Today I went into my tutorial with a question – albeit a slightly stupid one in hindsight. I asked David how to present my research at the festival in a way that utilises my background in photography….
Just writing that makes me realise how badly I was tying my brain in knots trying to avoid the obvious answer. However David challenged me to branch out into video, and I think that this is challenge I am going to embrace. Having arranged interviews with stakeholders in the coming weeks, I plan to ask if I can video them. And then compile the interviews into a short film to which I can ask both stakeholders and experts to react. We spoke about how exhibitions are an intervention as long as you’re asking for feedback on it, and how this goes for anything. I know what makes an intervention, but sometimes I confuse myself or overthink it.
Action points:
Conduct interviews that I have arranged, and arrange some more ✔️
Teach myself the basics of video editing (or find someone who can teach me) ✔️
Reach out to more universities to learn about their outreach
Rethink my question – I know it needs to evolve but I can’t figure out how yet. ✔️
Look at short films that are comprised of interviews for inspiration ✔️
Write blog post summing up what I’ve learnt about the outreach approach from arts universities and non arts based schools. What are the main differences/similarities?
First tutorial with David and I feel as though my mental block has disappeared! I think that I have been second guessing myself and my project too much, and focusing on the roadblocks I’m encountering rather than the successes I am having. We spoke about how CSM specifically has a reputation for it being difficult to get answers to questions and he suggested that I contact one or more of the other colleges that make up UAL such as CCW and LCC. Another conversation we had was about how in the UK, class is always the elephant in the room – it’s rarely spoken about but there’s always an undercurrent of it in the majority of situations.
Moving Forwards – Action points, ideas to research/think about etc
Show my academic argument for focusing on female working class students. Show why it is needed academically, rather than anecdotally. Illustrate why I’m focusing on what I am focusing on with the help of research and data, and pivot if needed. ✔️
Look at my project from the antithesis perspective. Potential arguments against my question, and also look at my question as less of a theory/idea. ✔️
Think about whether my stakeholder group has expanded to include potential applicants to universities for the next academic year. *If I am working on outreach as part of my research and interventions, then this would make sense, I think?* ✔️
Contact outreach at other institutions. How do other schools, not just art schools, entice students to study with them? What is working and not working? ✔️
Talk to educational policy officers at various universities, not just arts focused universities
Compare outreach at other arts universities – what are they doing that UAL are not? Compare and contrast and show the areas that UAL specifically are lacking, if any. ✔️
Contact the SU to work with them on a survey to work out how many female working class students there are – using re-enrolment figures potentially. They don’t have to disclose this under GDPR so I need to be inventive to get this data. ✔️
Offer to work directly with outreach teams. On a voluntary basis to collect data for my project. Kind of a quid pro quo situation. Have something to offer them in exchange for them helping me with my research – they are more likely to be receptive if this is the case.
Offer to volunteer with students who are potentially applying to university this year. Are they choosing an arts school? If not, why not? Have they thought about studying in London instead of staying where they currently are? *I have applied for a mentorship in this area at the Whitechapel Gallery which starts in Novemberand I will look for other similar opportunities – this could lead into a paid role if successful* ✔️
Why are most HE teachers women? Did they go to an arts based university? Do they teach where they studied? *Look at the staff I see around me, as well as statistics if available. Maybe look at the ONS?*
The main takeaway from this tutorial for me, apart from all the advice, was David saying that the point of research isn’t to solve the problem. Research provides data and insight into what the problem is and presents possible solutions. I think up to this point, I’ve convinced myself that I’m going to make a huge change through my project. But really, that’s not what matters and that’s not how success is defined in the context of my project.
I sent an email to a member of staff that Richard had pointed me in the direction of, and they suggested I look into how the cost of living crisis is going to affect working class students. I have to admit, I had not considered this as something that was relevant to my project, but after more research, I think that it is.
This article talks about a study conducted by Nationwide Building Society. The main bullet points of the article are:
2/3 of students are struggling to afford their rent or have fallen behind in paying it
22% of students know someone who has become homeless over the last year due to financial difficulties
3/4 of students have had to borrow money from friends or family to afford rent and essentials like food
4/10 students are reliant on their overdrafts
Whilst 4/5 A-Level students are applying to go to university, 15% of these are considering deferring their place because of the cost of living
Over 90% of A-Level students said that the cost of living crisis has affected how they feel about attending university this year
The cost of living has risen 9% this year and students are afraid it will rise even further
3/5 students are worried about how they will afford their accommodation and 50% are worried about how they will afford nights out
This article is very confusing to me. I don’t know if it just the way that I digest statistics, but having them in a multitude of formats hurts my brain – I’d rather they were all fractions, or all percentages. However, that isn’t the important takeaway here. I think that these numbers are worrying – there was no information about the demographics of the participants in this study. But if we assume that there is a range of backgrounds amongst the participants, it is not only working class students who are worried about how the cost of living crisis is going to change things. And if someone who comes from what is considered to be a ‘comfortable’ background is concerned about money, then working class students must be very concerned.
This is just one study though so I think it’s important to look for corroboration or rebuttals against this.
Unite Students have an episode of their podcast Accommodation Matters about this particular issue. I found the whole thing interesting but this quote especially stuck out to me
Not only does this make the case for female students needing more money than their male counterparts, it talks about how they are suffering a lot more when it comes to mental health, sleep and even relationships. I have sent an email to the PR mentioned at the bottom of the survey they reference, to see if I can get a copy of the full survey.
As we approach a new semester, I have asked for further feedback from my intervention in the form of statements about participating and any suggestions my stakeholders have for moving forwards with my project.
“Taking part in this activity, I thought I wouldn’t gain anything from it and that it was pointless. But I was so wrong. I learnt that how I feel about being working class isn’t unique to just me. I learnt that I am not as alone as I feel when I’m at university and I’ve kept in contact with the other girls who attended this online event. Felicity made us feel comfortable and I could tell that she could relate to the terms that we were all sharing.” Jess
“I had never thought about what the word ‘working class’ meant to me before. I’ve always refered to myself as working class but had never thought about what it meant to me. Taking part in this gave me the opportunity to really think about it, and I came to realise that there’s not just one definition for it. I learnt a lot from taking part and I’m intrigued by where your project is going to go next.” Mary
“I don’t know how you would take this forwards but I do know that it was nice to meet other students who feel the same way I do. I wish that UAL knew how I feel and what it is like being poor and out of place here.” L
“I think it would be useful for you to research if you can the demographics of the working class students here. Eg how many of them are disabled, have multiple jobs, have children and see if there is a common denominator. Maybe even their gender identity or sexuality? I’m not sure if that would be too invasive. But I think it could be interesting and might redirect your research.” S
From this feedback, I think I have an idea of what direction I need to take my secondary research in order to inform further interventions. Especially the last quote, where she suggested things that I could research.
During my presentation feedback on Wednesday, Richard informed that there is a whole group of people working on the same thing as my project in Student Services.
I’d not come across this through all my googling and the time I spent on the UAL website. And I think this illustrates just why my project is important.
If I, a researcher, couldn’t find any information about support for working class students, then what hope is there for students who are looking for this support? I plan to connect with these staff in student services and hopefully gain some insight into what they are working on, and what problems they have identified.
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Update 20th September
I emailed the person that Richard had pointed me in the direction of in the feedback after my Unit Two presentation, and whilst she is no longer working in this area, we had a very profitable email conversation. *I didn’t ask for consent to use her email address or name so I have blurred them out for now*
From this email conversation, I can see that there is still a lot of work I need to do in terms of researching the cost of living crisis and its impact on working class students, as well as positive discrimination and decolonisation work at UAL. Whilst she was unable to help with my project directly, I feel as though she has helped to redirect and focus my research going forwards.
This quote is one I used in my first intervention, and came from a casual conversation I had with a student at UAL. I spoke to her further about it, and she told me that she has often joined dating apps for the purpose of finding someone to buy her dinner when she is struggling. It makes her feel guilty for using people that way but she can’t ask her family for financial help. She told me that her family would help but then they would have to go without something.
Later in the conversation we spoke about how hard it is to look around at UAL and see students in designer clothes covered in paint when she could only dream of owning something so expensive. I asked her if she was jealous, and she said yes. But also she wished that people would be less oblivious to the fact that not everyone can afford such luxurious items.
After reflecting on this conversation, I think that this could be a common misconception about students who come from less fortunate backgrounds. Yes, they might be jealous about not having money to buy fancy items with but that is not the sole factor in feeling inferior to their fellow students. This could echo back to the article I read about uncomfortable interactions with fellow students.(https://felicityyvette.myblog.arts.ac.uk/2022/07/21/uncomfortable-interactions/)
As referenced in my previous post, working class people are often on your tv screens. But is it in a positive or negative way?
Positive representation of the working classes
The Netflix show On My Block is a great example of showing how young people from a less privileged background cope with the chaos around them and are active members of their community within giving into addictions or violence. Whilst it is based in America, I think that it is still relevant as a reference because of its availability on a mainstream streaming platform. This show is also good because it shows how multicultural the working class is, which again, is very relevant to the UK.
In The Long Run is a show that is set in the 1980s, and documents life on a council estate in London. It is loosely based on Idris Elba’s childhood and I think paints a realistic picture of what life would have been like for him. I believe he co-wrote this series, and while there are probably some instances of dramatic licence, it rings very true to life.
The Simpsons are a working class family who go through some of the same struggles as real life working class families eg. Homer needing to get a second job to pay for Christmas when his main job doesn’t give Christmas bonuses to the semi skilled workers.
Bob’s Burgers features Bob Belcher buying his family’s clothes secondhand and being embarrassed when a bank manager shows him what a good savings account should look like instead of his. But despite this, his family are happy and functional.
Golden Girls is a series about four widowed and divorced women living together. When watching this show I’ve never thought about them being working class, and I’m not entirely sure they are but when Rose loses her husband’s pension she says this: “You know, every morning when I leave the house, I see this bag lady going through the baggage over on 135th Street. She has everything she owns piled up in one of those old shopping carts. But the other day, for the first time, I noticed, she’s about our age. Oh, you know, you always feel sorry for someone like that, but I wondered, ‘What did she do to get herself into a fix like that?’ I thought, well, she must be lazy, or she must be pretty stupid to let something like this happen to her. But, the truth is, she’s me! God! What am I going to do?” This quote was memorable because it showed a character changing their mind about social class and almost having an epiphany. I think this is rather powerful and shows self awareness that is often lacking in fictional characters.
Negative representation of the working classes
Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances. A woman who has married into a middle class family and who flaunts her rich sister to whoever is listening, telling everyone about her pony and her swimming pool. But on the flip side, she hides and avoids her working class sisters and brother in law, even going so far as to climb over walls to avoid them.
Shameless – The both the US and UK versions focus on poor dysfunctional, working class families where the father is addicted to drugs or alcohol, leaving the children to fend for themselves. The showrunner of the US series said “We have a comedic tradition of making fun of the people in those worlds… The reality is that these people aren’t ‘the other’—they’re people who live four blocks down from you and two blocks over.” However, Shameless is still classed as a comedy series so are they not still making fun of the working classes? And I would still argue that they are pushing stereotypes about working class people, having fathers who are addicts and kids taking care of themselves.
The Jeremy Kyle Show. A classic mainstay of British television for a long time. And a reason that so many people were wary of so called ‘chavs’ and thought that anyone who was on benefits was a deadbeat. Two people sitting across from each other, making wild accusations and Jeremy Kyle himself stirring up the drama. I would argue that in British society, this show is a huge reason that the working classes are demonised still. A similar show to this in America is Judge Judy, however I think that there are slightly more positive interactions to counteract the stories of working class criminals and morally wrong behaviour. Judge Judy while globally popular, has still attracted a lot of criticism for exploiting people who can’t afford to take their cases to an actual court of law or pay legal fees.
Benefits Street – a documentary about a street in Birmingham where apparently 90% of the residents claim benefits. The show documented the residents committing crimes, demonstrated how to shoplift and portrayed a situation where no one was committed to finding regular employment and instead depended on their benefits to survive. This show generated a lot of backlash, rightly so in my opinion. From personal experience, having grown up with a parent on benefits and who was desperate to find a job, Benefits Street painted an unrealistic picture. Again, I would say that it fed into a lot of stereotypes that are held about people on benefits. Channel 4 were accused of making ‘poverty porn’ and Ofcom received hundreds of complaints. Even the participants of the show claimed that they were misled about what the show was about and misrepresented on screen.
I am unsure where soap operas would fall – the things that happen to those people are very unrealistic but do they show working class people in a bad light? Not having watched any I don’t think I can speak to this. There are articles online arguing that they are bad for showing working class people but others disagree.
From looking at these tv shows, it is very clear to me that it’s so much easier for tv shows to portray the working class in a negative manner and that people will watch it. For example Benefits Street had record numbers of people watching it, and I highly doubt it was because they identified with the people who appeared on the show. The working class appear to be an easy target to make entertainment out of, and this just perpetuates the negative stereotypes about people who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
In a conversation with someone who is considered an expert in the context of my project, I was told that there is no class problem in universities in general, let alone in arts universities. I found this interesting because this person comes from the same town as me and is very working class. Whereas another expert I spoke to who is middle class, admitted to noticing less obviously working class students.
On further reflection, I think this actually makes sense. People who have risen from the working classes to a more eminent position are often quick to distance themselves from their background. For example, Hyacinth Bucket in the tv show Keeping Up Appearances who was desperate to avoid her working class sister and brother in law, going so far as to ignore them in public and clamber over brick garden walls to hide from them.
And why wouldn’t you want to distance yourself from your working class roots when “Despite the occasional ‘rags to riches’ storyline, most media representations of working-class communities tend to focus on what these communities lack—not just financially, but also in knowledge, taste and morality. They are constantly depicted as uneducated, poorly dressed and more likely to become criminals.”
Stephanie Lawler, a British sociologist, said in 2005 that “at the heart of middle-class identity, is a feeling of disgust towards working class existence,” and I think that if one has been socially mobile and is now middle class rather than working class, there is an element of disgust towards your roots rather than pride about how far you’ve come.
Whilst there are a lot of tv shows that satirise the working classes eg Little Britain and Shameless, there are shows such as the long running Jeremy Kyle Show or Benefits Street that aim to humiliate or demonise the working classes. Instead of being actually entertaining, the public are expected to laugh at the so called misfortune of the millions of people who are working class. Jeremy Kyle in particular was a vicious show – a live studio audience laughing at families imploding and the guests being incited to violence against each other.
This is a far cry from the hardworking, working class men and women who work multiple jobs so they can feed their families and who do all the jobs that other people turn their noses up at.
But which portrayal of working class society is more memorable?
Today I saw that LAMDA (London Acadamy of Music and Dramatic Art) has installed QR codes around the school, where students and staff can report microaggressions that they experience in an anonymous way.
I think that something similar could be a viable intervention for my project when we are back on campus, and would be a way of my stakeholders talking about their experiences truly anonymously. Whilst my project is not about microaggressions as such, I think it would be useful to gather data around events that happen on campus that make my stakeholders feel uncomfortable or inferior to their peers. I especially like how LAMDA have asked the people filling this form in to say what they would like to be done about it. If I do a similar intervention then I think it would be interesting to see what my stakeholders would like to see from UAL in terms of things changing or just simply support. An intervention of this sort could also educate universities on why more support for working class students is needed.
I think another good thing about this prospective intervention is that if I asked the gender of the person clicking on the QR code, it would allow me to collect data that is split into genders, which so far has been impossible to find in regards to UAL. It would also allow me to see if one gender is reporting more than another and this could influence my research question.
So far in my project I have defined what working class means to me, but I think it is important to find out what it means to my stakeholders too. After all, they are the people that I am trying to help with my project!
So I invited 10 of my stakeholders to meet with me and describe what working class means to them; whether that was verbally, through art or in a written form. I met with 4 online and 6 in person.
From the verbal responses, these are the terms that I wrote down:
There were a lot of repeated words, which I was expecting. However I didn’t expect assumptions to come up as often as it did. I also thought that scapegoat was an interesting word, and it made me think of Chavs by Owen Jones, a book I read as part of my secondary research. This book talks a lot about how the working classes are often used as a political tool to illustrate what is wrong with British society and used as a pawn almost to sway the opinion of the public.
When my stakeholders were observing what each other had written, there was a lot of nodding and agreement. There was also a discussion about certain things, such as the piece of paper that talks about the assumption about not working. I find this very interesting as we were talking about the working class and working is in the name. But after thinking about it, there is an assumption in society that a lot of working class people rely on benefits so I can see why this came up. I think this points to a problem with the way the working classes are represented in popular culture and the way that this perpetuates stereotypes.
Because half of this intervention was online, I decided to send a survey to everyone who participated, with a list of all the responses (except the pictures, I now realise) and ask them to check the boxes next to the words that they connect with most. However, no one had responded to my survey at the time of writing this blog post! I regret not doing this in person as I would have received instant responses and would have gained more feedback which would inform the next intervention iteration. I plan to send follow up emails which will hopefully mean that I get some survey responses and therefore some more feedback and insight from my stakeholders.
Six of the participants of my intervention responded to my follow up survey and I found it very interesting that the words that all 6 of these people connected with the most was assumptions, closely followed by stereotyped, seen as lacking ambition, hardworking and underprivileged. I think moving forward I want to dive deeper into what assumptions are being made about these working class students specifically at university, and who is making these assumptions.
