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I have been interested in critical pedagogies for some time now and having been given\u00a0the opportunity to organise a new module, Decolonising Human Rights, I wanted to\u00a0incorporate some of the pedagogical practices that I had been reading about. Co-creation seemed to be a way to foster real engagement with students so that they could\u00a0take ownership of their learning. The work of bell hooks has been a true inspiration –\u00a0viewing the classroom as a place of radical possibilities. The project helped to clarify for\u00a0me why I am an academic \u2013 to think through important aspects of global politics in order\u00a0to make the future a more hopeful place. Running a course that focused on decolonising\u00a0the more orthodox human rights narrative, in a collaborative way with students, felt like\u00a0an academically rigorous approach that would be challenging and offer new ways of\u00a0thinking for both the students and myself.<\/p>\n
Thinking in a decolonial way is a community practice that takes the knowledge and\u00a0experiences of the global majority seriously. Hence, my wish to co-create the module\u00a0with our diverse student body. The module began by explaining to the students the
module manifesto and rationales behind using critical pedagogies, rather than the\u00a0standard didactic format that is often associated with university modules. We then set\u00a0about co-creating some of the topics that would be focused upon in the second half of\u00a0the module. I spoke to the students about intergenerational solidarity \u2013 these topics\u00a0would remain on the module in the following years, so what did they think was important\u00a0for future cohorts of students to have some time to read about, discuss, and think\u00a0through? The topics that the students chose were: Human Rights and Peacekeeping;\u00a0Climate Change, Colonial Legacies and Exploitation; and Genocide, Displacement and\u00a0War. The process reminded me how thoughtful and articulate our students are, and there\u00a0was a general air of excitement at the beginning of the semester. Personally, I was able to\u00a0read about and think through some topics that I was new to and then learn with and from\u00a0the students.<\/p>\n
Co-creation can be an uncomfortable process both for myself and the students!\u00a0Relinquishing a certain amount of control and \u201cbuilding the plane whilst flying it\u201d can be\u00a0anxiety producing. As part of the co-creation process, regular reflection, feedback and
evaluation is vital. We did this after week 5, in the final week, and then I ran a paid focus\u00a0group with some students after the module had been completed. The funding from SoSS\u00a0Social Responsibility went to paying the students that participated in the focus group for\u00a0their time. The reflection\/evaluation process was absolutely key for the module both this\u00a0year and for future iterations. After week 5, upon feedback from the students, I was able\u00a0to adapt aspects such as the structure of the lectures and seminars, the teaching\u00a0practices that I adopted, and the assessment guidance that was provided to students.\u00a0The discussions that took place in the week 10 evaluation and focus group will be invaluable when running the module next year. Some of the things that I will be adjusting\u00a0include: the semester that I am running the module in, the order in which the course is\u00a0delivered, and the guidance provided to students for their assessments and the timings\u00a0of their submissions.<\/p>\n
Whilst it would be wrong to give the impression that everything was \u201csmooth sailing,\u201d co-creation was certainly a rewarding way to deliver a module. Due to the nature of the\u00a0approach, adopting co-creation as a critical, community-led pedagogy, I suspect that\u00a0this was not simply \u201cteething problems,\u201d and that there will be challenging moments each year. However, co-creation does allow for a dynamism that can reflect our evolving\u00a0student body and engage them in a truly collaborative way. Aside from being able to take\u00a0some ownership over the subject matter that is discussed during the semester, I also\u00a0suspect that the skills developed from participating in this collaboration will be of great\u00a0value in the students\u2019 future trajectories.<\/p>\n
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