The UAL Climate Action Plan raises questions about how to discuss the climate emergency with students and how critical the university is being when it encourages climate justice principles while still operating as a business. The plan echoes Holmwood’s text on whether higher education curricula can be decolonized while universities prioritize profit. While the plan recognizes the intersection between decolonization and decarbonization, it may prioritize individual attitudes, behaviors, and choices over larger, more effective changes.
We were split into groups, and I was surprised to find I was one of only 3 in the group who did not think UAL’s policy was enough. Joel, Emile and I discussed our feelings on the plan, and where we each felt it was lacking. We were in agreement that though there was a lot it didn’t cover, to work with the plan’s principles, one could reframe the intended learning outcomes for students to include a critical understanding of their work’s relation to its wider professional context and the current social/political/ecological moment. This could invite a deeper critical avenue for students to reach the learning outcomes and understand the role of art in the current moment.
In essence, the UAL Climate Action Plan provides a beginning of a framework for integrating climate justice principles into the curriculum, but it is essential to recognise the tension between encouraging individual actions and systemic change. Reframing learning outcomes to incorporate ecological impact could provide a critical avenue for students to understand their work’s relation to the wider professional context and contribute to the larger climate justice movement.