November 23, 2021 • 43 mins
On this episode of Fulbright Forward, we are shifting geographic location to Ghana in West Africa, and focusing on the work of current U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Ghana, Professor Candace Moore. Professor Moore is the Associate Clinical Professor in the Higher Education, Student Affairs, International Education Policy (HESI) program within the Department of Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education at the University of Maryland (UMD), College Park.
During this episode, we discuss Professor Moore’s Fulbright project, “Culturally Conscious Pedagogy and Practice: Collaborating to Inform Ghanaian Higher Education COVID-19 Response.” During this discussion , recorded only days before she departed for Ghana, we explore numerous topics including Professor Moore’s background and pathway to the Fulbright, an analysis of the field of student affairs, reimagining the function of international educational programming, understanding Blackness in a global context, and ultimately how she has conceptualized what decolonial practices mean for her work in Ghana.
Below are a list of resources either referenced in or related to the episode:
- Institute for Educational Planning and Administration at University of Cape Coast
- Article on Professor Moore's Fulbright
- Article on Professor Moore's Co-led Study Abroad Program to Ghana
- Decolonizing Educational Research by Leigh Patel:
- Center for Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education at University of Maryland-College Park
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sper (00:07):
Welcome to another episode of Fulbright
forward a diversity podcast. Myname is Jeremy Gombin-Sperling,
the Fulbright diversity andinclusion liaison for programs
in the Western Hemisphere. Ontoday's episode, we are shifting
geographic location to Ghana inWest Africa, and focusing on the
work of current US Fulbrightscholar to Ghana Professor
Candace Moore. Professor Mooreis the associate clinical
(00:29):
professor in the Highereducation, Student Affairs,
International Education Policyprogram within the Department of
Counseling, Higher Education andSpecial Education at the
University of Maryland CollegePark. Her research interests
include understanding Black andLGBTQ student identities,
contingent faculty developmentin higher education, supporting
student success at historicallyblack colleges and universities
(00:51):
or HBCUs, and exploringculturally conscious pedagogy
and practices in highereducation.
The focus of today's episoderevolves around Dr. Moore's
Fulbright project in Ghana,which is entitled "Culturally
Collaborating to Inform GhanaianHigher Education COVID-19
Response. During the discussionwith Professor Moore which was
(01:12):
recorded only days before shehopped on the plane to start her
Fulbright, we explore numeroustopics including Dr. Moore's
background and pathway to theFulbright, an analysis of the
field of student affairs,reimagining the function of
international educationalprogramming, understanding
blackness in a global context,and ultimately, how she has
conceptualized what decolonialpractices mean for her work in
(01:33):
Ghana.
What is key and central toProfessor Moore's theory and
ethics is a personal, political,economic and social concern for
the continual violence thatcolonialism inflicts on
different bodies and ways ofbeing in the world. This means
for Professor Moore thatcolonialism is not something
relegated to the past, butrather is an ongoing phenomenon
(01:54):
where people and institutionsincluding that of US higher
education must continue toaddress there orreally our role
and complicity in perpetuatingthe hierarchies, and unequal
structures that colonialprojects set into motion
globally in places such as WestAfrica, one of the most critical
and harmful of those projectsbeing the perpetuation of white
supremacy and whiteness.
Professor Moore reminds usthough, that this work is best
(02:16):
viewed along a spectrum, whereeach of us will enter at a
different point depending on whowe are, the identities we carry,
and our level of engagement withdecolonizing methods and
thinking. What is also key tothis discussion is her attention
to teaching and learning as apathway of critical hope, that
in adjusting our pedagogytowards one that celebrates
self-reflection andvulnerability, and one also that
(02:37):
we prioritize our resources toamplify the cultural knowledge
and needs of our partners.
decolonization can shift fromabstract or aspirational towards
becoming a real and embodiedpractice. Please enjoy this
thought-provoking and compellingconversation with Professor
Candace Moore.
(02:57):
Professor Moore thank you somuch for being part of this
Fulbright Forward episode.
Professor Candace Moore (03:01):
Thank you so much for having me,
Jeremy. It's great to be in yourpresence and your company. I
consider you not only acolleague, but also a friend.
And so this is a wonderfulopportunity. Thank you.
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sper (03:12):
Usually when we start these episodes,
the question we ask our, thefolks we're interviewing is
really just, you know, tell usmore about who you are. So if
you wouldn't mind sharingProfessor Moore, just a little
about your background, and justkind of you know, how you're
coming into this space today?
Professor Candace Moore (03:26):
Sure, absolutely. Thank you. So, you
know, I think it's important tonot only acknowledge that the
work I do, is completelyinformed by the lived
experiences that I've had andare having with others. But then
also, I think it's important toarticulate that it has
(03:48):
transitioned and movedthroughout the years as I have
grown as well. And so mybackground is I am not only a
faculty member, but I was also astudent affairs practitioner,
for a number of years andadministrator in the United
States, having worked at a smallliberal arts institution, a
(04:10):
midsize public liberal artsinstitution, and then serving on
the faculty as a academicassociate at the University of
Georgia, starting a DoctoralProgram in Educational
Leadership, and then joining theUniversity of Maryland as a
Clinical Professor in 2016. Andso my experience really is in
(04:34):
graduate education, in studentaffairs, teaching on both the
masters and doctoral level,primarily around topics related
to social justice education,student development theory, and
then also around qualitativeresearch methodology, and then a
little bit of assessment andevaluation in student affairs
(04:55):
and kind of organizationaldevelopment. And so, had an
opportunity to teach that levelof course work in those topical
areas, but then also engaging inscholarship. And as I indicated
at the opener, scholarship hasevolved over the years based off
of not only interest, but livedexperiences. And so I would say
kind of the body of work that Ifocus on is around inclusive
(05:18):
campus environments for studentsacross a variety of populations.
And also engaging in exploringvarious methodologies,
particularly under the realm ofqualitative research. And what
has kind of helped me to reachthe intersection of today's
conversation is really wantingto expand my knowledge around
(05:41):
student affairs education beyonda western US-centered ideology,
and really partnering withcolleagues in Ghana, West
Africa. And through thatcollaboration, having learned
not only what practice lookslike, but still in gaining
greater understanding andcuriosity around how to ensure
(06:03):
that that practice is whollyinformed by cultures and
traditions from the Ghanaianculture in higher education, and
how I can serve to support thateffort and collaborate with
colleagues there. So, myresearch interest today focuses
directly on tertiary educationin Ghana, but particularly
(06:25):
around student affairs, as apractice, as a profession, and
as a support mechanism to helpstudents be successful in
college. Much of that work, as Isaid, is drawn on the traditions
and culture. And so it's reallyfocused on decolonizing, our--
not only understanding of thework, but the practice, and then
(06:49):
also the teaching. How do weencourage student affairs
practitioners and administratorsto go through graduate education
using cultural and traditionalknowledge as a means of or as a
way forward, if you will, inknowledge creation and knowledge
sustaining?
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperli (07:10):
Thank you so much for sharing that.
And you know, I think actually,if you don't mind expanding a
little bit before we sort oftalk about your Fulbright and
everything, because as we know,and I should share with
listeners, we're in a reallycritical moment because you'll
be soon departing for Ghana in amatter of days, would you mind
sharing a little bit more aboutjust like what student affairs
is just as a practice and evenas a discipline?
Professor Candace Moore (07:30):
Well, I appreciate the question. I'm
often explaining it to myfamily. And before my
grandmother passed away yearsago, she would consistently
asked me now what is it that youdo because I've know that you
need to go back to college,right? Every time I visit, you
need to go back to college. Andso you're right. Being a student
affairs professional, is aboutbeing, you know, enveloped into
(07:54):
college culture, how studentsare experiencing college, what
do they need developmentally tobe successful while they are
matriculating through thecurriculum? For that matter,
what support mechanisms as wellas what experiences do they need
to engage in, that support theirlearning as they go through
(08:16):
college? That's what studentaffairs really is about. How can
we not only support theirlearning their development, but
then what services can weprovide as they are going
through college? And studentservices or student affairs as a
field is an American concept. Wedeveloped it, we made it up, we
(08:37):
created the philosophy aroundit. We continue to undergird it
with exceptional scholarship andinnovative practice, that which
is formal and also informal inpractice. And so in the work
that people do in colleges anduniversities around the world to
support students may have someelements of what we call student
(09:00):
affairs in the United States.
But then it may have elements ofvarious cultural traditions
and/or political expectations,economic and or regional or
national identity elements toit. And I would argue that all
of that is a part of StudentAffairs in our American context,
but because we are so envelopedin it, we don't necessarily or
(09:21):
rather are not able rather toidentify some of those nuances.
So I think we have to be carefulwhen we partner and collaborate
with our international partnersso as not to impose our
approaches or expectations inhow we support students, what
services we provide forstudents, and what we expect of
them in their learningenvironment. Because cultural,
(09:45):
culture matters and how peopleare taught to maintain that
culture is a part of thepractice and pedagogy really of
Student Affairs. I thinkincumbent upon us as scholars,
practitioners to really thinkabout how are we infusing that
which we understand aboutstudent affairs, but truly
(10:06):
centering the knowledge of thepartners that we have
internationally, in what they'rehoping student affairs or
student services, or whateverthere, however they are labeling
it at their institution may looklike for their students, and for
their faculty, and also staff.
I'll also name that StudentAffairs is not a profession at
(10:29):
this point in Ghana. For thosethat are seeking to have some
professionalization aroundstudent affairs are student
services in Ghana, how can wehelp to collectively develop
that education and createessentially a pathway for those
who are in college, or those whohave an interest in wanting to
support students to gain formaleducation around it, that, again
(10:54):
is culturally centered?
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperling (10:56):
One thing that you bring up in
particular, which is something Ithink a lot about just entering
the space also as like, a whiteUS man trained in US higher
education, I think around thatconcept in academia of
legitimacy. And this question ofwhether, if we identify student
affairs as a US invention, howdoes it also not become a tool
of exclusion? You know, thinkingabout working cross culturally,
(11:18):
thinking about working acrosscontinents, thinking about also
the US's power in the world,recognizing like whether or not
folks may be identifyingsomething as Student Affairs,
that it actually is part of thislarger circle or part of this
larger connection.
Professor Candace M (11:31):
Absolutely.
You know, and I'll also say,Jeremy, that I think it also
gives us from the United Statesperspective, an opportunity to
pause. Leigh Patel, I love herwork, she speaks eloquently
about the importance of pausingnot only in educational
research, particularly in theeffort of decolonizing it, but I
think also in practice. Andthere I think are many lessons
(11:54):
that we can learn about howstudent affairs, to your point,
can be reimagined for thepopulations that we serve, here
in the United States throughpartnerships and collaborations
that we have internationally.
You know, just because you laidout the roadmap doesn't mean
that it's the best way to go.
And our colleagues, I think,around the globe are giving us
(12:15):
or showing us right, someinnovative ways to reach
students, and to also partnerwith faculty on their campuses
to help create trulytransformational and sustainable
change for students on theircampuses.
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperling (12:31):
I would love to take this
opportunity to learn more abouteven how you arrived at this
partnership with institutions inGhana, and you know, just how it
kind of led into your Fulbright.
Professor Candace Moore (12:42):
That's a really helpful question. So,
you know, I'll name that myinterest in education in Ghana,
really permeated and began witha colleague of mine, her name is
Dr. Cynthia Dillard. She was atthe University of Georgia when I
was there in the faculty. Sheled, leads a study abroad
program primarily in teachereducation. And colleagues of
(13:07):
mine, as well as students in theStudent Affairs academic
program, were interested injoining her for the study abroad
program. And through not only acolleagueship but a friendship,
she invited me to join. And itwas during that first trip, that
I was really intrigued,honestly, by educational
(13:27):
pathways for people around theworld, understanding that
primary education is very muchso rooted in national identity
in Ghana, coming directly fromthe first president of Ghana,
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, and that thatpathway from learning as a very
(13:47):
young person all the way throughtertiary education is connected
to something far greater thanjust leaving the benchmarks and
steps of completing aneducational attainment. So I
think that experience, not onlybecause of exposure to education
in another country, but I thinkconnecting in many ways,
(14:10):
personally, with the experienceof being in Ghana, as someone
who identifies with the Africandiaspora identify as Black as a
woman who is Christian in theUnited States. A lot of those
elements kind of intersected andthose experiences, I think,
created somewhat of a strongerpersonal interest in wanting to
(14:33):
engage more with the country andengage more with colleagues.
Over time making multiplereturns even through a study
abroad program that I co-teachwith my colleague, Dr. Jillian
A. Martin primarily for highereducation professionals and
graduate students and alsofaculty and being able to
(14:53):
partner with an esteemedcolleague and brother of mine,
Dr. Michael Boakye-Yiadom who isthe now General Director of the
Institute for EducationalPlanning and Administration at
the University of Cape Coast.
Through his guidance really, ofwhat does Student Affairs work
look like in the Ghanaiancontext. He's been engaged in
(15:15):
this outline of literature andresearch for a while. And you
asked the question of how do yougo about doing this work? Well,
I think you start to buildrelationships and acknowledge
that the work is already beingdone in places that you may have
curiosity about and want tolearn more about, and how do you
(15:36):
tap in and connect with thepeople who are already doing
that work? And what can youlearn from them as you continue
to grow those partnerships indoing so that kind of linkage,
if you will of us working withhim through our study abroad
program has also developed inmany ways, a number of projects
that the students whoparticipate in the study abroad
(15:58):
program, and then also ourselvesas teachers, and researchers are
able to collaborate on movingforward. So what's been nice is
that our relationship has led toa number of publications, and
then also conferencepresentations, but also
including graduate students inthe process. I have a strong
commitment to graduateeducation. And I think that
(16:20):
there is great value in graduatestudents not only being able to
be a part of the researchprocess, sure, but also being a
part of relationship-building,and what does it mean to be a
colleague? And how do we thinkabout individuals that we are
teaching as colleagues in thisjourney versus solely as people
(16:41):
who were, who we are teaching?
And then that now leads us tothe Fulbright. And how do we
find time really, to immerseourselves not only in culture,
but in relationships, withpractitioners, with faculty,
(17:02):
with graduate students in a waythat is not only meaningful and
transformational for the workthat we'll be doing? But really,
again, going back to thatnarrative that I said earlier,
personally, for me. How can Icontinue to develop these
relationships with people thathave a very strong commitment to
(17:23):
supporting the education ofothers, but doing it in a way
that I may not have hadexperience around? And so how
can I learn from their culture?
How can I learn from traditionsand making sure that their
experiences, their voices, theirmeaning-making is centered in
how we go about doing the workthere? And so the Fulbright is
really focused on culturallyconscious pedagogy and practice.
(17:48):
And how can we harness really,that knowledge that is inherent
in traditions of Ghanaianculture that people are using
every day. They're using it intheir services they provide for
students, they're using it insupporting the development of
(18:09):
students, they're using it inhow they are supporting students
learning in their outcomes. Butthey may not be able to label it
as such, because it is inherentin how they do their work. And
so in a participatory actionresearch design, with graduate
students, fellow faculty, andadministrators in country, we
(18:31):
will go to institutions aroundthe nation and collect
narratives of people who aredoing the work, and specifically
focusing on how are theycentering, Ghanaian culture and
tradition in their work. What isit that we need to learn, that
we can ultimately incorporateinto graduate education that all
(18:54):
people who are engaged in thistype of work in country are able
to theorize about. That they areable to take apart and put back
together but that it's done incontext, using theory, using
approaches that come outside ofyour culture that are very
helpful, sure, but they may notspeak to the nuances and the
(19:17):
elements that are so importantto that particular community.
All of that being said, my hopeis that through this work, we're
not only able to understand moreabout what's happening in
country, but we're also able tosupport the development of the
graduate students who areparticipating in the work with
us and in part what I would liketo also engage in with the
(19:40):
Fulbright is strengthening arelationship that is held
between the Institute forEducational Planning and
Administration with a local areasenior high school. High school
education in Ghana just recentlybecame free, meaning students
don't have to pay school fees toattend secondary education. And
(20:01):
that has had a large impact notonly on access of who was able
to go to school, but then alsonow increased interest in
tertiary education. I think thatthat is a wonderful opportunity,
really, for higher education andsecondary education, to create
stronger bridges, and maintainthose through programs that are
(20:23):
offered through Student Affairs,and also through higher
education. The Institute forEducational Planning and
Administration, already partnerswith some senior high schools in
the area, and I would like to beable to help to support that
effort through engaging indirect community work of
identifying a cohort of studentsthat we could follow through the
(20:46):
latter part of their senior highschool experience in preparing
them for going to college. Butnot just in going to college,
but also preparing them aroundentrepreneurialship, so that
they can engage in a skillbuilding effort of business
design, business development,and then also business
(21:08):
sustainability. That businessthat they create not only helps
to support themselves and theirfamilies, thatcan be additive to
their community, but then alsocan serve as a form of continual
support for them while they'regoing through college. And
ideally, that when they finishtheir college education,
whatever entrepreneurialengagement they developed in
(21:30):
those years before they reachedcollege, has flourished and has
developed stronger, and thatthey themselves might be able to
provide employment to othermembers of their community.
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperling (21:42):
I think the direction I'm curious
to go to just because youbrought up the term decolonial,
a few times, I think it'd bereally important just to kind
of, like, sit with that term andwhat it can mean. Because
obviously, you know, there'salso many conversations about
like, you know, what candecolonization actually be,
right? Like, if we're notactually doing, you know, the,
the physical work of, you know,reparations, returning land, but
(22:02):
also thinking about, of course,how decolonization also may have
to has to do with like, ourthoughts, our pedagogy, our
engagement, in particular, studyabroad is a tradition that's
been based out of colonialism,that study abroad has a history
of being an extractive practiceof going to different places,
and communities taking thatknowledge, but not necessarily
focus on the building ofsustainable relationship. And
(22:24):
then also, I think what youtalked about too, is even like,
how we move towards thedecolonial Student Affairs? To
say all that, it's really to getto the question of just like,
what for you does decolonizationmean or represent like, both in
theory, and in practice?
Professor Candace Moore (22:37):
That's a really helpful way of framing
that. So my colleague, Dr.
Jillian A. Martin, and I teachthe study abroad program, we
talk not only aboutdecolonization, but we also talk
about decentering whiteness. AndI, in some regard, think that
for people who are entering thesphere of decolonizing work,
(22:59):
there needs to be something thatpeople can hold on to. And I
think decentering of whitenessis, in my opinion, a starting
point. And it gives people Ithink, a way of making sense of
the not only practices, but theways in which we participate in
learning in classrooms, and allthe ways in which we come about
(23:21):
knowing. I think that that givesthem an entry point, if you
will. And then if I can expandmaybe and visualizes it somewhat
as a spectrum, that thendeveloping your understanding
into decolonizing work is notonly a recognition of
decentering that which iswhiteness, but understanding the
(23:41):
implications of colonialism,understanding, as you've
indicated, the power dynamicsthat come along with that, and
understanding the continual harmthat is caused by it, right? So
and I don't mean harm in, youknow, just, oh, well, there are
some economic challenges. No, Imean, like, actual violence
against bodies, against people'sway of living. And those those
(24:06):
impacts, I think, are ways inwhich as a person who was raised
under colonialism, you reallyhave to shed and you really have
to come to terms with yourself.
And so if I can see it somewhatas a developmental spectrum,
that's what I think I wouldoffer to people. I would also
(24:28):
name that, for me, the way inwhich I engage with the term
decolonization in the work thatwe do in Ghana is a centering of
knowledge, a centering of theacquisition of that knowledge
and a centering of what is truein that knowledge. And, that
(24:48):
that centering is comingdirectly out of Ghanaian
culture. So that through thatcentering, we have the tools to
disrupt power dynamics that arerooted in economics, politics,
and societal expectations thatcolonialism has placed over that
(25:10):
particular community. Thechallenge that I think we all
have is then what does the newlook like? And there are
colleagues that write to thisidea of cultural hybridity, that
it's not just aboutdecolonizing, an idea or work,
(25:30):
but it's also about recognizingthat there is some level of
colonality that that may comealong with it. And in immediate
regards, that colonality isstill apparent in the
decentering work. And so how canyou kind of bridge together both
that which is decentering anddecolonizing, to disrupt maybe
(25:53):
the norm? I think that's one wayto look at it. I think others
might say, you know, let's flipthe table upside down and turn
it on its head, right? So Ithink that's the area in which
we still struggle as a broadersociety. And then, then what
after we have unearthed, thatwhich is harmful? And that which
(26:15):
is oppressive? In that process,then what's next? How is land
and place and ideology returnedto those who have cultivated and
created it before colonizationcame? In what ways are people
both sacrificing in giving up anunderstanding of the world and
(26:37):
of life that is embedded in ourpolitical and economic systems?
And I think that in order forpeople to do that, it has to be
done on a spectrum, I don't knowthat people will be able to
truly enter into decolonizingwork at phase one, and not had
an opportunity to really processwhat does it mean to even
(26:57):
decenter, a way of knowing, andthat way of knowing being
whiteness.
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperling (27:01):
One thing you shared that I really
appreciate was like about thecompensation was also like the
returning of ideology. It justmakes me think of how whiteness
operates, really to suppress theflourishing the creativity, the
art, you could say, of differentforms of ideology, that
colonization, white supremacyhave worked to suppress. And one
of the things I guess I'm reallycurious about through either
your work in Fulbright, or alsoyou share in the study abroad
(27:23):
experience is just like what Iguess engaging in this work has
meant for you and for yourstudents.
Professor Candace Moore (27:31):
That's a really great question. And
having had an opportunity towrite with graduate students who
participated in the study abroadprogram, along with my
colleague, Dr. Martin, we wroteto just that impact, or that
question of what does it meanfor them to engage in this work,
(27:51):
and also think critically abouttheir own practice and their own
interest in and how do theyessentially wrestle with the
kind of back and forth or thepull between that which you have
been socialized, and that whichyou are allowed learning and
taking in? And you know, I willname that what I have learned
(28:15):
both in the global classroomwhere we're teaching, both
American and Ghanaian studentsat the same time about student
affairs philosophy, also aboutthe development of students is
that there are a variety ofcultural expectations that are
just unspoken in in many waysfor students to be successful in
(28:39):
those spaces, we have to namethose. And we have to give
people an opportunity to bothnavigate them and renegotiate
them. And that in thatrenegotiation, and
acknowledgement that people aregrowing, and people are
learning, and they're goingbeyond the spaces that they have
(29:01):
had exposure to. And so thenavigating, I think of it all,
is recognizing that people havean interest in wanting to
collaborate with people acrossthe globe, they have an interest
in cross cultural learning. Butwhile you may have the interest,
(29:21):
do you also have the willingnessto remove and shed some of those
assumptions, expectations, andagain, kind of cultural idioms
that we just don't name. And sowe've learned that we have to
articulate those. We've learnedthat people need spaces to
process those repeatedly. And sothere's quite a bit of
(29:46):
reflection that we use not onlyin the study abroad class, but
also in the global classroom.
And as a part of even the workthat I will do in the Fulbright,
there is reflection that isinherent in work that you do in
participatory action research,but is also going to be expected
of the participants who are notengaged in the research team to
(30:09):
engage in reflection as well.
And I think even for me, if Ican just take a personal moment.
Although I identify as a part ofthe African diaspora, diaspora
is vast. And there are so manycommunities and individuals that
(30:29):
I have yet to come across in myliving. And as I continue to do
this work, my hope is that Iwill always remain open to that,
which I don't know anythingabout. But that those that I'm
remaining open with are alsowilling to receive what I bring
as well. I'm looking forward tothis Fulbright experience not
(30:53):
solely around the research orsolely around the teaching, but
truly around connecting withpeople and learning with people,
not from but learning with.
Being able to maintainrelationships that can truly
have an impact on how Iunderstand what it means to be
(31:14):
Black in this world broadly. Andthen also maybe offer some
contribution to theirunderstanding of how even I
understand what being Blackmeans. I am, have great
anticipation I'm excited aboutgoing. But I'm also a little
nervous, and I am hopeful that Iwill be able to ease some of
(31:36):
those nerves, and truly justremain confident in what I know
I'm going to do, and that I amalways open to learning while
there. Yeah
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperling (31:51):
The next question I want to move
into is actually around aroundjust thinking about blackness
and what and what that means ondifferent levels. You know, how
is your work in Ghana and you'reapproaching Fulbright just
informed your relationship tostudying and understanding of
blackness?
Professor Candace Moore (32:06):
So, in my time at the University of
Maryland, I've also had thepleasure of being the Founding
Director of the Center forDiversity and Inclusion in
higher education where Dr. RogerL. Worthington is the executive
director. And the work of thecenter is not only centered not
only focused on research andscholarship in the area of
(32:29):
social justice and equityinclusion in the practice on
college campuses, but reallyalso in consulting with
institutions around the nationregarding how are they doing
equity inclusion work, and towhat impact is that having on
their campus community. Andthere are other elements that
(32:51):
are a part of the the Center'swork, and I encourage those who
are interested to visit thewebsite to learn more about it.
But in that consultation realm,we've worked with institutions
who are really grappling with,how can I engage in
transformational change for ourcampus community, either through
(33:14):
campus climate assessments. Butbeyond that, my community is
calling for a reckoning. Peoplewho identify as Black in higher
education are having incrediblychallenging experiences, that is
rooted in racism. If your campusclimate is going to improve,
(33:40):
there has to be anacknowledgement and naming of
that, and in the bringing tobear, there also has to be
resolution around that. Andcommunity and whether faculty,
staff or students, thatcommunity of Black people and
allies need to see actual changeversus rhetoric and how that
(34:04):
change is going to take place. Ithink what we are learning in
higher education in the US isthat not only through the outcry
following George Floyd's murder,and Brianna Taylor's murder in
the summer of last year, I thinkthat that energy has always been
(34:27):
present through the legacy ofracism in this country. And that
kind of reckoning as people liketo call it of today is not so
much a new concept for thosethat have been in the struggle
and recognize that the everpresent reality of racism and
(34:52):
its implication, not only in thebroader society, but truly in
higher education.
If we take that more globally Wenow understand that there are
elements of anti-Blackness thatare a part of all aspects of
society across the world andcomes directly back into Higher
(35:13):
Education. We have to I think,begin to acknowledge, what are
the implications of B in highereducation? What does that look
like, as far as policy goes, asfar as decision making goes, as
far as how communities areoutlined, whether they be
through purposeful separation?
Or maybe there's something thatis more strategic in how people
(35:37):
are organized by organizationdevelopment of those
institutions? And I think oncewe start to focus in on what
does black-- how is blacknessrepresented in our higher
education community, and how arepeople impacted through kind of
relegation or the implicationsof colonization, which
(36:00):
inherently has racism in it,then I think we can start to ask
those critical questions about,well, what can we truly change
in our institution that can beimpactful, and that can be
sustainable for thosecommunities? I think the
question that we ask, in ourteaching, whether it's in the
(36:21):
global classroom or in studyabroad is, what am I learning,
as a practitioner and a scholar?
And how can I continue todisrupt that which I thought was
the norm, whether you identifyas Black or non-Black, there's
(36:42):
always something that we candisrupt in how we think about
the world. Being in places likeGhana, where the rich coast
culture and history is not onlyrooted in Ghanaian culture, but
really has a deep spread acrossthe entire west coast, West
(37:03):
Africa, right? Because how Ghanais divided today was created
through colonization, the namingof even the country or the
naming of countries thatsurround it. And so if we think
about that entire Gold Coast asbeing a large community, that
understanding of blackness issomewhat shared across that
(37:28):
area. And how can we encouragepeople to tap into that, as they
continue to grow and develop?
Again, whether you identify asblack or not, how can you tap
into that rich culture andhistory and learn from it, and
carry with you as you continueto go around the world?
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperl (37:46):
Before we kind of close out this
episode, I just want to say, youknow, first off how much I
appreciate just getting to learnfrom you and talk with you about
these different questions ofyour research and and the work
you'll be doing. So two finalquestions, really, just to help
us close out. Do you have anythoughts-- I know you're
thinking like I'm leaving a planin a few days, but you know, you
have any dreams or just kind ofimaginations around just like
(38:08):
what the work will look likewhen you return from Ghana or
things that, you know, you'dlove to have happen? But of
course, it may take someplanning. But yeah, but sort of
in your imagination mode. Whatdoes post-Fulbright life look
like?
Professor Candace Moore (38:20):
Thank you, Jeremy. You're right. I am
more concerned about getting onthe plane in a few days. But if
we can for just a moment thinkabout ahead. Yes, I, you know,
and in all honesty, I think thecommunity effort of being able
to identify a cohort ofindividuals that we can support
from that senior high school tocollege level, I think that is a
(38:44):
legacy that we can continue togrow upon, and maybe we might be
able to support future cohortsgoing through a program
similarly, that allows for us tothink about ways in which people
are growing both in nationalidentity but then also how
they're contributing to kind ofthe economic stability of their
(39:04):
communities, and also thecountry. But then I you know, I
also think about, as I indicatedat the top of the conversation,
my commitment to graduateeducation, and through what we
learn in this project, my hopeis that we are able to continue
to support the graduate programthat is in-country, quite
possibly able to build outgreater access to it. And so
(39:28):
through the Association ofAfrican universities, there's a
strong commitment to what doesdigital and virtual engagement
look like across the continent,and how can we strengthen
distance education through avirtual component? And so the
question for me is, how can weprovide greater access for
people who want to engage ingraduate education but not able
(39:51):
to physically get to theinstitution that may have the
program, and how can we do thatin a way that maintains both
quality and depth, and do that,again with not only, you know,
Ghana in mind, but other Africancountries that want to explore
graduate education for those instudent affairs and higher
(40:12):
education work.
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperling (40:13):
Is there anything that you, you
want to make sure the audiencetakes away from this
conversation, whether it's aquestion a reflection, something
you just wish to share, as weclose out this episode.
Professor Candace Moore (40:22):
So I think it's important to
acknowledge and name, howvaluable it is to partner with
communities across the continentof Africa. Not only has been
valuable professionally, butpersonally. And it's because of
those relationships, it'sbecause of those those
(40:42):
friendship, it's because of awillingness to really put in the
work and develop things thathave sustainability. I think the
piece that I would encouragelisteners today to take away are
just a few things. Engage inauthentic relationship
development, and think of waysin which your work can be
sustainable, not only foryourself, but truly for the
(41:06):
communities that you're serving.
And then I would also add thatthere's a great wealth of
knowledge that you bring to acircumstance or a situation, but
there's also a great wealth ofknowledge that you can gain. And
then lastly, I would go back toa point that you made earlier,
Jeremy, that there is great joyin doing work that really
(41:26):
matters. There is great joy indoing work with people who have
a shared commitment that youhave. And in that, you build
true friendships that arelasting in those moments where
the work gets really hard, oryou've run into some
(41:47):
bureaucracies both on thenational and international
level, sd we have seen in recentyears. It's those friendships
that are sustaining, that remindyou why you do the work that you
know, send you a text ofsupport. There's something about
collaboration that I think wehave often taken a very surface
(42:07):
approach to, that I think if weembed kind of our engagement
with one another in developing atrue friendship, we can maintain
that joy, and maintain thatpurpose. And understand that the
work is beyond us -- it's biggerthan us. And you are able, I
think, to find ways to smile,and really appreciate what
(42:29):
you're doing when you're doingit with others.
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sp (42:33):
Professor Moore, thank you so much for
your time really appreciatehaving this conversation. It's
really been just a wonderfulmoment for me just to engage
with you in this way. So thankyou.
Professor Candace Moore (42:42):
Thank you so much. I appreciate the
time.
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperling (42:46):
And that's all for this episode of
Fulbright Forward. Thank you somuch for listening. For a list
of resources mentioned today'sepisode, you can go the
Fulbright Forward website hostedon our Buzzsprout page. Remember
also that you can subscribe toFulbright Forward through your
favorite podcast app like Applepodcasts or Spotify, as well as
follow the podcast on Instagram.
Again, I'm JeremyGombin-Sperling Fulbright
(43:07):
diversity inclusion liaison forprograms in the Western
Hemisphere. Be well, stay safe,and until next time,
Welcome to another episode of Fulbright
forward a diversity podcast. Myname is Jeremy Gombin-Sperling,
the Fulbright diversity andinclusion liaison for programs
in the Western Hemisphere. Ontoday's episode, we are shifting
geographic location to Ghana inWest Africa, and focusing on the
work of current US Fulbrightscholar to Ghana Professor
Candace Moore. Professor Mooreis the associate clinical
(00:29):
professor in the Highereducation, Student Affairs,
International Education Policyprogram within the Department of
Counseling, Higher Education andSpecial Education at the
University of Maryland CollegePark. Her research interests
include understanding Black andLGBTQ student identities,
contingent faculty developmentin higher education, supporting
student success at historicallyblack colleges and universities
(00:51):
or HBCUs, and exploringculturally conscious pedagogy
and practices in highereducation.
The focus of today's episoderevolves around Dr. Moore's
Fulbright project in Ghana,which is entitled "Culturally
Collaborating to Inform GhanaianHigher Education COVID-19
Response. During the discussionwith Professor Moore which was
(01:12):
recorded only days before shehopped on the plane to start her
Fulbright, we explore numeroustopics including Dr. Moore's
background and pathway to theFulbright, an analysis of the
field of student affairs,reimagining the function of
international educationalprogramming, understanding
blackness in a global context,and ultimately, how she has
conceptualized what decolonialpractices mean for her work in
(01:33):
Ghana.
What is key and central toProfessor Moore's theory and
ethics is a personal, political,economic and social concern for
the continual violence thatcolonialism inflicts on
different bodies and ways ofbeing in the world. This means
for Professor Moore thatcolonialism is not something
relegated to the past, butrather is an ongoing phenomenon
(01:54):
where people and institutionsincluding that of US higher
education must continue toaddress there orreally our role
and complicity in perpetuatingthe hierarchies, and unequal
structures that colonialprojects set into motion
globally in places such as WestAfrica, one of the most critical
and harmful of those projectsbeing the perpetuation of white
supremacy and whiteness.
Professor Moore reminds usthough, that this work is best
(02:16):
viewed along a spectrum, whereeach of us will enter at a
different point depending on whowe are, the identities we carry,
and our level of engagement withdecolonizing methods and
thinking. What is also key tothis discussion is her attention
to teaching and learning as apathway of critical hope, that
in adjusting our pedagogytowards one that celebrates
self-reflection andvulnerability, and one also that
(02:37):
we prioritize our resources toamplify the cultural knowledge
and needs of our partners.
decolonization can shift fromabstract or aspirational towards
becoming a real and embodiedpractice. Please enjoy this
thought-provoking and compellingconversation with Professor
Candace Moore.
(02:57):
Professor Moore thank you somuch for being part of this
Fulbright Forward episode.
Professor Candace Moore (03:01):
Thank you so much for having me,
Jeremy. It's great to be in yourpresence and your company. I
consider you not only acolleague, but also a friend.
And so this is a wonderfulopportunity. Thank you.
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sper (03:12):
Usually when we start these episodes,
the question we ask our, thefolks we're interviewing is
really just, you know, tell usmore about who you are. So if
you wouldn't mind sharingProfessor Moore, just a little
about your background, and justkind of you know, how you're
coming into this space today?
Professor Candace Moore (03:26):
Sure, absolutely. Thank you. So, you
know, I think it's important tonot only acknowledge that the
work I do, is completelyinformed by the lived
experiences that I've had andare having with others. But then
also, I think it's important toarticulate that it has
(03:48):
transitioned and movedthroughout the years as I have
grown as well. And so mybackground is I am not only a
faculty member, but I was also astudent affairs practitioner,
for a number of years andadministrator in the United
States, having worked at a smallliberal arts institution, a
(04:10):
midsize public liberal artsinstitution, and then serving on
the faculty as a academicassociate at the University of
Georgia, starting a DoctoralProgram in Educational
Leadership, and then joining theUniversity of Maryland as a
Clinical Professor in 2016. Andso my experience really is in
(04:34):
graduate education, in studentaffairs, teaching on both the
masters and doctoral level,primarily around topics related
to social justice education,student development theory, and
then also around qualitativeresearch methodology, and then a
little bit of assessment andevaluation in student affairs
(04:55):
and kind of organizationaldevelopment. And so, had an
opportunity to teach that levelof course work in those topical
areas, but then also engaging inscholarship. And as I indicated
at the opener, scholarship hasevolved over the years based off
of not only interest, but livedexperiences. And so I would say
kind of the body of work that Ifocus on is around inclusive
(05:18):
campus environments for studentsacross a variety of populations.
And also engaging in exploringvarious methodologies,
particularly under the realm ofqualitative research. And what
has kind of helped me to reachthe intersection of today's
conversation is really wantingto expand my knowledge around
(05:41):
student affairs education beyonda western US-centered ideology,
and really partnering withcolleagues in Ghana, West
Africa. And through thatcollaboration, having learned
not only what practice lookslike, but still in gaining
greater understanding andcuriosity around how to ensure
(06:03):
that that practice is whollyinformed by cultures and
traditions from the Ghanaianculture in higher education, and
how I can serve to support thateffort and collaborate with
colleagues there. So, myresearch interest today focuses
directly on tertiary educationin Ghana, but particularly
(06:25):
around student affairs, as apractice, as a profession, and
as a support mechanism to helpstudents be successful in
college. Much of that work, as Isaid, is drawn on the traditions
and culture. And so it's reallyfocused on decolonizing, our--
not only understanding of thework, but the practice, and then
(06:49):
also the teaching. How do weencourage student affairs
practitioners and administratorsto go through graduate education
using cultural and traditionalknowledge as a means of or as a
way forward, if you will, inknowledge creation and knowledge
sustaining?
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperli (07:10):
Thank you so much for sharing that.
And you know, I think actually,if you don't mind expanding a
little bit before we sort oftalk about your Fulbright and
everything, because as we know,and I should share with
listeners, we're in a reallycritical moment because you'll
be soon departing for Ghana in amatter of days, would you mind
sharing a little bit more aboutjust like what student affairs
is just as a practice and evenas a discipline?
Professor Candace Moore (07:30):
Well, I appreciate the question. I'm
often explaining it to myfamily. And before my
grandmother passed away yearsago, she would consistently
asked me now what is it that youdo because I've know that you
need to go back to college,right? Every time I visit, you
need to go back to college. Andso you're right. Being a student
affairs professional, is aboutbeing, you know, enveloped into
(07:54):
college culture, how studentsare experiencing college, what
do they need developmentally tobe successful while they are
matriculating through thecurriculum? For that matter,
what support mechanisms as wellas what experiences do they need
to engage in, that support theirlearning as they go through
(08:16):
college? That's what studentaffairs really is about. How can
we not only support theirlearning their development, but
then what services can weprovide as they are going
through college? And studentservices or student affairs as a
field is an American concept. Wedeveloped it, we made it up, we
(08:37):
created the philosophy aroundit. We continue to undergird it
with exceptional scholarship andinnovative practice, that which
is formal and also informal inpractice. And so in the work
that people do in colleges anduniversities around the world to
support students may have someelements of what we call student
(09:00):
affairs in the United States.
But then it may have elements ofvarious cultural traditions
and/or political expectations,economic and or regional or
national identity elements toit. And I would argue that all
of that is a part of StudentAffairs in our American context,
but because we are so envelopedin it, we don't necessarily or
(09:21):
rather are not able rather toidentify some of those nuances.
So I think we have to be carefulwhen we partner and collaborate
with our international partnersso as not to impose our
approaches or expectations inhow we support students, what
services we provide forstudents, and what we expect of
them in their learningenvironment. Because cultural,
(09:45):
culture matters and how peopleare taught to maintain that
culture is a part of thepractice and pedagogy really of
Student Affairs. I thinkincumbent upon us as scholars,
practitioners to really thinkabout how are we infusing that
which we understand aboutstudent affairs, but truly
(10:06):
centering the knowledge of thepartners that we have
internationally, in what they'rehoping student affairs or
student services, or whateverthere, however they are labeling
it at their institution may looklike for their students, and for
their faculty, and also staff.
I'll also name that StudentAffairs is not a profession at
(10:29):
this point in Ghana. For thosethat are seeking to have some
professionalization aroundstudent affairs are student
services in Ghana, how can wehelp to collectively develop
that education and createessentially a pathway for those
who are in college, or those whohave an interest in wanting to
support students to gain formaleducation around it, that, again
(10:54):
is culturally centered?
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperling (10:56):
One thing that you bring up in
particular, which is something Ithink a lot about just entering
the space also as like, a whiteUS man trained in US higher
education, I think around thatconcept in academia of
legitimacy. And this question ofwhether, if we identify student
affairs as a US invention, howdoes it also not become a tool
of exclusion? You know, thinkingabout working cross culturally,
(11:18):
thinking about working acrosscontinents, thinking about also
the US's power in the world,recognizing like whether or not
folks may be identifyingsomething as Student Affairs,
that it actually is part of thislarger circle or part of this
larger connection.
Professor Candace M (11:31):
Absolutely.
You know, and I'll also say,Jeremy, that I think it also
gives us from the United Statesperspective, an opportunity to
pause. Leigh Patel, I love herwork, she speaks eloquently
about the importance of pausingnot only in educational
research, particularly in theeffort of decolonizing it, but I
think also in practice. Andthere I think are many lessons
(11:54):
that we can learn about howstudent affairs, to your point,
can be reimagined for thepopulations that we serve, here
in the United States throughpartnerships and collaborations
that we have internationally.
You know, just because you laidout the roadmap doesn't mean
that it's the best way to go.
And our colleagues, I think,around the globe are giving us
(12:15):
or showing us right, someinnovative ways to reach
students, and to also partnerwith faculty on their campuses
to help create trulytransformational and sustainable
change for students on theircampuses.
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperling (12:31):
I would love to take this
opportunity to learn more abouteven how you arrived at this
partnership with institutions inGhana, and you know, just how it
kind of led into your Fulbright.
Professor Candace Moore (12:42):
That's a really helpful question. So,
you know, I'll name that myinterest in education in Ghana,
really permeated and began witha colleague of mine, her name is
Dr. Cynthia Dillard. She was atthe University of Georgia when I
was there in the faculty. Sheled, leads a study abroad
program primarily in teachereducation. And colleagues of
(13:07):
mine, as well as students in theStudent Affairs academic
program, were interested injoining her for the study abroad
program. And through not only acolleagueship but a friendship,
she invited me to join. And itwas during that first trip, that
I was really intrigued,honestly, by educational
(13:27):
pathways for people around theworld, understanding that
primary education is very muchso rooted in national identity
in Ghana, coming directly fromthe first president of Ghana,
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, and that thatpathway from learning as a very
(13:47):
young person all the way throughtertiary education is connected
to something far greater thanjust leaving the benchmarks and
steps of completing aneducational attainment. So I
think that experience, not onlybecause of exposure to education
in another country, but I thinkconnecting in many ways,
(14:10):
personally, with the experienceof being in Ghana, as someone
who identifies with the Africandiaspora identify as Black as a
woman who is Christian in theUnited States. A lot of those
elements kind of intersected andthose experiences, I think,
created somewhat of a strongerpersonal interest in wanting to
(14:33):
engage more with the country andengage more with colleagues.
Over time making multiplereturns even through a study
abroad program that I co-teachwith my colleague, Dr. Jillian
A. Martin primarily for highereducation professionals and
graduate students and alsofaculty and being able to
(14:53):
partner with an esteemedcolleague and brother of mine,
Dr. Michael Boakye-Yiadom who isthe now General Director of the
Institute for EducationalPlanning and Administration at
the University of Cape Coast.
Through his guidance really, ofwhat does Student Affairs work
look like in the Ghanaiancontext. He's been engaged in
(15:15):
this outline of literature andresearch for a while. And you
asked the question of how do yougo about doing this work? Well,
I think you start to buildrelationships and acknowledge
that the work is already beingdone in places that you may have
curiosity about and want tolearn more about, and how do you
(15:36):
tap in and connect with thepeople who are already doing
that work? And what can youlearn from them as you continue
to grow those partnerships indoing so that kind of linkage,
if you will of us working withhim through our study abroad
program has also developed inmany ways, a number of projects
that the students whoparticipate in the study abroad
(15:58):
program, and then also ourselvesas teachers, and researchers are
able to collaborate on movingforward. So what's been nice is
that our relationship has led toa number of publications, and
then also conferencepresentations, but also
including graduate students inthe process. I have a strong
commitment to graduateeducation. And I think that
(16:20):
there is great value in graduatestudents not only being able to
be a part of the researchprocess, sure, but also being a
part of relationship-building,and what does it mean to be a
colleague? And how do we thinkabout individuals that we are
teaching as colleagues in thisjourney versus solely as people
(16:41):
who were, who we are teaching?
And then that now leads us tothe Fulbright. And how do we
find time really, to immerseourselves not only in culture,
but in relationships, withpractitioners, with faculty,
(17:02):
with graduate students in a waythat is not only meaningful and
transformational for the workthat we'll be doing? But really,
again, going back to thatnarrative that I said earlier,
personally, for me. How can Icontinue to develop these
relationships with people thathave a very strong commitment to
(17:23):
supporting the education ofothers, but doing it in a way
that I may not have hadexperience around? And so how
can I learn from their culture?
How can I learn from traditionsand making sure that their
experiences, their voices, theirmeaning-making is centered in
how we go about doing the workthere? And so the Fulbright is
really focused on culturallyconscious pedagogy and practice.
(17:48):
And how can we harness really,that knowledge that is inherent
in traditions of Ghanaianculture that people are using
every day. They're using it intheir services they provide for
students, they're using it insupporting the development of
(18:09):
students, they're using it inhow they are supporting students
learning in their outcomes. Butthey may not be able to label it
as such, because it is inherentin how they do their work. And
so in a participatory actionresearch design, with graduate
students, fellow faculty, andadministrators in country, we
(18:31):
will go to institutions aroundthe nation and collect
narratives of people who aredoing the work, and specifically
focusing on how are theycentering, Ghanaian culture and
tradition in their work. What isit that we need to learn, that
we can ultimately incorporateinto graduate education that all
(18:54):
people who are engaged in thistype of work in country are able
to theorize about. That they areable to take apart and put back
together but that it's done incontext, using theory, using
approaches that come outside ofyour culture that are very
helpful, sure, but they may notspeak to the nuances and the
(19:17):
elements that are so importantto that particular community.
All of that being said, my hopeis that through this work, we're
not only able to understand moreabout what's happening in
country, but we're also able tosupport the development of the
graduate students who areparticipating in the work with
us and in part what I would liketo also engage in with the
(19:40):
Fulbright is strengthening arelationship that is held
between the Institute forEducational Planning and
Administration with a local areasenior high school. High school
education in Ghana just recentlybecame free, meaning students
don't have to pay school fees toattend secondary education. And
(20:01):
that has had a large impact notonly on access of who was able
to go to school, but then alsonow increased interest in
tertiary education. I think thatthat is a wonderful opportunity,
really, for higher education andsecondary education, to create
stronger bridges, and maintainthose through programs that are
(20:23):
offered through Student Affairs,and also through higher
education. The Institute forEducational Planning and
Administration, already partnerswith some senior high schools in
the area, and I would like to beable to help to support that
effort through engaging indirect community work of
identifying a cohort of studentsthat we could follow through the
(20:46):
latter part of their senior highschool experience in preparing
them for going to college. Butnot just in going to college,
but also preparing them aroundentrepreneurialship, so that
they can engage in a skillbuilding effort of business
design, business development,and then also business
(21:08):
sustainability. That businessthat they create not only helps
to support themselves and theirfamilies, thatcan be additive to
their community, but then alsocan serve as a form of continual
support for them while they'regoing through college. And
ideally, that when they finishtheir college education,
whatever entrepreneurialengagement they developed in
(21:30):
those years before they reachedcollege, has flourished and has
developed stronger, and thatthey themselves might be able to
provide employment to othermembers of their community.
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperling (21:42):
I think the direction I'm curious
to go to just because youbrought up the term decolonial,
a few times, I think it'd bereally important just to kind
of, like, sit with that term andwhat it can mean. Because
obviously, you know, there'salso many conversations about
like, you know, what candecolonization actually be,
right? Like, if we're notactually doing, you know, the,
the physical work of, you know,reparations, returning land, but
(22:02):
also thinking about, of course,how decolonization also may have
to has to do with like, ourthoughts, our pedagogy, our
engagement, in particular, studyabroad is a tradition that's
been based out of colonialism,that study abroad has a history
of being an extractive practiceof going to different places,
and communities taking thatknowledge, but not necessarily
focus on the building ofsustainable relationship. And
(22:24):
then also, I think what youtalked about too, is even like,
how we move towards thedecolonial Student Affairs? To
say all that, it's really to getto the question of just like,
what for you does decolonizationmean or represent like, both in
theory, and in practice?
Professor Candace Moore (22:37):
That's a really helpful way of framing
that. So my colleague, Dr.
Jillian A. Martin, and I teachthe study abroad program, we
talk not only aboutdecolonization, but we also talk
about decentering whiteness. AndI, in some regard, think that
for people who are entering thesphere of decolonizing work,
(22:59):
there needs to be something thatpeople can hold on to. And I
think decentering of whitenessis, in my opinion, a starting
point. And it gives people Ithink, a way of making sense of
the not only practices, but theways in which we participate in
learning in classrooms, and allthe ways in which we come about
(23:21):
knowing. I think that that givesthem an entry point, if you
will. And then if I can expandmaybe and visualizes it somewhat
as a spectrum, that thendeveloping your understanding
into decolonizing work is notonly a recognition of
decentering that which iswhiteness, but understanding the
(23:41):
implications of colonialism,understanding, as you've
indicated, the power dynamicsthat come along with that, and
understanding the continual harmthat is caused by it, right? So
and I don't mean harm in, youknow, just, oh, well, there are
some economic challenges. No, Imean, like, actual violence
against bodies, against people'sway of living. And those those
(24:06):
impacts, I think, are ways inwhich as a person who was raised
under colonialism, you reallyhave to shed and you really have
to come to terms with yourself.
And so if I can see it somewhatas a developmental spectrum,
that's what I think I wouldoffer to people. I would also
(24:28):
name that, for me, the way inwhich I engage with the term
decolonization in the work thatwe do in Ghana is a centering of
knowledge, a centering of theacquisition of that knowledge
and a centering of what is truein that knowledge. And, that
(24:48):
that centering is comingdirectly out of Ghanaian
culture. So that through thatcentering, we have the tools to
disrupt power dynamics that arerooted in economics, politics,
and societal expectations thatcolonialism has placed over that
(25:10):
particular community. Thechallenge that I think we all
have is then what does the newlook like? And there are
colleagues that write to thisidea of cultural hybridity, that
it's not just aboutdecolonizing, an idea or work,
(25:30):
but it's also about recognizingthat there is some level of
colonality that that may comealong with it. And in immediate
regards, that colonality isstill apparent in the
decentering work. And so how canyou kind of bridge together both
that which is decentering anddecolonizing, to disrupt maybe
(25:53):
the norm? I think that's one wayto look at it. I think others
might say, you know, let's flipthe table upside down and turn
it on its head, right? So Ithink that's the area in which
we still struggle as a broadersociety. And then, then what
after we have unearthed, thatwhich is harmful? And that which
(26:15):
is oppressive? In that process,then what's next? How is land
and place and ideology returnedto those who have cultivated and
created it before colonizationcame? In what ways are people
both sacrificing in giving up anunderstanding of the world and
(26:37):
of life that is embedded in ourpolitical and economic systems?
And I think that in order forpeople to do that, it has to be
done on a spectrum, I don't knowthat people will be able to
truly enter into decolonizingwork at phase one, and not had
an opportunity to really processwhat does it mean to even
(26:57):
decenter, a way of knowing, andthat way of knowing being
whiteness.
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperling (27:01):
One thing you shared that I really
appreciate was like about thecompensation was also like the
returning of ideology. It justmakes me think of how whiteness
operates, really to suppress theflourishing the creativity, the
art, you could say, of differentforms of ideology, that
colonization, white supremacyhave worked to suppress. And one
of the things I guess I'm reallycurious about through either
your work in Fulbright, or alsoyou share in the study abroad
(27:23):
experience is just like what Iguess engaging in this work has
meant for you and for yourstudents.
Professor Candace Moore (27:31):
That's a really great question. And
having had an opportunity towrite with graduate students who
participated in the study abroadprogram, along with my
colleague, Dr. Martin, we wroteto just that impact, or that
question of what does it meanfor them to engage in this work,
(27:51):
and also think critically abouttheir own practice and their own
interest in and how do theyessentially wrestle with the
kind of back and forth or thepull between that which you have
been socialized, and that whichyou are allowed learning and
taking in? And you know, I willname that what I have learned
(28:15):
both in the global classroomwhere we're teaching, both
American and Ghanaian studentsat the same time about student
affairs philosophy, also aboutthe development of students is
that there are a variety ofcultural expectations that are
just unspoken in in many waysfor students to be successful in
(28:39):
those spaces, we have to namethose. And we have to give
people an opportunity to bothnavigate them and renegotiate
them. And that in thatrenegotiation, and
acknowledgement that people aregrowing, and people are
learning, and they're goingbeyond the spaces that they have
(29:01):
had exposure to. And so thenavigating, I think of it all,
is recognizing that people havean interest in wanting to
collaborate with people acrossthe globe, they have an interest
in cross cultural learning. Butwhile you may have the interest,
(29:21):
do you also have the willingnessto remove and shed some of those
assumptions, expectations, andagain, kind of cultural idioms
that we just don't name. And sowe've learned that we have to
articulate those. We've learnedthat people need spaces to
process those repeatedly. And sothere's quite a bit of
(29:46):
reflection that we use not onlyin the study abroad class, but
also in the global classroom.
And as a part of even the workthat I will do in the Fulbright,
there is reflection that isinherent in work that you do in
participatory action research,but is also going to be expected
of the participants who are notengaged in the research team to
(30:09):
engage in reflection as well.
And I think even for me, if Ican just take a personal moment.
Although I identify as a part ofthe African diaspora, diaspora
is vast. And there are so manycommunities and individuals that
(30:29):
I have yet to come across in myliving. And as I continue to do
this work, my hope is that Iwill always remain open to that,
which I don't know anythingabout. But that those that I'm
remaining open with are alsowilling to receive what I bring
as well. I'm looking forward tothis Fulbright experience not
(30:53):
solely around the research orsolely around the teaching, but
truly around connecting withpeople and learning with people,
not from but learning with.
Being able to maintainrelationships that can truly
have an impact on how Iunderstand what it means to be
(31:14):
Black in this world broadly. Andthen also maybe offer some
contribution to theirunderstanding of how even I
understand what being Blackmeans. I am, have great
anticipation I'm excited aboutgoing. But I'm also a little
nervous, and I am hopeful that Iwill be able to ease some of
(31:36):
those nerves, and truly justremain confident in what I know
I'm going to do, and that I amalways open to learning while
there. Yeah
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperling (31:51):
The next question I want to move
into is actually around aroundjust thinking about blackness
and what and what that means ondifferent levels. You know, how
is your work in Ghana and you'reapproaching Fulbright just
informed your relationship tostudying and understanding of
blackness?
Professor Candace Moore (32:06):
So, in my time at the University of
Maryland, I've also had thepleasure of being the Founding
Director of the Center forDiversity and Inclusion in
higher education where Dr. RogerL. Worthington is the executive
director. And the work of thecenter is not only centered not
only focused on research andscholarship in the area of
(32:29):
social justice and equityinclusion in the practice on
college campuses, but reallyalso in consulting with
institutions around the nationregarding how are they doing
equity inclusion work, and towhat impact is that having on
their campus community. Andthere are other elements that
(32:51):
are a part of the the Center'swork, and I encourage those who
are interested to visit thewebsite to learn more about it.
But in that consultation realm,we've worked with institutions
who are really grappling with,how can I engage in
transformational change for ourcampus community, either through
(33:14):
campus climate assessments. Butbeyond that, my community is
calling for a reckoning. Peoplewho identify as Black in higher
education are having incrediblychallenging experiences, that is
rooted in racism. If your campusclimate is going to improve,
(33:40):
there has to be anacknowledgement and naming of
that, and in the bringing tobear, there also has to be
resolution around that. Andcommunity and whether faculty,
staff or students, thatcommunity of Black people and
allies need to see actual changeversus rhetoric and how that
(34:04):
change is going to take place. Ithink what we are learning in
higher education in the US isthat not only through the outcry
following George Floyd's murder,and Brianna Taylor's murder in
the summer of last year, I thinkthat that energy has always been
(34:27):
present through the legacy ofracism in this country. And that
kind of reckoning as people liketo call it of today is not so
much a new concept for thosethat have been in the struggle
and recognize that the everpresent reality of racism and
(34:52):
its implication, not only in thebroader society, but truly in
higher education.
If we take that more globally Wenow understand that there are
elements of anti-Blackness thatare a part of all aspects of
society across the world andcomes directly back into Higher
(35:13):
Education. We have to I think,begin to acknowledge, what are
the implications of B in highereducation? What does that look
like, as far as policy goes, asfar as decision making goes, as
far as how communities areoutlined, whether they be
through purposeful separation?
Or maybe there's something thatis more strategic in how people
(35:37):
are organized by organizationdevelopment of those
institutions? And I think oncewe start to focus in on what
does black-- how is blacknessrepresented in our higher
education community, and how arepeople impacted through kind of
relegation or the implicationsof colonization, which
(36:00):
inherently has racism in it,then I think we can start to ask
those critical questions about,well, what can we truly change
in our institution that can beimpactful, and that can be
sustainable for thosecommunities? I think the
question that we ask, in ourteaching, whether it's in the
(36:21):
global classroom or in studyabroad is, what am I learning,
as a practitioner and a scholar?
And how can I continue todisrupt that which I thought was
the norm, whether you identifyas Black or non-Black, there's
(36:42):
always something that we candisrupt in how we think about
the world. Being in places likeGhana, where the rich coast
culture and history is not onlyrooted in Ghanaian culture, but
really has a deep spread acrossthe entire west coast, West
(37:03):
Africa, right? Because how Ghanais divided today was created
through colonization, the namingof even the country or the
naming of countries thatsurround it. And so if we think
about that entire Gold Coast asbeing a large community, that
understanding of blackness issomewhat shared across that
(37:28):
area. And how can we encouragepeople to tap into that, as they
continue to grow and develop?
Again, whether you identify asblack or not, how can you tap
into that rich culture andhistory and learn from it, and
carry with you as you continueto go around the world?
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperl (37:46):
Before we kind of close out this
episode, I just want to say, youknow, first off how much I
appreciate just getting to learnfrom you and talk with you about
these different questions ofyour research and and the work
you'll be doing. So two finalquestions, really, just to help
us close out. Do you have anythoughts-- I know you're
thinking like I'm leaving a planin a few days, but you know, you
have any dreams or just kind ofimaginations around just like
(38:08):
what the work will look likewhen you return from Ghana or
things that, you know, you'dlove to have happen? But of
course, it may take someplanning. But yeah, but sort of
in your imagination mode. Whatdoes post-Fulbright life look
like?
Professor Candace Moore (38:20):
Thank you, Jeremy. You're right. I am
more concerned about getting onthe plane in a few days. But if
we can for just a moment thinkabout ahead. Yes, I, you know,
and in all honesty, I think thecommunity effort of being able
to identify a cohort ofindividuals that we can support
from that senior high school tocollege level, I think that is a
(38:44):
legacy that we can continue togrow upon, and maybe we might be
able to support future cohortsgoing through a program
similarly, that allows for us tothink about ways in which people
are growing both in nationalidentity but then also how
they're contributing to kind ofthe economic stability of their
(39:04):
communities, and also thecountry. But then I you know, I
also think about, as I indicatedat the top of the conversation,
my commitment to graduateeducation, and through what we
learn in this project, my hopeis that we are able to continue
to support the graduate programthat is in-country, quite
possibly able to build outgreater access to it. And so
(39:28):
through the Association ofAfrican universities, there's a
strong commitment to what doesdigital and virtual engagement
look like across the continent,and how can we strengthen
distance education through avirtual component? And so the
question for me is, how can weprovide greater access for
people who want to engage ingraduate education but not able
(39:51):
to physically get to theinstitution that may have the
program, and how can we do thatin a way that maintains both
quality and depth, and do that,again with not only, you know,
Ghana in mind, but other Africancountries that want to explore
graduate education for those instudent affairs and higher
(40:12):
education work.
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperling (40:13):
Is there anything that you, you
want to make sure the audiencetakes away from this
conversation, whether it's aquestion a reflection, something
you just wish to share, as weclose out this episode.
Professor Candace Moore (40:22):
So I think it's important to
acknowledge and name, howvaluable it is to partner with
communities across the continentof Africa. Not only has been
valuable professionally, butpersonally. And it's because of
those relationships, it'sbecause of those those
(40:42):
friendship, it's because of awillingness to really put in the
work and develop things thathave sustainability. I think the
piece that I would encouragelisteners today to take away are
just a few things. Engage inauthentic relationship
development, and think of waysin which your work can be
sustainable, not only foryourself, but truly for the
(41:06):
communities that you're serving.
And then I would also add thatthere's a great wealth of
knowledge that you bring to acircumstance or a situation, but
there's also a great wealth ofknowledge that you can gain. And
then lastly, I would go back toa point that you made earlier,
Jeremy, that there is great joyin doing work that really
(41:26):
matters. There is great joy indoing work with people who have
a shared commitment that youhave. And in that, you build
true friendships that arelasting in those moments where
the work gets really hard, oryou've run into some
(41:47):
bureaucracies both on thenational and international
level, sd we have seen in recentyears. It's those friendships
that are sustaining, that remindyou why you do the work that you
know, send you a text ofsupport. There's something about
collaboration that I think wehave often taken a very surface
(42:07):
approach to, that I think if weembed kind of our engagement
with one another in developing atrue friendship, we can maintain
that joy, and maintain thatpurpose. And understand that the
work is beyond us -- it's biggerthan us. And you are able, I
think, to find ways to smile,and really appreciate what
(42:29):
you're doing when you're doingit with others.
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sp (42:33):
Professor Moore, thank you so much for
your time really appreciatehaving this conversation. It's
really been just a wonderfulmoment for me just to engage
with you in this way. So thankyou.
Professor Candace Moore (42:42):
Thank you so much. I appreciate the
time.
Jeremy Ryan Gombin-Sperling (42:46):
And that's all for this episode of
Fulbright Forward. Thank you somuch for listening. For a list
of resources mentioned today'sepisode, you can go the
Fulbright Forward website hostedon our Buzzsprout page. Remember
also that you can subscribe toFulbright Forward through your
favorite podcast app like Applepodcasts or Spotify, as well as
follow the podcast on Instagram.
Again, I'm JeremyGombin-Sperling Fulbright
(43:07):
diversity inclusion liaison forprograms in the Western
Hemisphere. Be well, stay safe,and until next time,
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