Diversity & Inclusion in the Department

The film program at Kenyon is committed to an anti-racist curriculum. We must acknowledge the limited access to the film industry historically provided to people of color, the intentional exclusion of people of color from the film industry, the use of filmic images to degenerate and dishonor people of color, and our own complicity in the perpetuation of these systemic structures through our teaching.

We must also recognize that people of color have been making films since the beginning of the art form despite these barriers. Film educators do a disservice to our students by perpetuating the myth that only big budget highly visible films are critically the “best” or that they are the most effective teaching tools. By leaving out much of the cinema created by a large portion of the world’s population, we do not reflect the diversity of the students that we hope to attract to our program. What has been and continues to be taught in film studies programs, using metrics such as box office gross or industry awards alone to determine value, perpetuates racial bias, and we seek to end this practice.

We strive to provide our students with the depth of education, historical context, and general understanding of filmmaking that we believe will make them better filmmakers. We acknowledge that our teaching in the past has perpetuated the systemic racist structures that are widespread throughout the American educational structure, and we commit ourselves to making changes to correct that problematic legacy. 

The principles set forth below guide the development of our new anti-racist curriculum in film.

• All film genre courses, including "Introduction to Film," should strive to include not less than one third of the films for the class made by people of color or else they should focus a significant time during the semester on issues of cultural representation in the genre. This should in no way be considered a limit to the number of films by and about BIPOC, but it should be the minimum standard. While international non-European films are certainly encouraged, there should be some effort to consider inclusion of non-white domestic filmmakers as well. Healing America’s exclusion of BIPOC or negative stereotypic images is key. Films by BIPOC should also be critiqued for their perpetuation of negative and demeaning imagery.

• Films that denigrate or use negative stereotypes of people, especially with respect to race, gender, and sexual orientation, should be carefully considered before inclusion in the course and should be eliminated if there is any other option for the teaching goal of the film. If these films must be included, then there should be time devoted strictly to the discussion of the negative images and the problematic historical effects that such images have. Obviously, courses such as "African American Film," "Queer Cinema" or similar courses that may be developed in the future will incorporate some of these films into the content of the course as a part of the discussion of these issues, but even in these cases, stereotypical depictions of others should be carefully considered before inclusion.

• New courses being proposed for inclusion in the curriculum should meet these guidelines, at the very least, but there should also be encouragement to develop courses with a focus on underrepresented people. These might include Latinx film, African film, Indian film, Asian film, and Indigenous film as general areas.

• Time and space should be made in courses during the weeks when films by POC are being discussed to allow discussions about race and difference, if that is appropriate. While the inclusion of films by people of different races, in and of itself, is valuable, not addressing the proverbial “elephant in the room” may seem dismissive. This may mean that instructors of courses will need to do their homework on how to have these conversations sensitively and openly. Students of color should not be expected to represent the expert opinion and become the de facto instructor, nor should the other non-white colleagues. It may be appropriate to bring in a guest speaker, but the instructor of the course should still be the primary expert.

• Production courses may use examples of work as explanation of technique and practice. All efforts should be made to include non-white filmmakers as examples of good or interesting technique.

• Student film projects that present problematic or insensitive content should be confronted directly. Our process for students to present their scripts and plans for filming allows time to address these potential problems. It is important to compassionately educate students about ideas and images that may be offensive and disrespectful, and to encourage them to change these to more appropriate choices. While Kenyon allows and supports freedom of expression by all students, it must also protect its other students from harm done by hurtful portrayals created by their peers and their teachers. We are committed to teach our students that cinematic artists must take responsibility for the work they create, so they should be thoughtful about what they present.

Dance is a field that centers the body as a cultural entity, a subject and method of research, carrying, processing, and producing histories through movement on stage and off. The Kenyon dance program is steadfastly committed to anti-racist work, including equitable re-structuring. To carry out ethical pedagogical and scholarly practices in dance, we must work at undoing systems of racism existing within our classrooms, studios, and stages. Part of this undoing is creating a curriculum that is more inclusive and can offer non-Eurocentric movement practice and theory courses. 

Policy and Procedure:

• Students wanting to major or minor in dance are able to without auditioning, and our classes are open to all Keyon students.  

• Our casting practices are inclusive and welcome a range of  body types, dance experience and backgrounds. We do not discriminate on the basis of gender or race. 

• Our program will continue the process of deconstructing, questioning, and evolving to create a more equitable and anti-racist environment.

Faculty Hiring Practices & Support:

• Any future tenure-track line in dance will provide diversity to our program and support BIPOC faculty and BIPOC dance across genres. For example, practitioners and scholars specializing in any of the following forms: African diasporic, classical Indian, Latinx and Asian dance forms. Other possibilities include hip-hop, tap and jazz. 

• Adjunct and guest artist opportunities will similarly prioritize hiring BIPOC artists and scholars and providing students with diverse experiences. 

Pedagogical and Curricular Change:

• Integrate non-Eurocentric dance epistemologies as irrefutable foundations to the field in existing and new courses.

• Offer multiple levels for all offered dance genres whenever possible, not just Eurocentric techniques like ballet/modern techniques. 

• De-center whiteness by recognizing the whiteness embedded in much dance scholarship.

• Address this by centering BIPOC voices in scholarship and histories with an eye toward specificity. 

• Integrate and provide access to  the work of scholars who have been re-examining and recreating dance pedagogy to this end. For example, BIPOC guest artists, utilizing culturally diverse dance pedagogy resources, and forums like the "Race in Motion 20-21" series.

• Dances that denigrate or use negative stereotypes of people, especially with respect to race, gender and sexual orientation, should be carefully considered before inclusion in courses and should be eliminated if there is any other option for the teaching goal. If these dances are included, then there should be time devoted strictly to the discussion of the negative images and the problematic historical effects of such content. 

• Models for discussing dances about sensitive and painful subjects should also be considered. For example, a panel discussion including faculty from across the College followed the performance of the staging of “Lynchtown.”

• Wherever possible, courses should include plays written by under-represented writers. When plays by POC are being discussed, it is important to allow time for discussions about race and difference.

• Plays that use negative stereotypes, especially with respect to race, gender, and sexual orientation, should be carefully considered before inclusion in a course.  When they merit inclusion, there should be time devoted to the discussion of the negative images and the historical context. Students of color and non-white colleagues should not be expected to represent the expert opinion and become the de facto instructor.  It may be appropriate to bring in a guest speaker, but the instructor of the course should still be the primary expert. Students will be expected to show up for and participate in these discussions.

• New courses being proposed for inclusion in the curriculum should strive for representation.

• Plays or performances that present problematic or insensitive content should be confronted directly. It is important to address what audiences might find offensive and to offer the students guidance as to how they might rethink their choices or proceed constructively.

• Flexible casting is encouraged, thereby offering students the chance to engage in rigorous artistic inquiry and to challenge perceived “norms” around gender and race.   However, when a play is produced, the Dramatists Guild’s requirement that casting should be as specified by the playwright should be respected (unless the playwright or publisher gives permission to do otherwise).