Hello world!

Isabella Coraça here. I’m a (BA) Fashion Communication Lecturer at Central Saint Martins and about to start my PG Cert.

At CSM I teach all three pathways in the BA Fashion Communication Program: Fashion History and Theory (of which I’m an alumna), Fashion Journalism and Fashion Communication and Promotion. My focus is fashion history, but I also lead on most cross-pathway projects for both first and second years. On top of that, I’m an Academic Support tutor for the program, helping the students with their specific projects (essay writing and dissertation being the main ones) and giving some extra pastoral support (which thanks to the pandemic, has been greatly amplified).

I’m very excited, yet a bit overwhelmed, by the idea of being a student again… After 10 continuous years as a student, I quite enjoyed these being on the other side of the class room.

I fell into teaching by divine intervention, my aim was always to be a museum curator. And I had a blast working with some mind-blowing collections at the V&A, Museum of London, British Museum and Kensington Palace. But I came to love the creative and youthful energy emanated from the students (something you almost never get from hundreds-year old stuff!), the performability of teaching and the intellectual atmosphere of academia. So here we are, ready to take my teaching to the next level.

Having never studied pedagogy, I’m keen to learn more about the different pedagogical methodologies available, and how I can diversify my teaching (which currently involves a lot of me talking talking talking with a graded assessment at the end). More crucially, I want to gain some structure around my engagement with decoloniality and pluriversal design.

As a Brazilian fashion historian, I am committed to the process of redefining and expanding the current fashion history canon to allow for more voices, histories and fashions. So far, I have done so in my teaching through a trial and error method, learning alongside the students. As exciting and challenging this process has been, I feel some theoretical structure combined to different pedagogical methodologies will benefit us all.

The title of this blog, Learning to Unlearn, is inspired by a phrase I use often when discussing decoloniality with the students. I’m constantly having to ‘unlearn’ the histories and truths that were taught to me in order to hear the silenced voices of the past (and present). And I feel the same will happen here. I’m ready to challenge or ‘unlearn’ my current ways of teaching, researching and assessing in order to try new methodologies and engage with new critical thinking.

I will keep this blog opened throughout the PG Cert. I’m sure no one will read it outside our group, but I feel transparency about the process is key to learning.

Until next time,

Isabella

PS: I’ll ensure more visual stimulation in the coming posts.