Blog 3: Journey to Learn about Arts and Activism (Activist Interview)

Activist: Karl Kitching

Reading Karl’s biography on the University College Cork website, it is easy to see that he has a passion for education. He has conducted his research around racism in Ireland (specifically with the school districts) and has published books relaying such information. I sat down with Karl and a classmate over video chat to talk about his work as well as how he sees the arts fitting into his activism.

Kitching started out as an elementary school teacher in Dublin where there was a huge amount of inward migration. The area hadn’t had such a level of migration before that there was no infrastructure to understand minority groups. “There was a lot of people really not knowing what to do… a lot of the time having good intentions but really not doing the right thing for being inclusive for different student communities.” This got Kitching thinking. “I was interested in how students who were learning English as an additional language were learning to read.” At the time, he was completing a masters degree in literacy, so decided to a research project on how teachers were teaching English language learners. Results showed that they were using the same techniques on English language learners that they did on Irish born students. This prompted him to become a language support teacher for children ages 6-10 years old. One experience he shared with us revolved around a group of boys whose parents were Nigerian. Kitching knew that language was not an issue for them, they spoke English at home, so why were they in English support? Racism. Looking deeper, he says that the boys were being “othered” because they had parents of migrant background. The children weren't being seen as full, whole people. This caused him to reflect on his social position (a white, privileged male in his early 20s) and led him to pursue his PhD while doing a research position for his university.


Since then, Kitching has stayed in the education field. He has spent the past 10 years researching topics like racism within the Ireland school sector and students of migrant background. In addition to this, Kitching was a lecturer and assistant professor in education at UCC for 9 years and is now the Director of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion.


Talking about the relationship between arts and activism, Kitching says that arts are important in addressing social issues- like racism in education. “Arts can say what is unsayable or unthinkable”. He adds that arts allow for counterstories and speaking truth. It is affective; all about feeling and emotion, which is similar to racism. “The arts is a key way of building relationships and providing a window to things that may remain silent… because it’s a creative medium, it provides that voice for marginalized people. Because the arts are a form of respected culture, all sorts of cultures get a seat at the table.”


So how does he educate the public? Any opportunity to grab attention (especially media) is great. He tells us about the university’s new status as a sanctuary site and how that helped to spread some awareness. Kitching also emphasizes the importance of not being afraid to write and put things out there. They used to hold information stalls on a monthly basis in Cork City Center, which he says is inspired by public pedagogy. He also talks about the importance of balance as an activist, “As a white person who’s got so much privileges, how do you talk about dismantling white privilege without making yourself the center of attention?” He challenges himself daily to maintain the balance between speaking out and holding space for others.


When asked what he likes best about the work he does, Kitching told us with a laugh that he is a bit of a geek. “When a participant says something that is so insightful, when something strikes you that you’ve never thought of before… the social research part gives such an insight into a person’s world and it is really exciting.” He enjoys being challenged and learning from another person’s perspective.


Just before wrapping up our conversation, we asked him for any advice he could give us moving forward, “You gotta teach this stuff like they don’t even know they’re being taught.”




Interview Notes:


What do you do in the education field? → lecturer/asst. Prof. in education at UCC for 8-9 years; before that elementary school teacher; new job: Director of Equality, Diversity, and [...]. He has spent the past 10 years researching topics like racism within the Ireland school sector and students of migrant background.





How did you become involved in this type of work? → elementary school teacher in suburban Dublin. Huge amount of inward migration. They hadn’t had such a level of migration before. There was no infrastructure to understand minority groups. “There was a lot of people really not knowing what to do… a lot of the time having good intentions but really not doing the right thing for being inclusive for different student communities.”

“I was interested in how students who were learning English as an additional language were learning to read.” He did a research project (for his masters in literacy) on how teachers were teaching English language learners → same as how they taught Irish born children. This prompted him to become a language support teacher. He taught children in small groups from ages 6-10. Particularly remembers a group of boys whose parents were Nigerian. The issue wasn’t language, they spoke English at home, so why were they in English support? → racism, they were being “othered” because they had parents of migrant background. The children weren't being seen as full, whole people. This caused him to reflect on his social position (white, privileged male, early 20s) → he got a research position at a university, decided to do his PhD while he was there. Saw Prof. David Gilbourne → everything he was looking for

How do you think arts can be used to address social issues like racism in education? → “Arts can say what is unsayable or unthinkable”, allows for counterstories and speaking truth. Art is affective; all about feeling and emotion → racism has to do with feeling and emotion, too.

“The arts is a key way of building relationships and providing a window to things that may remain silent… because it’s a creative medium, it provides that voice for marginalized people. Because the arts are a form of respected culture, all sorts of cultures get a seat at the table.”

Do you see the work that you do as activism? → definitely! Wrote a book about the difference between practices of learners citizenship and acts of citizenship. Practices: things that students do (report racist bullying, etc.) Acts: creative things that people do that confound you → make people think about what to do next

“The Anti-Deportation motto: Who lives here, belongs here. I think there is another element to that which is who learns here, belongs here.”

How do you educate the public about these issues (spread the knowledge)? → any opportunity to grab attention (media). Within the last two days the university has become a sanctuary site. Not being afraid to write and put things out there. Hold information stalls on a monthly basis in Cork City Center → form of public pedagogy.

“As a white person who’s got so much privileges, how do you talk about dismantling white privilege without making yourself the center of attention?”

What do you enjoy most about what you do? → a bit of a geek. “When a participant says something that is so insightful, when something strikes you that you’ve never thought of before… the social research part gives such an insight into a person’s world and it is really exciting.”

Any final words of advice for us? → “You gotta teach this stuff like they don’t even know they’re being taught.”

**Learn more about Karl here: http://publish.ucc.ie/researchprofiles/A013/kkitching

Picture Source: Google Images

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