Jisc Change Agents' Network Conference 2024

This workshop is the result of a student-staff collaboration, at the Open University, on weathering stressors in HE and how to disrupt them. Geronimus (2023) - 'Weathering the extraordinary stress of ordinary life on the body in an unjust society' -  argues that there are significant physiological effects on a person, at a cellular level, as a result of living in a society where they are not valued for who they are. Geronimus’ research findings focus on North America, but she argues that her findings are applicable everywhere. 

‘Whatever your community or country, if the idea of weathering resonates with you, please see this book as an open door to consider its application to other populations and settings’ (2023, p.9).

This workshop will raise participants’ awareness of HE as a setting for weathering. The staff member will start by explaining the concept of weathering and its relationships with equity and othering in the contexts of anti-Blackness and injustices experienced by LGBTQ+ people. Three student partners will then share their rese¬¬¬arch findings and lived experiences of weathering stressors in HE related to socioeconomic status, disability, and resilience initiatives. The co-presenters will then invite participants to join in activities to:

• Identify how HE contributes to the weathering stressors experienced by students from marginalised backgrounds.

• Consider whether universities have a responsibility to disrupt long-term weathering stressors experienced by people from marginalised groups. Most time will be spent discussing accountability and reflecting on resistance.

• Identify what universities can do to disrupt the weathering stressors.

The co-presenters will prompt participants to recognise othering and microaggressions as causes of weathering, and how sludge theory applies to students who are burdened with unnecessarily time-consuming processes to access services that mainstream students take for granted.  We will provide this information half-way through the group interaction, to facilitate deeper engagement and to keep participants’ focus on developing equity.