Liberal Arts Journal

Bermuda College May 2012

Liberal Arts Journal

May 2012 Vol. 1, No. 1

Editor: Dr. Sajni Tolaram Journal Design & Layout: Dr. Edwin M. E. Smith Cover Photo: Dr. Jolene Bean, Sustainable Fruit, Shown in the photographic exhibition In Plain View held at the Bermuda College Art Gallery, January 2012. Division of Liberal Arts, Bermuda College Printed at Bermuda College 2012

Welcome
Welcome to the inaugural Liberal Arts Journal. This Journal is designed to give our readers, the Bermuda community, a dynamic and engaging look inside the expertise of members of the Division of Liberal Arts. Our goal was to create a journal to inform and showcase the numerous, academic themes along with personal interest of our faculty. This collection of articles is a reflection of a multidisciplinary forum to provide an exchange of ideas and challenging discourse on issues facing Bermuda, our island home. We hope the reader will be able to enhance their knowledge on the highest caliber of faculty Bermuda College has to offer. Many thanks are extended to faculty who submitted articles for this first publication. The Division of Liberal Arts looks forward to continuing to share our expertise with Bermuda.

Contents
1 Introduction Sajni Tolaram Can Pedagogy Influence Student Responsibility? Ru-Zelda Severin Who is Culpable for Student Success? Andrea Lightbourne-Webster The Informal Curriculum Quinton Sherlock A Global Cycle of Influence Edwin M. E. Smith The Consumption of Knowledge Geoffrey Rothwell Save Our Sushi! Amy Harvey

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Necheeka L. Trott, MA, MBA Dean, Division of Liberal Arts

Introduction
As the Division of Liberal Arts continues to evolve in its academic applications, respective faculty members have offered their perspectives on varied topics in this pioneering Journal. The articles consider forms of pedagogy, collaboration, academic identity, and explore local and global dynamics. There are threads of connection between the articles; however, there are distinctions in the viewpoints therein which, paradoxically, reveal the diversity and independent thought which are emblematic of Liberal Arts. Ru-Zelda Severin, in Can Pedagogy Influence Student Responsibility? opens the journal by focusing on our primary mission at BCteaching. She looks at learner centered approaches as indicated by current theories and methodologies with the aim of developing the capacity in students to take responsibility for their own learning experience. Rather than dismissing traditional methods, Severin indicates the value of blending them with learner centered pedagogies. In that technology and practical application are necessary components, especially when students contribute to the design of what they learn, this helps them to gain, as Severin says, a sense of responsibility to validate and support content in a scholarly manner, as their work may be the foundation or a resource for subsequent students. The dynamic of collaboration is evident in Who is Culpable for Student Success? by Andrea Lightbourne-Webster. The article focuses on student responsibility by engaging research that promotes shared responsibility, by the student and the institution, in the learning process. She emphasizes shared responsibility and collaboration in the quest to improve student learning outcomes. In the face of wideranging challenges, the aim is for students at the community college to have opportunities for successand, for such opportunities to be indicated in various, tangible ways. Continuing the discussion on student success, Quinton Sherlock explores the value of The Informal Curriculum in schools. The informal curriculum, as he indicates, is synonymous with the social environment of a school. The social environment can be a vital conduit for developing, as Sherlock says: positive models in academic achievement and leadershipespecially for young, black males who are often disadvantaged by negative stereotypes. The aim is to dispel negative labels through establishing and reinforcing worthy models and opportunities that are full of merit. By way of transitioning to another context of influence, Edwin Smith examines the effect of foreign artists on the works and lives of Bermudian artists in A Global Cycle of Influence. He establishes context for this by reflecting on the influence that Canadian artist, Evelyn (Byllee) Lang, has had on Bermudian artists. The focus of the discussion, however, is the influence of

American artist, Joe Jones, on Bermudian artist, Alfred Birdsey. Through the discourse between these two artists, Smith engages the search for inspiration, fresh ideas, and confidence in a broader application of influence in order to move Bermudian artists towards modernism. The tension that is usually evident in social change is also apparent in Geoffrey Rothwells article, The Consumption of Knowledge. Herein, it is expressed that change in the nature of capitalism has produced changes in the perception and function of knowledge in colleges and universities: for students, faculty, and all persons engaged in any capacity of tertiary education. Rothwell indicates the concern that, as education comes to be seen as a product, colleges become little more than a service based industry. In the current environment, he poses that colleges and universities must consider what they offer in that they have become just one more entity for consumers to contemplate, rather than the halls of advanced learning and inquiry. Consumption of another sort is evident in Amy Harveys article, Save Our Sushi! The joy of sushi is at the foreground of a looming problem that is both local and global. She engages us gastronomically and globally by considering sushi and our oceans through the lens of plasticplastic waste, to be precise. Along with her environmental students, she is active in gaining data on plastic litter debris and to monitor the

impacts that they have on our local and global ecosystems. The benefits of this data are implied in that this research contributes to the work of action groups locally and overseas. This Journal is a new frontier for Liberal Artsand, it carries the possibility of being a harbinger for inspiring and compelling quests to come . . .

Sajni Tolaram, D. Litt. English Professor April 2012

Can Pedagogy Influence Student Responsibility?

Faculty across Divisions at Bermuda College express concern about the lack of responsibility some students take for their learning. The Success and Retention committee acknowledges disquiet with the state of student responsibility and hosted a student forum on the topic. Additionally, they will conduct a Student Success Study that will, in part, examine responsibility as a characteristic of successful students. What can higher education faculty do in the classroom, if anything, to encourage students to take command of their own learning experiences? Many pedagogues are suggesting that a shift from traditional teacher centered approaches to learner centered tactics will contribute to a growth in student responsibility for learning (Marzano, 1992; Blumberg, 2008). In the book Learner Centered Teaching, Weimer (2002) describes five characteristics of learner centered approaches including a shift in the balance of power from teacher to student, a change in the function of course content and an exchange in responsibility from teacher to student, as essential for the development of responsible learners. She posits, when lesson structures place students in control of their learning, they experience higher motivation and greater enthusiasm toward learning. With the reality of canceled classes and other perceived punitive measures resulting from small class sizes at Bermuda College in play, will faculty, despite having student responsibility as a desirable goal and evidence of a potentially successful measure toward that end, have the inclination and take the risk to relinquish control of classrooms? Does our environment support such a bold step? If yes, what theories, methodologies, and technologies support the learner centered approach? Hubba and Freed (2000) in Learner Centered Assessment on College Campuses, hold the cognitively active, socially adaptive, subjectively self-organized pedagogies based on the assumptions of Constructivist Learning Theory as effective teaching strategies for Learner Centered pedagogies. However, it may be prudent, as members of a 21st century academic community, to blend, as Chen heralds (2010) in Education Nation, well researched traditional methods with effectively complementary technological tools and supports. Some possible methodologies are: The Flipped Classroom Teachers use technology such as Screencast-O-Matic to pre-record lectures. Students must take on the responsibility of watching the lectures on their own. The function of the content during face to face time changes from its delivery to its use. In math, class time is spent working on the problems individually or with peers answering each others questions, thereby garnering a greater understanding. In physics, the class time can be for real world application and problem solving; while in

music, students have time to analyze and evaluate music collaboratively, rather than simply listening to it. Social Networking and Wikis These web 2.0 platforms are opportunities to combine not only techniques acclaimed by high level research, such as formative assessment, with the technologies of today; but also to explore new theories of learning born of the Technological Revolution, such as Holmes, Tangney, Fitzgibbon, Savage, and Mehans (2001) Communal Constructivism. The title of their paper, (presented at the Centre for Research for IT Education in Ireland), defines

Communal Constructivism as Students constructing knowledge for as well as with others (pg.1). Child and Youth Studies students of Bermuda College who engage in activities based on this theory, report a growing level of confidence in their ability to design their own learning that adheres to the learner objectives of courses, to taking greater pride in the quality of their work as it is often peer reviewed, and to having a sense of responsibility to validate and support content in a scholarly manner, as their work may be the foundation or a resource for subsequent students.

While these and other learner centered approaches are time consuming for educators, due to the frequency of feedback and the shift in roles from imparter of knowledge to facilitator of knowledge building, it may be worth attempting for at least a few lessons, if it nudges more of our students toward taking responsibility for their own learning.

Ru-Zelda Severin, M.M Music Lecturer

References
Blumberg, P. (2008). Developing learner-centered teaching: A practical guide for faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Chen, M. (2010). Education nation: Six leading edges of innovation in our schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Huba, M. E. & Freed, J. E. (2000). Learner-centered assessment on college campuses: Shifting the focus from teaching to learning. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Marzano, R. (1992). A different kind of classroom: Teaching with dimensions of learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum. Tangney, B., FitzGibbon, A., Savage, T., Mehan, S., & Holmes, B. (2001). Communal constructivism: students constructing learning for as well as with others. Proceedings of Society for Information Technology Teacher Education International Conference 2001. Trinity College Dublin. Retrieved from http://www.scss.tcd.ie/publications/tech-reports/reports.01/TCD-CS2001-04.pdf Weimer, M. (2002). Learner-centered teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Who is Culpable for Student Success?

Responsibility is one of the vital characteristics in the profile of the successful student. It is not a characteristic reserved exclusively for the education arena, but rather a vital ingredient for lifes arena. Widely acclaimed philosopher and educational reformer John Dewey declared, Education is not preparation for life, but life itself. In preparing for lifes stage, it is imperative that the successful student develop the attribute of responsibility. Student responsibility is a topic that commands attention in educational arenas across the globe and it is a subject of supreme interest to those within the realm of higher education. Although there is a proliferation of research that emphasizes student success, there is a dearth of research, particularly in the area of higher education, about the culpability of the student as a key component in the discussion on accountability (Borden & Pike 2008). Borden & Pike (2008) suggest that there be shared responsibility and collaboration in the quest to improve student learning outcomes. This article will present a snapshot of the western society community college student in context, giving consideration to the confronting socioeconomic and political climate; will highlight key research findings on student responsibility; and will articulate initiatives and programmes offered by Bermuda College in the equation of shared institutional responsibility to improve student learning outcomes.

The community college student in western society, of which The Bermuda College is a part, may be a strong academic student who is re-entering the academic world after an extended lapse from the classroom; the mature student who wants a career change; the young adolescent who is undecided about a career; the professional student who believes in lifelong learning; the exchange student who desires to study in another country; and the list continues. The community college student in western society, may also be one who attends parttime; a full-time worker; one who only knows the practices of a traditional classroom; a product of a broken family; a victim of emotional unrest in the home; one who is required to lead the household; a parent; one who is unwed; one who is diagnosed with a learning disability, and the list continues. Community colleges are a microcosm of the wider society in which we all live. Students, like all of us, are expected to manage their lives against the backdrop of varying personal circumstances and societal conditions. The global economic recession that is plaguing societies is also threatening educational arenas and the community college is not

exempt. Students with multiple life challenges in the face of glaring and imposing socioeconomic conditions are still expected to perform, and not only perform, but perform well. Despite the circumstances, students are still willing to have a fresh start to embark on the tertiary tier of their educational journey hoping for far-reaching success with tangible rewards. Some students at Bermuda College enroll and excel as evidenced by the annual and bi-annual graduation lists and award ceremonies. The community college lecturers task in western society is to facilitate student learning and to see that all students have opportunities for success. Lecturers, likewise, as citizens on the life stage, are faced with similar socioeconomic pressures, personal challenges and political pressures. They too are expected to perform, and not only perform, but perform well in the face of a stifling recession. The community college administration and support staff equally have

the responsibility and are expected to serve students by providing the best customer service. Upon understanding the imposing societal conditions and the uniqueness of the student population, one is forced to ask the questions: Who is ultimately responsible for student success? Is it the student? Is it the lecturer? Is it the institution? Researchers have raised these questions in an attempt to find answers (Borden & Pike, 2008; Dey& Associates, 2008; Peterson, Rubie-Davis, Elley-Brown, Widdowson, Dixon, Irving (2011). Student responsibility is of particular concern to those in the world of higher education because clearly this is the phase where the young adult develops a greater sense of independence and freedom. The community college offers students a menu of freedom choices that allows them to select their classes as they wish, appear for advising sessions when they so choose, attend extra curricula activities of their choosing etc. How

they navigate their choices will ultimately determine their level of success. Amid the sense of independence and wider freedoms, students are no longer threatened by detentions or in-school suspensions for failure to attend class. Neither are they forced to study, required to attend improvement workshops, ordered to do their homework, or even commanded to seek help, yet they are expected to be successful. Some students are able to navigate their commitments well, while others do not. There are some who simply get lost in the shuffle because they fail to be responsible. Whereas some students have genuine challenges with navigating success, there are others on the flip side of the coin who have become experts at riding the system, often pleading their cases before wanting ears and evading their responsibilities in their relentless quest for paper success at any cost. One such example commands attention and is worthy of noting in its fullness in this article to reinforce the point. Lent (2010) writes: One October day, one of my most delightful and smartest students looked me straight in the eye and without hesitation explained that she couldnt turn in the project that was due that day because she and her father had had to rush her mother to the emergency room the night before. Oh, Nikki, I said with compassion. What happened? Is she OK? Nikki told me that the doctors had to perform an emergency hysterectomy, but that her mother would be fine. But I didnt finish my project, she said. I reassured her that she could have more time to complete the project without penalty.

Fast-forward to spring. The same delightful student approached me one morning and explained that she couldnt turn in her project that day because her father had had to rush her mother to the emergency room the night before. A bit doubtful, I nevertheless asked once again whether her mother was OK. Yes, Nikki replied, oblivious that she had used this line on me before. She had to have an emergency hysterectomy. Nikki, I said pointedly, you told me that your mother had to have an emergency hysterectomy last fall. Oh yes, she replied, without missing a beat. She had to have another one. It is highly probable that many a college lecturer has faced similar scenarios, perhaps some not so comedic, but nevertheless cases where students have craftily played the game and succeeded in manipulating their way all in the name of success. The aforementioned scenario raises other poignant questions about the issue of responsibility. To what degree is the student responsible for success? To what degree is the lecturer responsible? To what degree is the institution responsible? Should lecturers or the institution make multiple accommodations for students who abuse the system in the name of success? According to researchers, there is great ambiguity and controversy surrounding the issue of responsibility and, in particular, who should take responsibility for student learning (Peterson et. al 2011). The University of Michigan School of Educations Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education conducted a survey in 2007 to gain feedback

from undergraduate students and campus (faculty, academic professionals administrators and student affairs staff) regarding the institutions core commitment: Educating Students for Personal and Social Responsibility. Researchers felt the need to revisit the subject of student responsibility as one of the institutions core values. The goal of the survey was to determine whether personal and social responsibility should be more of a priority in college education. The data gained from the survey dissected this core value into five key areas: (1) striving for excellence; (2) cultivating personal and academic integrity; (3) contributing to a larger community; (4) taking seriously the perspective of others; and (5) developing competence in ethical and moral reasoning (Dey& Associates, 2007). There were 23,000 students and 9,000 campus professionals participated in the survey. Researchers concluded that both students and professionals alike were in strong agreement

that personal and social responsibility should be a strong focus for college education. In discussing the issue of student responsibility, Borden & Pike (2007) stress the point that shared responsibility and collaboration are critical for successful students in higher education. In other words, accountability does not rest at the door of one tier of the community college, but rather at the door of all parties. They write: Shared responsibility can also help resolve the tensions between top-down or outside-in and bottom-up or inside-out approaches. If the various responsible parties do their part, the effort proceeds from all directions simultaneously.. Collaboration has the added virtue of breeding respect (p. 85). Borden and Pike also recognize the role of faculty as an important variable for student success. According to Borden and Pike faculty demonstrates responsibility by having high expectations and by holding students to high standards of performance.

Who, then, is culpable therefore when students fail? Should the lecturer feel a sense of failure if a student fails due to insufficient effort and preparation? Peterson et. al (2011) reinforce the point that at the end of the day it is students who must take responsibility for their learning experience. According to William and Clark (2010), insufficient effort on the part of students produces failure, however they insist that failure need not be defeating. They argue that students have control over the degree of effort that they make which ultimately contributes to their success. Although little effort often leads to failure, students possess the power to turn their failure into success with greater effort (William & Clark 2010). One can conclude therefore that failure can become a valuable teaching tool if students take ownership of their shortcomings to empower themselves to have greater control over future outcomes. The issue of student retention and responsibility is a complex one and a concern

not unique to Bermuda College. The greater issue is not whether students can be retained, but rather who bears the greater responsibility for student success and retention. Politicians in the United States are equally concerned about responsibility in higher education. According to Pike (2007), the key question is not whether higher education will be more accountable, but what form this accountability will take (p. 83). He states: the diversity of colleges and universities makes it virtually impossible to develop a one-size-fits-all system of accountability. In fact, such a system would be counterproductive by pushing toward homogeneity a system that is strong by virtue of its diversity (p. 84). Pike reinforces the fact that each college and university possesses a uniqueness that distinguishes one from the other. Therefore to expect a uniform system of accountability is unwise. At Bermuda College there is an awareness of the need for facilitating student success as evidenced by several student

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services. Some of these services include the following: 1. Advising. Students have the opportunity to meet with their lecturers during the course of the week outside of teaching time. Lecturers are available to students for a minimum of 10 office hours per week. Many students make impromptu office visits and contact hours for lecturers extend beyond the prescribed times. 2. Academic Resource Centre. Students are provided with services to assist them with their academic needs outside of the classroom. They receive tutoring and academic support with supplementary materials to aid their understanding of core content. Students with learning disabilities are also serviced through the ARC. 3. Student Services Workshops. Students have the opportunity to improve their skills by participating in workshops. They learn skills that help to prepare them for the job market. 4. Career Counseling. Students who seek direction for their career choices receive career counseling. 5. Personal Counseling. Students who have social and personal challenges have access to counselors on campus to assist them with their personal needs and challenges. 6. Liberal Arts Division Orientation for students. The Dean of Liberal Arts holds an

orientation session for all Liberal Arts students. Students can ask questions and clarify concerns about The Liberal Arts Division at Bermuda College. 7. Student Council. Student Council is an active student-directed organization where students take leadership roles and address pertinent matters of interest to students and Bermuda College. 8. The Retention Alert System. The Retention Alert system is an electronic system managed by Faculty and support staff. There is an active committee that manages the Alert System. Lecturers across the various divisions input the names of students who are having challenges academically so that they can receive additional support for success. 9. Blackboard. Blackboard is an electronic system that allows lecturers to post announcements and course content to which students have access 24-7. Students who have missed class can go into Bermuda College Portal to access information needed to be prepared for the next class. 10. Web Advisor. Students have 24-7 access to Web Advisor to check their academic performance in their classes. 11. Student Forums & Focus Groups. Students have the opportunity to attend forums

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and to participate in focus groups for a deeper understanding of topics of interest. 12. Online Registration. Students have the convenience of registering themselves online. 13. Registered Students Organizations. Students have the opportunity to join Registered Student Organizations (RSOs) to support their individual interests. Bermuda College, like community colleges around the world, is concerned about student responsibility and ultimately student success. Of particular concern is how the institution can best support students to increase desired results. Balancing college life with daily life can be overwhelming and intimidating for students. The available services that Bermuda College offers support student success and demonstrate the institutions shared responsibility. For the young adult who is unable or unprepared to handle challenges, the struggles will be even greater. For the student who has not mastered the art of balance likewise will have great hurdles to climb. For the college student who is disciplined and well balanced with fewer issues to navigate, the challenges will be

more manageable. Shared responsibility, according to the research, eliminates the blame game and puts the onus on both the institution and the student. However, even with the support mechanisms, students are ultimately responsible for their learning. They must position themselves first as the focus for their learning. No one wants to fail. Students must therefore take personal responsibility and make the requisite effort to achieve success. Greater responsibility will have the ultimate benefit of leading everyone on the pathway to greater success.

Andrea Lightbourne-Webster, Ed.D Spanish Senior Lecturer

References
Borden, Victor, M. H. & Pike, Gary R. (2008). New Directions for Institutional Research, Assessment Supplement 2007. Fall 2008.Published online in Wiley InterScience. www.intercscience.wiley.com Dey, E. L. & Associates (2008). Should Colleges Focus More on Personal and Social Responsibility? Association of American Colleges and Universities. Published online: http://www.aacu.org/core_commitments/documents/PSRII_Findings_April2008.pdf Lent, R. C. (2010). The Responsibility Breakthrough. Educational Leadership. September 2010, pp. 68- 71. Peterson, E.R., Rubie-Davies, C. M., Elley-Brown, M J., Widdowson, D.A., Dixon, R.S., Irving, S.E. (2011). Who is to blame? Students, teachers and parents view on who is responsible for student achievement. Research in Education, 86 (1),1-12. Williams, R.L. & Clark, L. (2004), College Students ratings of student effort, student ability, and teacher input as correlates of student performance on multiple-choice exams, Educational Research, 46, 229-239.

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The Informal Curriculum

informal curriculum involves the process of socialization. An important aspect of learning and the school experience is the development of personal values, beliefs and expectations. The social environment of schools, or the informal curriculum (for example, the belief that young boys may be better served pursuing a vocation in the trades) has a significant influence on the development of these characteristics as well as the overall identity formation within a young person.
The As a community we are at a crossroad. Recent violent acts threaten our peaceful island and potentially our overall way of life. While this does not represent the automatic ruin of our island home, it does represent a need for adjustment. When looking at the gang activity and gun violence on the island, one thing in particular stands out. An obvious observation is that most of the gang activity and gun violence involves young black males. Like many others in our community, I believe that this behavior is symptomatic of deeper issues that exist in our society. For example, education is one of the deeper issues that is being addressed. New curriculums have been put into place within public schools to improve academic outcomes of the students (in general, and for black males in particular). The notion is that if students did better academically, they would be less likely to get involved in the types of activities associated with gangs and violence. Within this brief article, we plan to spread the notion that schools are not only institutions for academic development. School is a potent tool in the socialization of our young black boys. Schools seek to impart instruction in mathematics, English, and the like. Schools also play a major role in socializing our young people. Approximately one-third of a young persons life is spent within the school environment. This enables the school experience to impart more than academic proficiencies to our young. Schools should continue to be used to empower young black males through productive and healthy socialization. Young black males are not unique in this regard. The commitment to conscious and concentrated efforts towards the creation of a school environment that is well-meaning towards young black males should be continued. Direct efforts in dispelling the conscious and

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unconscious perpetuation of negative stereotypes about black males are worth the time and effort. Professional development, that highlights positive models in academic achievement and leadership, that also help to increase sensitivity towards young black males (for example, work shops on learning and teaching styles) are important for teacher trainings seminars. As a community, we are engaging in an ongoing brainstorming exercise to implement new ways to address crime and violence on the island. Focused attention to ensure that negative stereotypes about black males are not perpetuated within the school environment should continue. Embracing of

school as an institution of socialization is an important factor towards improving our society. This is what we refer to as, the Informal Curriculum.

Quinton Sherlock, MS Adjunct Lecturer Psychology/ Child and Youth Studies

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A Global Cycle of Influence

In 2008, the Bermuda National Gallery featured an exhibition tribute to the late Evelyn (Byllee) Lang. Hailing originally from Canada, Lang lived and worked in Bermuda producing art for approximately twenty years. At the opening reception, much was said not only of her expertise but also of her positive interaction with Bermudian artists. Many of these Bermudian artists, fairly representative of the diversity of Bermudas population, were her students and many of them appeared in a short video accompanying the tribute exhibition speaking of her influence on their lives and work. The exhibition was well received and it inspired me to look more closely at the influence on Bermudian artists by artists who have come to work here from other places. It is evident that Bermudians exhibit the full range of self-concept. On one hand there is the self-deprecating ideology that individuals and companies must look for expertise from somewhere else. This concept that the water is sweeter from foreign wells, is however counter-balanced with the effort and expression of many individuals and companies to have the community recognize and value the expertise that locals have to offer. Also, it is not unusual to find that locals quite regularly evaluate local works harshly (disappointing sameness and staid predictability) while simultaneously having adverse reactions to the equally harsh criticism received from those who have come from outside of the community. With this diversity of thought in mind, and while I align myself with those who recognize and celebrate the amazing talent of Byllee Lang and many other artists who have come to live and work in Bermuda, I have been analyzing established relationships in an effort to determine the actual influence and benefits that have come as a result. One relationship I have considered is the one that existed between American artist, Joe Jones, and local artist, Alfred Birdsey, in the 1950s. Although coming from very different backgrounds, Joe Jones and Alfred Birdsey had much in common. Both were white males from humble beginnings who were passionate, self-trained artists that reached international acclaim including representation in prestigious international collections. Both also received numerous commissions from significant institutions such as the Associated American Artists of New York. Alfred Birdsey (1912-1996) has long been one of Bermudas celebrated artists. In fact, he was and still is regarded by some as the islands Artist Laureate. His work has achieved iconic status. Even those members of the community who claim to know little about art and artists readily recognize his stylized modernist watercolors. His interest in the visual arts began when as a teenager he worked in a bookstore that sold art supplies.

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In this employment he had direct interaction with local artists, some of whom eventually provided mentorship for him. Birdsey immersed himself into the arts, reading extensively and experimenting with various media and techniques. He was fascinated with everything around him as life in Bermuda was so different from his childhood home. He painted the sailboats in the harbor, the residential architecture, and people, especially local blacks involved in everyday mundane activities. Most of these subjects would become reoccurring elements in later work although in a much more simplified and abstracted style. Never satisfied, however, he constantly searched for more effective and liberating ways to create his representations of life around him. All of this changed however, after he met Joe Jones. According to The Royal Gazette reporter, Nancy Acton: However, it was a meeting with Joe Jones, an American modernist artist who came to Bermuda to paint in the winter of 1958, that led to the development of the style with which Birdsey is most closely identified. As the duo experimented with various painting styles and imagery, the Bermuda artist, working in watercolour, began to develop his characteristic mature style of loose brushwork and minimalist imagery. By the late 1960s he was the complete master of a medium that was uniquely his. (Acton 2008) It is not surprising that Joe Jones (1909 - 1963) came to Bermuda. He had achieved much of his fame in New York City and Bermuda was already the popular quick getaway destination for the US northeast especially for the elite including master artists. Jones has been considered to be a

major twentieth century painter and His name is mentioned printmaker. alongside Thomas Hart Benton and other master regionalists and he was also one of the leading artists of the social protest movement throughout the Great Depression and until the end of World War II. James Jones of Time magazine wrote: Joe Jones was one of the angriest proletarian painters of the 1930s. His canvases were packed with demonstrators, motherless waifs and starving victims of capitalist greed. In his milder moods, he turned out farm scenes in the best Midwestern tradition, with bright, theatrical coloring. Said Joe Jones, simply and violently: I want to paint things that knock holes in walls. (Jones 1951) Jones had certainly established himself as an artist with a social conscience but by the time he visited Bermuda his work had already undergone significant changes. He had sought for and found a new and more fulfilling direction. The depictions of an angry protesting subaltern were replaced with abstracted modernist explorations of the relationships between the elements of art. Jones had been looking for a new direction and he found it in the far eastern art of the color silk-screen. He dedicated himself to the exploration of this new medium and the resulting works, as with his previous works, are seen as masterworks of their time. Jo Birdsey Linberg says that she observed her father and Jones spending many evenings together painting at the kitchen table. They shared their aspirations, challenges and techniques late into the night. Birdsey was fascinated with Jones newly acquired technique and saw its abstracted approach as providing the liberating

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Joe Jones. Mural section of The Struggle of the South. 1935. University of Arkansas, Little Rock Archives.

dimension that he was looking for. Birdsey, embraced and adopted Jones modern style. His brushstrokes became minimalized and were not much more than mere suggestions of his favorite subject matter. Eventually Birdsey had adapted Jones technique to a new and unique level with an aesthetic quality appropriate for representing Bermudian imagery, light and color. While this made Jones work seem mechanical and rigid, he never-the-less impressed with what Birdsey was creating. Before this research, I was not aware of Joe Jones, but upon seeing his (later) work,

what is instantly apparent to me is the technical influence he had on Birdseys work which I have been familiar with for many years. However, while one cannot deny the technical influence of Jones on Birdsey, it must also be recognized that both were artists involved in a search for inspiration, fresh ideas and confidence. In addition to the slower pace of life that Bermuda offered at the time and the rejuvenation benefits, Jones benefitted from their interaction by the intense sharing of ideas. Their collaboration helped him further along in the development of his own new direction that began with his

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exposure to Japanese modernist techniques of creating art including silk-screening. I consider the influence of Jones on Birdsey, and by extension Bermuda, to be significant. Jones influence on Birdsey had a positive effect for Bermuda as it contributed to the efforts by several artists to introduce modernism to the island and to encourage other artists to venture out from their safe representational work. It can also be concluded that since Jones was heavily influenced by the Japanese, the Japanese indirectly played a part in Bermudas movement toward modernism. In my selfish regard, I would like to have seen Birdsey influenced by Jones angry period as well. Bermuda was facing

its own social challenges at the time and only one year after the Birdsey/Jones 1958 collaboration, Bermuda experienced a momentous protest demonstration against racial discrimination. Fortunately, there were visual artists who did choose to create works based on the event at the time, works that have since been regarded as Bermudas first artworks with overt social commentary. Despite their place of origin, artists are, to varying extents, involved in searching, cross-fertilization, and the development of their confidence. Those coming to Bermuda are searching for something just as much as the local artists are. They seek inspiration and ways in which they can more effectively make their statements. I recognize that visual artists

Alfred Birdsey. Untitled. Circa 1960. Collection of E. Michael Jones

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are notorious for working independently, but artists, perhaps more than is readily admitted, and particularly in the Bermuda context, do collaborate and take advantage of the other. In fact, both parties benefit tremendously from the other. This is not an unusual phenomenon but instead reflective of a global cycle of influence.

Edwin M. E. Smith, Ph.D Art & Design Senior lecturer

References
Acton, Nancy. Alfred & E. Michael. The Royal Gazette. 1 2 February 2 0 0 9. Calnan, Patricia. The Masterworks Bermudiana Collection. The Bermudian Publishing Company Ltd.: Bermuda. 1994. Brooke, W. Michael. Blacks in Bermuda: Historical Perspectives. Island Press: Bermuda, 1980. Jones, James. Art: Angry Man Calms Down, Time. Monday, 22 Oct. 1951. Painters in Paradise: The Masterworks Bermuda Collection at the Guidhall Art Gallery. Catalogue, Bermuda 2004 Slayton, Marina. ed. Four Centuries of Friendship: America-Bermuda Relations 1609-2009. Bermuda Maritime Museum Press, Bermuda, 2009.

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Save Our Sushi!

users. Roadside litter is becoming more apparent in Bermuda as we become more of a throwaway society by consuming items that are for one time use. That littered candy wrapper, water bottle, plastic bag, or plastic sushi container may eventually make its way into our ocean. The aim is to think before you throw. Make sure that your plastic trash really ends up in the garbage, otherwise it may come full circle, ending up on your plate when you go to enjoy that delicious spicy tuna roll at your favourite sushi spot. For more information, visit www.algalita.com or www.5gyres.com

Amy Harvey, MSC Earth & Environmental Science Lecturer

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The Consumption of Knowledge

Baudrillard (1981) argues that there has been a significant break between the classical form of capitalism, as analyzed by Marx, and the development of capitalism following the Second World War. This rupture is not restricted to the economic and political spheres, but includes the cultural as well (Baudrillard, 1983). While earlier forms of capitalism fostered an ethic of production based on Fordist economies of scale (Harvey 1990), its latter mode reveals itself in a no less rigorous ethic of daily consumption (Baudrillard, 1975, 1998; Featherstone 1990; Jameson 1991; Ritzer 1999). In this brave new academic world, colleges and universities are no longer places in which knowledge is produced but rather peddled. In language borrowed from managerial newspeak, students come to be seen as customers, or conversely, having dropped out they become lost revenue, faculty become human capital, and nearly everyone is a stakeholder. Enrollment itself comes to be seen as little more than marketing strategy to sell a brand. Branding in higher education is most evident in the various systems for ranking colleges and universities; the higher a schools ranking, the greater the brand recognition. Education has entered the realm of pure consumerism, much like the rankings of top selling CDs or box office hits. However, institutions of higher learning must not only be able to attract customers, they must also satisfy them. As Bauman (2007:10) writes, buyers will wish to obtain commodities for consumption only if consuming them promises gratification of their desires. Consequently, some have come to see colleges and universities in the same light as shopping malls, theme parks, and fast-food restaurants (Barnett and Coate 2005:37; Hayes and Wynyard 2002; Ritzer 1998). Such an approach moves us into the postmodern perspective of dedifferentiation: the idea that traditional divisions and boundaries have collapsed or imploded one upon the other the interchangeability of shopping, leisure, eating, sport, education and so on. Ritzer (1999: 181) argues that this is one of the hallmarks of modernity/postmodernity in which formerly non-commercial settings are becoming cathedrals of consumption. Gottdiener (2001) sees such dedifferentiation as a result of theming, leading to such concepts as edutainment. Such comparisons reflect the pressures that tertiary institutions have come to experience in marketing their commodities. Accordingly, colleges find themselves responding to the vulgarities of the market, appealing to the masses, providing what the customer desires. To accomplish this goal they find themselves having to eliminate as many negative aspects of education as possible. This is evident in the phenomenon of grade inflation, an ailment particularly infectious at Ivy League (top brand) institutions (Rojstaczer and Healy 2010). After all, one can hardly consider a poor grade to be the promised gratification of their desires. To avoid such

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disappointments the savvy shopper can now log on to CBS Money Watch to get a listing of the easiest and hardest marking schools in the United States (O'Shaughnessy 2010). A culture of consumption has altered our perception to the point that all reality is filtered through the logic of exchange value and advertising (Baudrillard, 1998). When students approach education as consumers, they are weighing the costs, the quality and the convenience of getting an education. When the college hierarchy adopt the same perspective, faculty find themselves pressured to change their course delivery to meet specified measurable learning objectives. Time is taken away from learning, the

institutions raison detre, to measure customer satisfaction, assess the quality of the service provider, and improve brand loyalty. As education comes to be seen as a product, colleges become little more than a service based industry.

And yet, can a student ever truly be a customer? We can think of students as customers when they compare the cost of tuition, availability of classes, access to the library, the distance to commute, and the ranking of the schools athletic teams. But can they be customers with respect to what it is they are taught? In order to be able to judge the subject matter at hand, customers would need to be experts in that particular field. If that were the case, there would be no need to enroll in a course (or to enroll in college).

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Consequently we must accept, that in the classroom, they remain students, any other option is pure folly. The business model declares that the customer is always right, and with respect to students, they are clearly not. Additionally, such a framework ignores that active role that students play in producing knowledge. Learning is not a matter of passive consumption, but rather a product of work. Students must exert both mental and physical effort in order to learn. As colleges come to be run more like a business, they risk losing sight of the reason for their existence, perhaps they need to take a long hard look at their educational mission. It must be kept in mind that unlike a business, colleges do not exist to earn money and consequently they should not be responding to market demand. The notion of simply discarding an academic subject due to low enrollment (a.k.a. poor sales) can have disastrous effects on the integrity of higher education. Decisions about what courses should be taught, in the absence of faculty vetting, raises the whole question of academic autonomy. Subjects should not just be evaluated in market terms, after all, we are dealing with knowledge. Such an approach is reminiscent of Dickens character Thomas

Gradgrind, who, in his novel Hard Times, espoused an educational philosophy of teaching facts because facts alone are wanted in life" (1854/1970: 15). However, even he came to see the error of such a perspective. If colleges evolve into an entity that provide an education system whose only concern is technical skills and knowledge that have an immediate economic application, we run the risk of producing a population of unimaginative uncritical cogs in an economic system with no greater ambition than profit (cf. Nussbaum 2010). But then, again, as colleges find themselves responding to the needs of a capitalist economy, perhaps that is what the stakeholders desire, at least those who have a say.

Geoff Rothwell, Ph.D Sociology Professor

References
Barnett, Ronald and Kelly Coate 2005. Engaging the Curriculum in Higer Education. McGrawHill: Maidenhead. Baudrillard, Jean 1975. The Mirror of Production. St. Louis: Telos Press. Baudrillard, Jean 1981. For a Critique of the Political Economy of the Sign. St. Louis: Telos Press. Baudrillard, Jean 1983. Simulations. New York: Semiotext(e). Baudrillard, Jean 1998. The Consumer Society: Myths and Structures. London: Sage. Bauman, Zygmunt 2007. Consuming Life. Oxford: Polity Press. Dickens, Charles 1854/1970 Hard Times London: Collings. Featherstone, M. 1990. Perspectives on Consumer Culture. Sociology 24(1) pp.5-22. Gottdiener, Mark 2001. The Theming of America: American Dreams, Media Fantasies, and Themed Environments (2nd ed.). Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press. E.M.E. Smith Harvey, David 1990. The Condition of Postmodernity. Cambridge MA: Blackwell.

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Hayes, Dennis & Robin Wynard 2002. Whimpering Into the Good Night: Resisting McUniversity in George Ritzer (ed) McDonaldization: The Reader. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press. Jameson, Fredric. 1991. Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. Durham NC.: Duke University Press. Lyotard, Jean-Franois. 1979/93. The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Nussbaum, Martha 2012. Not For Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities. Princeton University Press. O'Shaughnessy, Lynn 2010. Grade Inflation: Colleges With the Easiest and Hardest Grades Date Published: September 28, 2010 http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505145_16237243170/grade-inflation-colleges-with-the-easiest-and-hardest-grades/, Date Accessed: 5/3/2012. Ritzer, George 1998. The McDonaldization Thesis: Explorations and Extensions. London: Sage Publications. Ritzer, George 1999. Enchanting A Disenchanted World: Revolutionizing the New Means of Consumption. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge Press. Rojstaczer, Stuart and Christopher Healy 2010. Grading in American Colleges and Universities in Teachers College Record, Date Published: March 04, 2010 http://www.tcrecord.org, Date Accessed: 4/3/2010.

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Save our Sushi!

The ever popular take-out sushi may also be an indicator of our mass consumerism and throwaway society. The plastic trays, plastic grass and disposable chop sticks are all intended for one time use and destined for the trash. These very items, however, if not properly disposed of could potentially harm the fish that we deem safe to eat cooked and raw alike! Plastic pollution, in particular, is causing overwhelming problems in our oceans and their food chains which ultimately affect the top predator, humans! Plastic is a product made to last almost forever; it is created by man, usually for a onetime use. The problem with plastic is that it is non-biodegradable i.e. it will not break down. Plastic that ends up in the ocean wreaks havoc on the smaller organisms that ingest it. It also affects larger marine organisms that not only eat plastic contaminated food but also face death by entanglement by ghost nets and stray fishing line that have been abandoned by fishermen. The fact that marine life is ingesting plastic that they cannot digest is bad enough, but research also shows that this plastic can be poisoning them. Plastics can act as magnets to pollutants such as pesticides, oils and Bisphenol A (BPA). They are finding that the

plastics are much more concentrated in these pollutants than the surrounding water. Also, these persistent (do not break down) pollutants bioaccumulate in the food chain which means that by the time we eat some of the top predators, like tuna, the concentrations will have significantly magnified to the point where they can be toxic to us. Over the last three years, environmental science students at Bermuda College have been carrying out visible debris surveys at Elbow Beach. The purpose of this on-going survey is primarily to identify and collect plastic litter debris and to monitor the impacts that they have on our local and global ecosystems. This data is shared with the Marine Plastics Debris Taskforce, Keep Bermuda Beautiful, and the 5 Gyres group which is a US based charity. If our waste is not properly disposed of, it will ultimately find its way to our oceans. It is suggested that 80% of plastic pollution in the ocean comes from littering on land. Only 20% comes from marine activity like containers falling off of ships, littering from the fishing industry, or recreational continued on page 19

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