On Tuesday morning we were told by our textile design tutors that woven textiles was being taken off of the course and was no longer an option for us students. This was due to funding being held preventing a new member of staff to be hired. There are 8 students who wanted to specialise in weave. I definately want to pursue weave in 3rd and 4th year as my specialist choice. However, as I have already paid a deposit for a flat, I would not be able to afford to move to another University to do a degree in woven textiles. Also, as we have missed the deadline for applying to different Universities I do not see how that is a feasable option. The short notice given to us is ridiculous.
A placement, in my opinion, would be beneficial, we would be able to go and learn the technical skills required to weave. On the other hand, I am not sure whether the department would allow us to go on a placement, at another institution in Scotland, during term time and allow us to pursue weave when we came back to Dundee. Money would also be an issue for me as I would not be able to pay rent for my flat in Dundee and rent for accomodation whilst on a placement at the same time. It is easy enough for tutors to tell us we can find our own placements over the Summer but in order to come to University I have to work 2 full time, jobs over the Summer so there is just not time.
I am unhappy with the whole situation. I applied from the general foundation art course to textile design under the impression that I could specialise in either, print, knit, weave or mixed media. As I have been learning the skills required to be a weaver throughout 2nd year and had my heart set on becoming a weaver I feel it is a great unjustice for it to be taken away a third of the way through the course. Especially as we were never told there was a possibility it might be taken away. Whilst I understand that the emphasis within the course is on design skills and the work we do can be transeferred into all of the different areas of specialism, it is weave that I expected and wanted to learn and to hopefully pursue as a career once I earnt my degree. Even if we were given help with funding and support from the textile department to go on a placement it would obviously be of greater value if we were simply to be taught by a tutor with weave skills within Duncan of Jordanstone as was done in previous years. I can not imagine a tutor being taken out of the Graphic Design department and the students studying there being told they can no longer use computers.
If you have any advice on who we can contact for support I'd really appreciate your comments!
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ReplyDeleteHi Michaela,
ReplyDeleteMy name is James Donald and I have taught weave in your department on and off since graduating in 1993.
I am horrified and disgusted at what is happening to weave in the textiles department and I for one DO NOT want to see it dropped from the DoJ program. This is bad management from start to finish and they should be held accountable for their bad after bad after bad decision making which is impacting directly on students like yourself.
I advise you to befriend me on Facebook to see what others think. I have also written a letter to Craftscotland and I will post a link to it from my FB once it has been published, and I hope it will be. Once it is published all students can voice there concerns at what is happening. You can voice your opinions on Craftscotland anyway, that is what it is there for. This has to be given greater media coverage especially when one considers the publicity the Art School is getting about the "New Craft - Future Voices International Conference" and the up and coming symposium in June 2010 with the V&A. It is all very contradictory! What will the V&A make of weave being dropped?
I also advice you with all students concerned to seek advice from student services as I am unsure about the legal implications of what they, the management are doing. Is what they are doing legal? You must check this out.
Keep in touch Michaela! I know that there are a LOT of people disgusted at management at DoJ making shocking decisions which are impacting directly on you the current students and the future state of the Scottish craft community.
Best Wishes
James Donald - www.pickone.co.uk
I am horrified by this news and by the callous and careless attitude of college in reneging on its offer to students. I think it is disgraceful way to treat students, let alone the fact it is a careless to discard an immensely valuable educational resource in this way.
ReplyDeleteAs a keen amateur weaver with some legal experience I wonder what the legal situation is, do you have a copy of the course prospectus that offered you the option of weaving and would you be prepared to seek legal advice? I am wondering whether or not it is a breach of contract, it might be worth finding a lawyer who would give an initial free appointment and advise you.
I too am appalled by this. My aunt was one of the first and very few women to study weaving at Bradford Technical College in the 1940's and went on to study and work with Ethel Mairet at Gospels. My father and grandfather worked in the Lancashire textiles industry. What on earth do DoJ think they are doing? I have always considered weaving to be a foundation craft, an elemental building block of culture. To understand and practice the woven construction of fabric is to be in touch with a very ancient skill that has been and is fundamental to the development of civilization. To design woven fabric is fundamental to sustaining and develping culture. I feel the same way about ceramics, metalwork/silversmithing and woodwork/furniture making. I am a craft worker; I got my BAhons in Brighton on the Wood/Metal/Ceramics and Plastics course and now 25yrs on I am enjoying exploring felt, yarns and fibres. Surely they cannot renege on the course syllabus in this way? i can understand your outrage having developed an interest and foundation in weave in 2nd year. My best wishes to you and the other students.
ReplyDeleteI feel so sorry for you Michaela - you are clearly very in love with your discipline and I can only begin to imagine how you must be feeling.
ReplyDeleteI have just chosen to specialise in knit at Heriot-Watt in Galashiels having almost completed the 2nd year constructed course and would feel angry and confused if this option was taken away from me.
I urge you to fight for what you really want to do, don't just step back and accept this descision. Perhaps the University could arrange for part-time Lecturers from other universities/colleges to tutor you online/video conferencing and visits occasionally? Whilst this might not be ideal I can tell you we have a lot less contact with our lecturers than I ever expected. We are expected to carry out a lot of self-directed study and a lot of our communication is done through emails and written feedback.
I really hope you are able to find a way of continuing your studies, don't let this deter you from what you really want to do.
Best of luck
Louisa
Thanks, it is so reassuring to hear that people actually care! I'm doing everything i can at the moment to get something done and trying to encourage the others who wanted to take weave to be more pro - active about it because i know that they all feel the same way as i do. Hopefully all will go well.
ReplyDeleteI am also doing the textiles course at duncan of jordanstone in 2nd year. i was shocked and upset at the news of them dropping weave but luckily enough did not want to do it. i however find the way that they had not mentioned it and left it so last minute to tell us that it is not going to be on the course despicable.
ReplyDeleteWe have been taught the basics over the past year and unlike previous year, we have had the most interest and dedicated students wanting to do weave. Out of a class of 36 we have 8/9 pupils set on doing weave which is almost a 3rd of the class. to take this away from the students when they are getting outside tutors to help and carrying on the teachings of the 3rd and 4th years i wounder why cant they been taught too?
Dundee is known for its weave and i think when the V&A find out that duncan of jordanstone have taken it off the course they will be very upset. Also i thought that when the V&A came to dundee then there would be even more interest in weave because of their amazing collection that they have.
Duncan of Jordanstone is the best art school in Scotland and in the top 3 in the UK yet we cannot get the funding for a teacher for a major part of a course?
i really hope there will be some way that the students that do want to do weave will be able to in the future.
I've also been seeking out various support, and hoping a meeting soon will clear things up, but dont hold much hope in there decision been reversed, it a shame Dundee losing its heratage due to funding cuts, even worse we get the brunt of its effect, But we'll try our best to fight the system untill it gets some resolve, Students are the backbone on the University and we have rights too.
ReplyDeletehello michaela, just letting you know that i support your fight to keep the weave department open for the current students and future students. when the tutors delivered the news about weave being disbanded due to funding issues i was disgusted. the manner in which the class was addressed that morning was disgraceful and extremely unprofessional.
ReplyDeletei hope there is a happy ending to this. we would hate to see the textile course lose its weave department.
MAJOR UPDATE -
ReplyDeleteToday, I was told by the Dean of DOJ, that the 2nd years have the great plesure of graduating in 2012 and weave is avaible for us, untill we graduate ?
We will be the last of a long line of DOJ graduate to study weave.