Students working as interns on the Diversity Mark Project possess a unique perspective, which staff find valuable when reviewing their module reading lists. Patrice Mighton, now a third year Sociology undergraduate, has been a Diversity Mark Work Study intern for two years, and reflects on her experience working on the project for the School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR) project lead by Dr Barbara Adewumi.
“As a black woman I am no stranger to overthinking how my experience will differ and the challenges that I will face in society. This is particularly why the role of Diversity Mark intern was particularly appealing to me. As a Diversity Mark intern, I had the responsibility of looking into the reading lists and asking about the experiences of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students at the University of Kent.
The role of Diversity Mark intern was to research the diversity of reading lists, one of the tasks I was assigned to was to review the reading lists in SSPSSR that sits in the division of Law, Society & Social Justice (LSSJ). As I am currently working towards a sociology degree, I already had an idea of what I was expecting from the SSPSSR department reading lists. I presumed there would be a dominant amount of white male authors (having only come across white authors since I began my degree). I also however considered the impact of contemporary sociology on British modern society hoping that there would be a greater level of diversity within the reading lists, however this was not the case.
As I expected, my initial thoughts of there being majorly white male authors were correct. Predominantly white male middle class to be specific. There were however several white females, and typically that is what I came across in many of the modules I studied and reviewed. The quantity of BAME authors was extremely limited, which I was not shocked about, however I had hoped that there would be a larger variety across the large range of reading lists modules which I reviewed with three other Diversity Mark interns. For the BAME authors that were identified, I noticed that it was often the same few authors repeated in various reading lists, and therefore although BAME authors were present in reading lists, the scope was limited to only a very few. These few BAME authors often occurred in relation to topics of race and ethnicity. Overall, my experience of reviewing the SSPSSR reading lists was what I expected, however not what I hoped for and was therefore disappointed with the lack of BAME representation within such a diverse and progressive subject, further identifying there was and still is much work to be done.
Another key aspect of my Diversity Mark intern experience was my task to contribute to organising and conducting focus groups with my fellow Diversity Mark intern colleagues. This task proved to be quite challenging at times, as we all had to encourage our BAME peers to volunteer their time. However, after being quite persistent and actively seeking out students on campus, in places such as the library and the plaza, we managed to gain quite a few volunteers to conduct our focus groups. For me this was a very enjoyable experience, mostly because it was filled with a variety of opinions, students with different experiences that initiated a thought-provoking discussion amongst the participants. For the most part, the participants of the focus groups, were aware of the lack of representation within reading lists and many had their own ways of dealing with the lack of representation and created ways around the lack of diversity on their course. For example, although the reading lists do not consist of a large range of BAME authors, one participant shared that they ensured that regardless of the reading lists they were recommended to use they always included BAME authors in their assignments because being represented was important to them.
In addition to the reading list, the focus groups also discussed the general experience being a BAME student at Kent. One common experience within the group was being one of the only BAME students in a seminar group, and how uncomfortable it would be talking about particular topics. For example, being looked at as the spokesperson when discussions about race and the ‘BAME experience’ arose, assuming BAME students were a homogenous group.
To summarise, in my opinion the focus groups that we were able to conduct revealed many interesting issues around belonging, representation and whiteness. There were a range of topics and a variety of opinions shared. The range of experiences shared amongst the groups, ensured a broad yet open minded discussion. Personally, I felt like I learnt from the discussion particularly about the experience of other BAME students and I could relate to many of the stories and experiences. I have come to realise there is still a lot of work to do in terms of diversifying the curriculum including but evidently not limited to the reading lists.
Whilst I have fully enjoyed the interactive aspects of being a Diversity Mark intern, campus experience was cut short due to the impact of COVID-19. I have enjoyed the research aspect of my role and what we have accomplished in challenging the status quo. This role has increased my drive to continue to do what I can, to help challenge and push diversity, and make a positive contribution to the BAME student experience as I continue in this role as a Diversity Mark intern with Student Success.”
Student Success (Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity – EDI) is part of an institutional research project investigating factors that can affect student attainment and retention.
Student Success aims to promote student Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity by conducting ongoing research into attainment differences.