Skin-colored pencil: whose skin color? An experience with university professors

Abstract

This study extends broader research on university teaching, anti-racist education, and contemporary art to explore an aesthetic dimension in higher education pedagogy. It engages with the theoretical frameworks of Michel Foucault, Grada Kilomba, Nicolas Bourriaud, Luciana Gruppelli Loponte, and Nadja Hermann, among others. The primary objective is to critically examine an experience conducted with faculty members at a community university in Santa Catarina, Brazil, during a professional development workshop involving educators from diverse academic disciplines. The methodology employs artistic investigative approaches to challenge traditional notions of professional training in higher education, moving away from rigid prescriptions, certainties, and predefined solutions. Findings indicate alternative pedagogical practices characterized by openness to experiential contamination, fostering an aesthetic dimension in professional development inspired by contemporary artists and their works. This approach aims to provoke critical reflection and reevaluate prevailing beliefs about teaching, art, and life.