Arts wants to discuss diversity in the curriculum as part of AU’s action plan – but not all faculties agree

Students at Arts may soon find that their teachers are giving some thought to diversity – or the lack of diversity – in their curriculum, if they haven’t done so already. This is the faculty’s priority in AU’s action plan for gender equality, diversity and inclusion 2023-2025.

While Aarhus BSS, Natural Sciences, Technical Sciences and Health have all chosen to focus on gender equality initiatives aimed at employees or workplace culture, Arts has opted to go in a completely different direction. As part of the initiative ‘Diversity in the curriculum’, the faculty will strive to ensure that “work on diversity in the curriculum is anchored in the academic context of the individual departments”.

“The faculty’s position is that work on diversity in the curriculum must be included in the faculty's routine quality assurance work for the degree programmes,” it states in the Arts section of the appendix to the action plan.

This has led to raised eyebrows among members of the academic council at Aarhus BSS, who have written to Rector Brian Bech Nielsen to express their concern that Arts was able to include its initiative in the action plan – since, in its entirety, the action plan is an initiative taken by the senior management team at Aarhus University.

Academic council: The Curriculum should be based solely on academic criteria

In their letter, members of the council say they have “major concerns” about Arts suggesting a process designed to promote diversity in the curriculum as its contribution to the university’s action plan.

“The council strongly believes that the curriculum should be based solely on academic criteria and not affected by political considerations, such as a desire for more diversity”, the letter states.

It is also convinced that Art’s diversity objective may conflict with “the intention behind the university’s declaration on freedom of expression, namely that teaching and research should be exempt from political pressure”.

Finally, the council writes that the diversity objective at Arts may have an “unfortunate spillover effect on the rest of AU”.

Osman Skjold Kingo, who is chair of the academic council at Aarhus BSS, explains that the council doesn’t usually interfere in the activities of other faculties but felt compelled to react in this case because the action plan is an AU initiative.

“It therefore seems that the university management has sanctioned the idea that a curriculum can be based on criteria other than academic criteria. We think this is concerning,” says Osman Skjold Kingo

“Under normal circumstances, we wouldn’t get involved in another faculty’s attempt to systematically examine gender equality in the curriculum. We are allowing ourselves to intervene in this case because it’s written into the university’s overall action plan. And the action plan is approved by the entire senior management team. It therefore seems that the university management has sanctioned the idea that a curriculum can be based on criteria other than academic criteria. We think this is concerning. And, as we say in our letter, we also think it is at odds with the university’s declaration on freedom of expression.”

“If we design the curriculum on the basis of gender composition, we are arguably allowing criteria other than academic criteria to guide its content. Including this in our AU policy will make us more vulnerable to external pressure. It will make it harder to resist the pressure that is sometimes put on us to implement a specific policy that is politically or ideologically – but not academically – motivated,” says Osman Skjold Kingo.

Students at the University of Copenhagen blockaded their department

As an associate professor of psychology, Osman Skjold Kingo is aware of arguments taking place about the curriculum in his own subject. Last year at the University of Copenhagen, over 100 students blockaded the entrance to the Department of Psychology because they were unhappy with the curriculum in their developmental psychology course. Their grievance was not about diversity or gender equality, but their protest is nevertheless an example of students challenging the teachers’ academic capacity to ensure a high-quality and relevant curriculum and the forums for quality assurance that already exist – and this is what concerns the academic council.

“We have noticed that students are interested in the specific issue of diversity in the curriculum, and that it’s a way of relating to the university and to the academic versus the ideological that we haven’t seen the last of,” says Osman Skjold Kingo, who returns to the example from the University of Copenhagen:

“In this case, the curriculum had been approved all the way up the system, also by the board of studies, where 50 per cent of the members are democratically elected students. Despite this, there were students who were unwilling to accept the final result,” he says.

We always have to assume that the curriculum is designed with academic considerations in mind, emphasises Osman Skjold Kingo.

“With Art’s focus on diversity in the curriculum, the stage is set to see whether there are other aspects we should consider. And this is a slippery slope,” he says.

Vice-dean of Arts will not set objectives for teachers

It is the vice-dean for education at Arts, Niels Lehmann, who is responsible for Arts’ objective in the action plan. He explains that the objective will not lead to new rules for teaching staff. Nobody will be forced to change their curriculum, he emphasises.

“I respect freedom of expression and freedom of research, and I’m not going to tell people what they should think about the topic. I am just highlighting an issue that allows us to discuss subjects in a particular way. That’s quite normal. It’s about the ongoing development of our subjects and courses. The culture we inhabit continues to develop and to give rise to new situations and questions. So it makes sense to develop our degree programmes in this context,” says Niels Lehmann.

He emphasises that management will not dictate specific aspects of this development process:

“There is no pressure from the management to include ten per cent non-Western objects in the curriculum, for example. That’s not what this is about,” says Niels Lehmann

“I couldn’t imagine doing that. There is no pressure from the management to include ten per cent non-Western objects in the curriculum, for example. That’s not what this is about.”

For the same reason, he disagrees that the initiative at Arts conflicts with freedom of expression – or with AU’s declaration on freedom of expression.

“I don’t think it goes against freedom of expression. But I’m sure some people will. Some people may shy away from having these discussions because they are worried they will impinge on freedom of expression. To these people we could ask: If we don’t use our freedom of expression to discuss this issue openly, are we helping or hindering freedom of expression? I would argue that we have a duty to facilitate such discussions, but people will of course have their own opinions, and one of these opinions may be that the most important thing is to a master a very specific European cannon,” says Niels Lehmann.

Focus on diversity is growing

Various advisory bodies at Arts have played their part in putting diversity in the curriculum on the agenda. These include the Arts Council and the Committee for Diversity and Equality, explains Niels Lehmann.

Nobody from the Arts Council was available for interview before this article was published. But in the council’s work plan for spring 2023, it says that the council will try to “work towards more norm-critical teaching that includes more recent texts, authors other than white men, and texts that reflect our current society and diversity”.

According to the vice-dean, Art’s growing focus on this topic means it is natural to discuss it as part of a wider conversation.

“The topic was being discussed in so many different places, so I raised the subject in our Forum for Education. I asked whether it was worth discussing the issue more generally, and, if so, how we could best do this, and it was agreed that we should discuss it,” he says.

Vice-dean: Hard to believe there will be a spillover effect

Arts could have included all sorts of other initiatives in the action plan, but they decided on diversity in the curriculum because the faculty had already begun to focus on it and because they consider it an important issue, explains the vice-dean.

“You can’t do everything at once, and because we had already decided to devote a lot of our resources to this issue, it was natural to include it in the AU action plan.”

According to Niels Lehmann, diversity is a megatrend – something that affects society at a global level. Another megatrend, according to the vice-dean, is digitalisation, and AU is already focusing on this issue. Focusing on diversity in the curriculum is not much different, thinks the vice-dean.

“It’s about whether we have a curriculum that provides the most relevant education possible. That’s no different from the goal we have at AU to make sure all students have digital competencies,” he says.

What position does this action plan put the teacher in? Will it still be the teacher who decides what’s in the curriculum?

“Yes, just like it is today. I image that the work we’re doing will make us more aware in our thinking, and this is where the great transformative power lies. In five years – that’s my guess – many of our staff will think differently about this topic, but this isn’t something I intend to measure,” says Niels Lehmann.

But can you understand that, even though it’s about teachers reflecting on their own curriculum, if the recommendation comes from management, some people will think there is a formal requirement to do so?

“Well, perhaps, but that’s why I say we have to discuss the issue in the context of the individual degree programme or subject. Some people will no doubt think that the management has gone mad again. But I’m making a lot of effort to take a dialogue-based approach to this and to ensure we don’t introduce measurable objectives. We’ll approach it from the teacher’s perspective and with respect for academic expertise,” he says.  

How do you respond to Aarhus BSS’ objection that your focus on diversity in the curriculum may have a spillover effect on the rest of AU because the action plan will be regarded as rubber stamped by senior management?

“I find it hard to believe that AU’s senior management team has rubber stamped Art’s initiative and thus risked a spillover effect just by including the initiative in the action plan. Even if this were the case, it would apply to any initiative from any faculty,” says Niels Lehmann.

Unclear what the results of the diversity initiative will be

The vice-dean acknowledges that increasing diversity in the curriculum requires an insight into the individual subject, which is why the project has been delegated to the individual degree programme boards and the four boards of studies at Arts.

Each degree programme board has already discussed its recommendations and sent them to the vice-dean, who will now allow the boards of studies consider whether there are any general principles they can take forward. Once the vice-dean has the final recommendations, he will present them to the Arts Forum for Education, whose members include directors of studies and chairs of the boards of studies. It’s still unclear what the results of this process will be.

“It’s impossible to know at this point, because people need time to discuss it and to really think about what would be best,” says Niels Lehmann.

He cannot, however, rule out the possibility that it will result in a paper with a number of recommendations.

“It’s a possible outcome, but another is that we continue our decentralised movement or discuss the issue one more time. There are many possible outcomes,” says Niels Lehmann.

But can you understand that, even though it’s about teachers reflecting on their own curriculum, if the recommendation comes from management, some people will think there is a formal requirement to do so?

“Well, perhaps, but that’s why I say we have to discuss the issue in the context of the individual degree programme or subject. Some people will no doubt think that the management has gone mad again. But I’m making a lot of effort to take a dialogue-based approach to this and to ensure we don’t introduce measurable objectives. We’ll approach it from the teacher’s perspective and with respect for academic expertise,” he says.  

How do you respond to Aarhus BSS’ objection that your focus on diversity in the curriculum may have a spillover effect on the rest of AU because the action plan will be regarded as rubber stamped by senior management?

“I find it hard to believe that AU’s senior management team has rubber stamped Art’s initiative and thus risked a spillover effect just by including the initiative in the action plan. Even if this were the case, it would apply to any initiative from any faculty,” says Niels Lehmann.

Unclear what the results of the diversity initiative will be

The vice-dean acknowledges that increasing diversity in the curriculum requires an insight into the individual subject, which is why the project has been delegated to the individual degree programme boards and the four boards of studies at Arts.

Each degree programme board has already discussed its recommendations and sent them to the vice-dean, who will now allow the boards of studies consider whether there are any general principles they can take forward. Once the vice-dean has the final recommendations, he will present them to the Arts Forum for Education, whose members include directors of studies and chairs of the boards of studies. It’s still unclear what the results of this process will be.

“It’s impossible to know at this point, because people need time to discuss it and to really think about what would be best,” says Niels Lehmann.

He cannot, however, rule out the possibility that it will result in a paper with a number of recommendations.

“It’s a possible outcome, but another is that we continue our decentralised movement or discuss the issue one more time. There are many possible outcomes,” says Niels Lehmann.

Rector calls for dialogue 

In the appendix to the action plan, the objectives for Art’s initiative are more general than specific. Osman Skjold Kingo, chair of the academic council at Aarhus BSS, also acknowledges that it’s difficult to take anything specific from the description of Art’s diversity initiative in the action plan. But this does nothing to lessen his concern.

“It might be a question of interpretation: If we interpret it one way, there’s a problem, and if we interpret it another way, there isn’t. But we cannot know that from the way it’s formulated – and that’s the issue we have. It is possible that reformulating the description would remove many of our concerns, but we haven’t gone into the specific wording. We have started by proposing that the senior management team clarify whether AU has a position on this at all,” says Osman Skjold Kingo.

In a written response to Omnibus, Rector Brian Bech Nielsen explains that the senior management team is confident that the parties themselves will find a solution. 

“The senior management team believes it’s important that the curriculum is discussed by subject experts,” states Brian Bech Nielsen.

The senior management team believes it’s important that the curriculum is discussed by subject experts – including development and quality assurance. In this case, I recommend that the two faculties engage in dialogue. I am confident that dialogue is the way forward to understanding and clarifying the different views on this matter,” he writes. 

Academic council has received a response from the vice-dean

The academic council at Aarhus BSS has not received a response from the senior management team, explains Osman Skjold Kingo. But they have received a response from Niels Lehmann.

The academic council agrees with Niels Lehmann that it’s a good idea to discuss the topic. They have no issue with that part, says Osman Skjold Kingo.

“We fully understand that these debates can quickly become heated and that it’s important to create a framework for constructive dialogue – and to ensure that we can discuss these types of issues at university. We are not assuming the role of judge over what is right and wrong. We are simply highlighting a problem. And we have been unsure whether the senior management team has noticed that the debate is going in different direction,” he says.

Arts’ Committee for Diversity and Equality: It’s an academic conversation

Lone Koefoed Hansen, vice-chair of Arts’ Committee for Diversity and Equality, explains that the committee began to discuss the issue of diversity in the curriculum several years ago – partly as a response to discussions in the boards of studies and academic departments. As early as 2021, the committee invited members of teaching staff to webinars that focused on diversity in specific teaching practices. For Lone Koefoed Hansen, the issue is essentially about teachers understanding its implications for the subject they teach.

“What does it mean in practice for my subject that we read these texts and not these other texts? It’s a question of academic knowledge and discussion, and it gives rise to conversations about why we choose to teach the things we do. Do we teach a specific text for a reason, or could we just as well have taught a different one? At an international level, there is a growing tendency to be aware of why we cite the texts we do. Because much of what we do is also out of habit,” she says.

According to Lone Koefoed Hansen, discussing diversity is thus just a natural part of discussing the curriculum, because we all know that, if you include something, you exclude something else.  

“This is where the question of diversity becomes a question of quality for me, and that’s what’s important. It’s always academically motivated, but academic excellence can include a variety of perspectives,” she says.

Koefoed Hansen: Why is it political?

The aim of discussing the issue in Arts’ Committee for Diversity and Equality has never been to impose rules or specific objectives for diversity in the curriculum, explains Lone Koefoed Hansen.

While the academic council at BSS suggests that it views the desire for more diversity in the curriculum as a political consideration, Lone Koefoed is of a different opinion. If this is political, then everything is political, she believes.

“Then I would ask: Why is it political and not academic? If choosing to include something else in your curriculum is political, which aren’t the choices you’ve already made about your curriculum political?”

“I think we should be able to discuss whether and why what we already have in the curriculum makes sense. For example, if all the texts in the curriculum are written in North America, why is this? And have we as teachers and subject experts considered what this means? If we cannot answer these questions then I don’t think we’ve done our job well enough. This is not to say that we always need to include texts from different cultures and different parts of the world, but we should know be aware of what we’ve chosen to include and why,” says Lone Koefoed Hansen.