The School of Politics and International Relations became involved in the Diversity Mark Project in 2020, reviewing the reading lists of many of our school modules with ‘Introduction to Political Thought’ being first to receive Diversity Mark status. We asked convener, Dr Ben Turner about this journey.
The module Introduction to Political Thought (POLI3140) has been successfully awarded Diversity Mark status.
Diversity Mark is a collaborative project between the Academic Liaison Service, Student Success, Kent Union and Diversity Mark Work-Study students, and the respective participating academic schools and convenors. The award recognises the role of convenors who undergo a process of review and reflection with their students, to ensure they have considered authors and perspectives from divergent backgrounds.
The project involves a process where staff and students engage in a partnership, to explore the extent to which the content, concepts and context of reading lists are representative of diverse knowledge systems. In the context of an increasingly diverse student body, to ensure reading lists are representative of our societal and institutional demographic to ensure a sense of belonging in the curriculum and wider University. Convener Dr Ben Turner made a number of changes to increase the diversity in the reading list, and engaged in a meaningful dialogue with his students through a focus group.
‘The module introduces students to some of the most important and influential theories in the political world, such as freedom, democracy, justice and power.’ Turner explained ‘However, few of the key thinkers commonly associated with political theory fall outside of the European perspective. Typically, names like Hobbes, Locke, Marx or Rawls come to mind when political theory is mentioned as a discipline. As part of the diversity mark process I made changes to the module to try and diversify both the authors studied and the thinkers and topics considered central to political thought. I stopped using a textbook in order to set primary reading each week, which allowed me to break free from the constraints imposed by the way that discipline is understood in such resources.’
Turner has convened POLI3140 since joining the University in September 2017 and found that time was the primary barrier to diversifying the reading list on the module. ‘As an early career researcher on a temporary contract and with a heavy teaching load for the first two years of my employment at Kent, I found I did not have the time to dedicate to fully reconsidering the curriculum of the module once acquainted with it.’
Interestingly the global pandemic created an opportunity.
‘The textbook I had previously used was too expensive to use online for blended teaching during the pandemic. I had to redesign the entire module to fit available online resources. I took this as an opportunity to overhaul the module reading list and create a more diverse curriculum rather than simply switching to another textbook.’
‘I would certainly encourage others to think creatively and critically about not just the diversity of their reading lists, but also the how topics are arranged in their modules and what issues are considered central and which are peripheral or merely ‘critical’ of mainstream approaches. Student views have been central to exploring the success of the changes made, and will continue to be important going forward. It has been a learning process, and one that I am still very much on!’
‘I hope to further build on the work undertaken so far by constructing a productive dialogue with current and future students regarding what they take as important within the discipline of political theory.’
Ben Turner will be invited to a celebration event to coincide with the Excellence in Teaching and Learning Awards and be awarded with a certificate. Read more about his journey through the Diversity mark here.