Revisionist history

Abstract

While the year 2020 motivated self-examination across every spectrum of our consciousness — social, cultural, economic and intellectual, academia provided space for impact. In this context, my Graphic Design History class became a space for reexamination, and an egalitarian architecture materialized — students led and I followed. Students felt fragile, we all did, as individuals seeking to normalize mammoth instability. This vulnerability underscored the value of inclusivity, all voices deserved a platform. Was my pedagogy inclusive enough? Was it empathic enough? How did it speak to our social and political context that was under intense scrutiny? Instead of a pedagogy informed by my own lived experiences, a bias especially visible in my Graphic Design History curriculum, I wondered what would inspire students to independently ask the same important questions we are reflecting on in this publication.