Helen Knowler, Tor Wright and Richard Steele, UCL, Wednesday 6th March 2024, 2pm – 3pm (MS Teams)

We will explore the complexities of the relationship between institutional historical legacies and the implications for teaching and learning in higher education. Drawing on UCL's historical links to and legacy of eugenics and considering the recommendations of the 2018 UCL Eugenics Inquiry, we consider the ways in which education can heal. Drawing on Sriprakash's (2022) notion of reparative futures and Britzman's (1998) theorization of difficult knowledge, we consider the practicalities of preparing and supporting colleagues to teach sensitive or difficult topics, foster student engagement and partnership, as well as thinking about curriculum development when attempting to demonstrate that the harms of a eugenics legacy have been addressed in post-inquiry activities. We will view and discuss objects from UCL’s Galton Collection, think about the relation between legacy and educational harm, reflect on project management tensions, and the importance of sensitive communication when working with legacies educationally.

At the end of this session, participants should be able to:
1. Critically reflect on the relationship between historical legacies, education harms, and reparative futures.
2. Explore the tensions of working educationally across large higher education institutions and supporting complex and sensitive engagements with legacy issues in classrooms.
3. Consider the practical implications of supporting staff and students to introduce teaching materials related to eugenics legacies across different disciplines

You can book onto this session by clicking on this linkLink opens in a new window.