Teaching Awards.

The School of Art History wishes to congratulate its staff on three recent successes in University Teaching Awards in recognition for outstanding efforts. These awards recognise the best teaching in the University.

Dr Elsje van Kessel was selected as the winner of the Outstanding Partnership in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion category for this year’s student-led 1413 Teaching Awards. This is a Student Association award that only sees nominations from within the academic representation team, and which acknowledges care and commitment to students. All of the selection committee noted that Elsje’s award is well-deserved recognition of positive impact made to the School in partnership with academic representatives. Through work with the School President of Art History, Elsje displayed a great understanding of the Students’ Association and their representational structures. Her commitment to exploring educational backgrounds in the School has successfully included student voices at all stages of planning - truly capturing the importance of staff-student partnerships. In addition, Elsje and Dr Shona Kallestrop were shortlisted in another category as well, Outstanding Commitment to Academic Inclusivity.

Dr Catherine Spencer has been awarded a 1413 Teaching Award for Inclusivity for the honours module AH4253 Decolonial, Feminist, Queer: Histories of Art in Britain since 1945. This award recognises a member of teaching staff who has made significant efforts to widen participation and access to learning. This support may take the form of classroom structure, module content, or exceptional consideration or care for traditionally underrepresented students.

Dr Kate Cowcher was the winner of the inaugural Enterprising Education Award (jointly with Dr Julie Oswald from Biology), specifically for the final assignment of her module "AH4227: Scotland and the Arts of Africa," the Object Research Essay. The Enterprising Education Award recognises innovative teaching and activities that develop students’ entrepreneurial mindset, creativity, practical skills, and resilience, and supports the entrepreneurial theme of the University strategy and the employability strategy.

For the final assignment Kate had previously partnered with colleagues at the McManus in Dundee and, this semester, with OnFIFE, to identify African artworks in need of research. Students undertook extensive object and provenance research on individual artworks, and made recommendations for their future treatment and care. The assignment asked students to engage consideration of source and diaspora communities, legacies of colonialism, ownership and restitution, and to identify African scholars, institutions or art experts whose perspective would enrich the understanding of an object. Upon completion the essays were deposited in the object files at the respective institutions, with the research intended to assist future researchers and curatorial staff. The assignment engaged students in the urgent challenges facing colonial-era collections, equipping them with the practical collections research skills that could readily be deployed in many other contexts.