Second Year Social Work Students Learn About the Art of Social Work from Irma Stern

Leon Holtzhausen and Mary Van Blommestein

The world of art has much to offer students of social work...

• February and March 2011 more than 70 social work students from the Department of Social Development, UCT – opportunity to explore

cultural, racial and ethnic concepts of identity of self and the other, during a blended learning exercise at the Museum

What is Blended Learning?

• Driscoll (2002) combination of instructional methods (not “bolt-on”)

• Why Blend?– Opportunity to re-design

the way courses are developed, delivered and scheduled

– Reduction in “seat time”

Why Blend Social Work Teaching and Learning?

• “Exploring elements and nuances of Irma Stern’s work can enhance learning by giving students valuable insights into the realm of social work that lies beyond the class bound learning of “dry” assessment and intervention techniques”

Vs.

Why Blend Social Work Teaching and Learning?

• Explore cultural, racial and ethnic aspects of your own experience and identity that inevitably influence their interpersonal and social interactions and social work practice.

• Ethnicity often refers to the voluntary identification by an individual of her/his membership of a particular "group" whether that group is characterised by race, culture, religion or class.

• It also needs to recognise that racial or ethnic identities are also imposed upon people by others. “Population groups" as previously defined in South African law are a case in point

What happened? • Mary van Blommestein gave

students a brief presentation of the Irma Stern’s work after which they studied pre-selected pieces by the artist on the theme of ethnicity and racial identity

• Reflectively engaged with important questions like, "Who am I?" Who am I in the ethnic/racial sense?" "Who do others think I am?" "What does my ethnic, racial or cultural identity mean to me?”

• Wrote an ethic autobiography of between 4 and 6 pages that’s self-reflective in nature

"Who am I?" Who am I in the ethnic/racial sense?" "Who do others think I am?" "What does my

ethnic, racial or cultural identity mean to me?”

My Ethnic Autobiography By Jessica Blom On the surface, my ethnicity can be seen as being

a white person who is from English descent. Some people would take it for granted that I would associate myself with English people because we share a common language and have similar customs. However, I do not relate to my counterparts in England. If I went to England, it would not feel like home. I do relate to some of the English population of South Africa. More specifically, I see my ethnicity as being closely tied to the fact that I live in Cape Town. Cape Town English-speaking individuals are quite different to Johannesburg English- speaking individuals.

My understanding of how individuals align

themselves with a particular group became more developed as I entered high school. High school allowed individuals to showcase their ethnicity through societies for example; the Afrikaans society, the Xhosa society, the Muslim Students’ Association, etc. This developed my sense of other people’s ethnicity and to which group they might associate themselves. My stereotype surrounding Afrikaans people was broken down as I now had Afrikaans friends.

Irma Stern painted a wide variety of individuals who came from many different backgrounds. Irma Stern was able to capture every individual as a

person and one seems to get a real glimpse into who they are. Irma Stern seemingly painted individuals without any preconceived ideas into their ethnicity. In her day to day living, Irma Stern tried to blend cultures. She incorporated Zanzibar into her house by having traditionally carved chairs. She mixed her Jewish background with Christian iconography. Irma Stern was not afraid to engage with people outside of her own ethnicity, race or religious background. This is especially potent for South Africans because of the historical divide between groups. In terms of my socio-political ideas, it has confirmed the notion that South Africans must disregard their stereotypes and rather get to know and understand people.