BAME Belonging in Politics: What are the effects of BAME academic underrepresentation on BAME students of Politics?

This research examines the effects of institutional Whiteness in the discipline of Politics, in particular the effects of underrepresentation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) academics on BAME students, and if and how this relates to students' sense of belonging. In light of ecent movements that suggest a "strong appetite for change" - like 'Why isn't my Professor Black?' and #RhodesMustFall - this research has a necessary part to play in reforming the inequalities within Higher Education and society more broadly.

Bhambra et al. (2018) set out a mission to decolonise the universty with a primary focus on voices and curricula. In my research I shift the primary focus from 'voices' to 'faces'. This should not be mistaken for systemic change, but I will explore the pedagogical value in students being able to see their racial heritage reflected in their teachers.

This research will focus on the lack of BAME faces as the primary 'thread' within the broader web of institutional Whiteness and ask how the lack of BAME representation affects BAME students' experiences of: knowledge, identity and belonging. I will then connect this to other threads such as: curricula, architecture and peer groups.

In exploring this politics of belonging, as it relates to race, I have applied the Foucauldian notion of a power/knowledge nexus. This connects with Edward's Said's Orientalism and the process of Othering and identity construction. I will explore how BAME students navigate and make sense of their identities within this context.

Drawing from Critical Race Theory (CRT) I will put race and racism at the centre of analysis. In my methodology I will apply one of CRT's central tenants: counter-narration. Interviews and student photo journals, will give value to the lived knowledge of BAME people and allow them to narrate their own lived experiences effectively.