Helen Smith, the Head of the English Department, has apologised in a department-wide email for the use of a racial slur as part of a quotation in a lecture earlier this week.
Smith apologised for the incident and reminded students and staff that it is departmental policy that staff not pronounce racial slurs as part of their teaching as well and quotations should be prefaced with a content warning.
This is at least the second such incident in the Department in recent memory after Smith mentioned she had been made aware of a similar incident in a previous module.
York Vision contacted Helen Smith after the apology and she noted how she hoped this incident would lead to an opportunity for “frank discussion about how [the English Department] handles teaching sensitive material with texts that are crucial to the curriculum whilst fitting with [their] commitment to Equality and Diversity.”
YUSU’s Academic Officer have been approached for comment.
This story is currently being updated. Featured Image by Harry Clay