To increase diversity and raise awareness of SCAD’s growing international student body, a new faculty council has formed the Multicultural Committee.
According to anthropology professor, Sarah Brandon who heads the committee, the group aims to offer events to familiarize SCAD students with different cultures. The committee also will promote world citizenship for professional artists who thrive in an art world with no geographical boundaries, she said. The committee is rooted in the idea of cultural relativism — the view that all cultures are equal and can be understood in terms of their own merits.
The Multicultural Committee plans to hold an annual film event with a guest speaker. The first event, set for the fall quarter, will feature the film “Miss Navajo” and a lecture by Navajo speaker Rebecca Weaver.
“SCAD set this into motion hoping to promote student interest and support student efforts in these areas,” said Brandon. “Our main focus at this point is to secure student interest in order to be successful and continue the committee.”
Brandon said she also hopes to start compiling a list of culture-related internship opportunities.
“We are hoping that we could recommend students for such positions,” Brandon said.
“I suspect that all of us professors on this committee have experienced the rewards of foreign travel and exposure to multicultural experiences and diverse cultures within our own country and that we are very interested in promoting knowledge about other cultures to SCAD students,” said Carl Parrish, an English professor and committee member. “Diverse and multicultural experiences broaden one’s imagination, and that can certainly benefit all art and design students.”
Some students expressed interests in the new council’s efforts.
“People would think it’s beneficial because you can learn from other cultures’ view points, which can help you grow as a person and understand the world better,” said Jennifer Edds, a second-year interior design student.
“I can communicate with different people about different cultures. Sometimes you can find something interesting or amazing,” said Yigun Ma, an international arts administration graduate student from China.
Brandon and Parrish said the committee soon plans to use a blog as a promotional tool.