Sociology, Cultural Diversity
What inspires you?
I would rather say who - so people like bell hooks, Frank Tuitt, Gloria Wekker, Nana Adusei-Poku, Angela Davis, Toni Morrison, James Baldwin. What they all have in common is a certain eloquence when it comes to foregrounding their thoughts and ideas. They are also, for me more importantly, able to 'speak up' about the big subjects of our day as well as deconstruct the system within which we develop, feel, think, learn and play. Revealing its biases, assumptions, injustices while offering us ways to understand and challenge them.
What defines you as a tutor? Your strongest points?
...a sense of humour, a desire to connect with students I teach. Furthermore, I also embody the discourse I teach, having diverse cultural experiences - as a West African, English and living in The Netherlands for some time - which puts quite a lot of perspectives on the table.
What is your dream/goal as a tutor?
I have several dreams: to engage with students in a way that makes them feel that their voice is important. To enable them to find their own speaking position, be it via written text, performance, visual or spoken forms. I attempt to make them more critical of the society they are living in, open their eyes to all kinds of disciplinary discourses that they may or may not be aware of. Finally, I would love students to embrace reading and thus start developing their own learning path.
I would love students to embrace reading and thus start developing their own learning path.
Name one item from your bucket list?
...to write a book, particularly a PhD, which is a complex and very demanding way of doing research and investigating a subject that I find important and relevant.
Whom would you call true innovator?
When I think about women, I find particularly inspiring Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Kathleen Cleaver & Angela Davis, as they never wavered despite the enormous personal pressure they were put under to stop doing what they were doing. These black women were/are engaged in the fight against social injustice, gender and racial inequality and struggled to be human when the price of being so was high. In their struggle, they are a beacon of light to those who are also pushing for a change to transform some of the more stubborn and disturbing narratives of our time.
View here WdKA/Creating 010 joint research project about what makes a truly inclusive and diverse art school.
Photography: Jasmijn van der Linden
