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Maynooth University
The Bridge
The Conservative Government had recently been re-elected in the UK, with a campaign about immigration, a very difficult discussion to have with people at any time. Everybody naturally has something to say, and people develop a sense of nationalism towards their country of birth. It was the first time in my life I felt like I did not belong to the country I had known all of my life. I planned for the lesson to be purposeful and have meaning. For this to happen the students were required to engage fully with the key words of the module - minorities, migrants and refugees. The lesson started with an ice-breaker and then moved into the main lesson. I approached a female who was attending the class and asked her name. She responded and the following extract is taken from the session. “My name is Natalia.”
Knowing You, Knowing Me By Dr Victoria Showunmi
2006 BA
Head teacher at City Heights E-ACT Academy, London Elroy didn’t intend to become a head teacher when he started out teaching just over 10 years ago. Graduating with a BA in English Literature and Sociology, and having been inspired by inspirational English Literature and Sociology lecturers at Maynooth, Elroy found he wanted to teach. He currently works as head teacher at City Heights E-ACT Academy, an 11-18 secondary school, located near Brixton in South London.
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n summer 2014, I was teaching a group of Master’s Students in the UK who were mostly international. The students came from about 10 different countries and had chosen to study a module on ‘Minorities, Migrants and Refugees.’
“Oh, wow, what a beautiful place.” The conversation continued. “May I ask: Would you consider yourself to be a migrant?” The answer that this student gave shaped the rest of the lesson. “Oh, no, I am not a migrant…I am from Greece.”
2016 Catherine Cross
Catherine has kept her connection with Maynooth University alive by tutoring
A male student called José spoke up and said, “Well, it’s because you are Black?” “Oh my goodness, really, is that so?”
As the lesson drew to a close I asked the students whether they have experienced a good lecture. Their response was overwhelming: “It was the best session we have had…there is so much to talk about.”
The whole group roared with laughter and the lesson began. Let us take a closer look at what was actually going on in the classroom during the introduction. I walked in to an unknown group, asking some very direct and complex questions on migration: firstly, what migration is, and secondly whether race plays a significant role in migration studies. The significance of the response is the suggestion that the female student sees herself as white. To be white and to be considered as a migrant is problematic for the student. How could she be anything else but a non-migrant? She is a European. There are various definitions of a ‘European’ – a native or inhabitant of Europe or a person of European descent. Such definitions raise even more questions. What is meant by European
Dr Victoria Showunmi is a Senior Lecturer in the Maynooth University Department of Education. She joined the University in 2016.
Secondary Student Teacher Claire is in her first year of a Professional Master’s in Education at MU and is on track to become Ireland’s first blind teacher. Her ambition is teach post-primary geography and history and is currently completing her school placement in St. Mary’s Secondary School in Glasnevin, which she says has been the most enjoyable and personally fulfilling experience. “The kids don’t mind that I’m blind – they love asking me questions about it.”
Returning to Maynooth University as a mature student, Catherine was awarded a BSc in Social Policy and Economics in 2015. A native of Manchester (and follower of Man United football team), Catherine has lived in Ireland for over 30 years.
“I really appreciate the fantastic foundations that Maynooth University fostered in me and my peers. Maynooth inspired in me a love of lifelong learning and a thirst for knowledge.”
I turned to the whole group laughing and said, “So if I take what has just been said, which is that I am a migrant, how can that be…when I have been here all of my life and our friend has been in the country less than 10 weeks…What do you think?”
The student’s bewilderment regarding who is white was played out in the classroom as she grappled with the question of whether she is a migrant. The de-construction of the “who” moved the lesson into asking and knowing more about whiteness and the relationship it has with the module.
2017 BA
Family Support & Education Officer TENI (Transgender Equality Network Ireland)
Some of his favourite memories from Maynooth are of long summer nights, when the library was humming with students all fervently cramming in a last-minute session before their exams.
“Oh wow…”
2017 Claire Shorten
2015 BSS, 2016 MSS
As Family Support and Education Officer with TENI, Catherine is the first point of contact for parents of children, adolescents and adults who are trans or questioning. She works with primary and secondary schools across Ireland, advising on policy and delivering training to staff. She also collaborates with government departments and NGOs on Ireland’s LGBTI + National Youth Strategy.
“The focus on research and independent thinking at MU has certainly influenced my approach to educational leadership. My favourite takeaway from Maynooth was from Dr Mary Corcoran’s sociology lectures, where she encouraged us to shatter conventions on gender stereotyping and pursue an equality agenda. This is something which has absolutely guided my approach to education and to leadership as I strive to play my part if levelling the playing-field.”
“I am from Greece.”
“Of course you are a migrant.”
descent? Does this include people of colour whose family have lived in Europe for two, three or even more generations? Or is it just white Europeans?
on Social Policy with the Department of Applied Social Studies. “I loved studying at Maynooth; it was a life-changing experience. It made me change the way I think and gave me – not just my qualification on paper – but real knowledge and understanding to do the job I do now. The ethos in equality and human rights within the Department of Applied Social Studies is truly amazing.”
Losing her eyesight unexpectedly in 2011 meant that Claire’s journey to her degree was somewhat challenging. “I never felt like I was left behind in classes; the Access Office gave me tremendous encouragement and support and the lecturers too were great – even providing me with lecture notes in advance of the lectures. I particularly remember a fluvial lecture in geography. The lecturer, Ro Charlton, was so complimentary and excited that I was taking such a visual lecture. Jan Rigby, head of the Department of Geography when I came to MU, on learning that a fully blind person was coming to study geography said to me, ‘If you work with us, we’ll work with you.’ I never forgot that. I really felt like their protégée.” While sports were off-limits during her studies, Claire recalls she still managed to take advantage of that other social club – The Roost – and made many good friends along the way.
Alumni Profiles
2006 Elroy Cahill
“Oh, thank you, and what country do you come from?”
“That’s interesting,” I said, “So would you consider me to be a migrant?”
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