TUTORIAL 190326
Thoughts and takeaways after receipt of Peer Assessment feedback:
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ENQUIRY
– Consider appropriate use of imagery in there, is use of racial stereotypes right? Agreed, to reevaluate this inclusion. Are the old advertising images needed at all?
– Reinforce ‘journey’ theme in there.
Could this be the object travels from here to here? Dates? More specific geographies?
KNOWLEDGE
– Better explanation of the Empire at the beginning?
– “Does tone of informality and historical fact balance?” Will look. In what way?
PROCESS
– How will I expand beyond the passport? WORKSHOP format? At school, excluding adults?
DISAGREE about the testing – it has happened throughout, but it could be more diverse?!Or could it? Do we mean TYPE of source or diversity in the kids/families. I live in a predominantly white town and the testing has to be local in the context of this project.
COMMUNICATION
Feedback: ‘Using the research that you’ve done, could some of your questions or statements be rephrased to better explain the lasting effects of empire? E.g. “ideals of Empire” -> “racist ideals”. It’s important that we aren’t passive with language, especially in the context of introducing this to diverse publics How can you explore the subject of travel as it relates to the effects of the empire? Could you explore this theme for adults?’
Response: I agree that the language needs looking at again, but broad questions like ideals need to be kept simple for the audience. The moment to engage kids with this is very ‘school-y’ according to a publishing source I interviewed. With that in mind, it needs to be really clear what I’m saying. I worry that moving from legacies that can be easily explained into other things would not help sustain kids’ engagement.
REALISATION
– Typography bigger and clearer, this is feedback I’ve had from the testing
– Bigger maps, pacing of the spreads, giving the reader breaks? Will need to consider this.
OVERALL
Some of these points are spot on, some I disagree with. I need to step back from this, collate my feedback from a children’s author (coming on 27th) and publisher who are currently looking at this iteration and then consider how this can expand.
My instinct is to expand this into a workshop format, perhaps in a school rather than just a homework piece. Where kids use a passport of sorts to go round a space, finding objects and stamping but on stamping, then get info. Could this be some kind of digital thing? No, that feels wrong.
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NOTES ON RECORDING AFTER SEEING SHAHEER 19/2/26
– Testing was worthwhile.
– Peer feedback was worthwhile, discussed generally, Specific points like stereotyping.
– Tutor: Feedback came from different groups. One is kids/parents, where you need to be kind of gentle and position the text positively. Two, scholars of colonialism and empire who would be more critical. How do you balance that? Also need to keep it super clear for the uninitiated.
– Tutor: ‘family and fun, but also things that aren’t’ Need to explain the opposite of that. At what point does balancing the sense of play, overlap with the weight of the subject. It’s a hard challenge. Using a journey to guide people through still good. Tea spread is still tempest successful, you can tell it a journey. You focus on the history of objects but there are people that don’t get talked about.
– Distance needed from this now, so I can evaluate over Easter.
– Group activity discuss, that would contextualize it (Tutor). Could use other documentary forms of Empire that could introduce other things.
(Use a map, ref https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1932449340834208)
– Dual audience discussed. I have to prioritise the kids as the audience, perhaps a year or so older in age demographic. Object based thing is working.
– Tutor: There is a dialectic in there – want to make something good and navigable for kids, but using that form to talk about something dark, a difficult challenging.
– Could this be in a physical space? Hide objects? Write ON the objects for example. Passport is just used as a device to show you get reward to finding new knowledge. It’s not just about subversion any more.
– Tutor: Projection2 – we can do that we want. The brief is almost excitably the same as question 1. We’re taking an enquiry that is fascinating to you, building on it, building a body of work. It’s kind of in my hands. No specific formats to follow. No thematic curveballs.
– What would I do? Capitalize on the school contact. By having that as a route, it does have an innate ethical approach. Even though the school is located in Somerset, rural UK, could I make something that is transferrable to all schools? A kit of some kind? Mentioned the exceptionalism and jingoism, but this shouldn’t be the focus.
– Remove the parent from the exercise in the next iteration. A simpler publication and a space where I can show objects, that kids can investigate on a deeper level (families mentioned going deeper in audience participation) with labels etc. So this becomes a colonially ROOTED thing but the emphasis is on ethical buying habits etc. Film it maybe.
– Tutor – make sense to me. The break is a good time to zoom out. Are you building a critical childrens’ publication series, or is it a specific workshop kit? Zoom out and ask yourself. Does it answer my enquiry. Does the enquiry need to be updated? Go into school and workshop is performed.
– Akidsco books discussed again – discussed and nominated kids as the audience rather than parents. Doubling down on the enquiry, but rewording to a then and now kidnapping of thing? This isn’t about a worthy, white-washing book for parents to share with their privileged kids. I want this to be universe and unique enough to actually get the kids to think about a history. If I can make it engaging and refine this thing, passport becomes part of a broader vehicle. Fun could be in the type of stamp they can use, or physical workshop could be a REAK way to engage. Some of the audience feedback, in one example a child just stamped the objects because she knew she gas the stuff in the house, with no deeper engagement. Govern principle should be engagement. In a school system.
– Tutor: Good, the outcome is a thought that a child will have not the document. Projection 2, you can iterate on the passport but perhaps project in a different direction, Informed by what’s happened.
– Passport feels like a feature not a focus. Part of the workshop.
– Interesting thing would be how to record the workshop. Should it be filmed? At what point can I record the learning?
– Tutor – central challenge of learning. Assess the journey and evidence rather than the outcome.
– See the school soon for discussion.
– Discussed practicality and timeline.
– Tutor approves the direction, sounds good. Speak to school in first instance.
– In the absence of marks at this point there anything I need to do or I am lacking? Tutor – no. Just make. Body of work that you’re interested in. Orient your work towards you and your mark.
– Tutor – happy with the amount and quality of production you’ve done this unit. But you can think about editing this thing down.
– Lean into simple production, emphasis on knowledge outcomes, lo fi looks. Quite roughly produced, references a passport form if I use one.
– Tutor – your outmode is imparting that knowledge, planting an enquiry in the minds of the kids.
– Film the workshop in some way? Tutor – You will need to check permissions from a UAL point of view as well.
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ACTION POINTS and THOUGHTS ON WORKSHOP ENVIRONMENT
– Interview with author Darren Chetty 27/3/26, to record
– Reach out again to school to meet up and discuss a ‘History of Objects’ workshop. I need to keep comms open with the teacher/school as this is a vital avenue for testing.
– Look at new references on workshops or physical spaces that look at colonial legacy of objects, e.g.
SHOULD I VISIT OVER EASTER? It’s specifically about colonial objects, though historical rather tan connecting then modern.
London Museum Docklands, Caribbean Voices
(Some kind of trail in the museum to follow, emphasis on Carribean products)
Think about this from a curatorial perspective.
– Lo fi feel to any new output
– Reflect and start to rough out some idea on a workshop format, and then I can start thinking about its form. More objects etc, world map inclusion. How would it be set int in a space?
– Ask Matthew about ethics of filming any output, working in a school.
– Does the enquiry need to be updated? – YES. Look at rephrasing to a more universal outlook.
– Use a map? Ref https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1932449340834208
– Interesting reference: https://www.museumdetox.org/
– It makes sense to use the passport in a workshop environment.
– How would that workshop be recorded? In film?
– Could this be FIND OBJECT, WRITE DOWN FACT, COME BACK FOR A STAMP. Sort of gamifying it.
– Could this be a pack of some kind, where you get a bunch of objects in a box, chuck it into school and then watch the kids learn? So it does not need any introduction. Teacher gets pack, lays it out in a classroom or hall and the kids find the knowledge and write down facts to get a passport stamp. They travel through the knowledge.
