Making Sense of Savage’s The New Life
I was allocated the reading Polly Savage’s The New Life. This was one of the most challenging academic experiences I’ve had to date. The dense academic language, the heavy theoretical references, and the deep context in socialism, Marxist thought, and Cold War politics were largely unfamiliar to me. Much of the content concerned historical and ideological frameworks that existed before I was born and outside the scope of my lived or academic experience. I found myself frequently lost in terminology and historical references, especially as I had no previous knowledge of Soviet educational models or anti-colonial networks. It was difficult –frustrating, even – to struggle so much with a text.
However, this difficulty also became an opportunity. Through this PG Cert course, I’ve learned how to use tools like ChatGPT to support my understanding of complex academic writing. Being able to break down the article into simpler terms and extract the core arguments and contexts made it possible for me not just to read the piece, but to learn from it. In doing so, I’ve come to see real, practical relevance for how I approach my teaching on the Diploma in Professional Studies (DPS) at LCC.
What stood out to me most from Savage’s work was the tension between ideological systems and lived, creative practice. The Mozambican students were trained within a rigid Soviet framework that promoted a narrow view of art and hierarchy of cultural values. Yet, their actual experience was far more dynamic – they created friendships, formed informal learning networks, and eventually reshaped what they’d learned into something hybrid, resistant, and future-facing. These students didn’t just absorb knowledge; they critically negotiated it.
This speaks directly to the students on the DPS and the field they’re having to navigate now, with ai and volatile global politics. Many of our students go abroad or into industry contexts that are, in their own ways, ideologically shaped – whether by capitalist structures, institutional culture, or creative ‘norms’. Our job as educators isn’t just to prepare them to fit into these spaces, but to equip them to question, challenge and reshape them. Hannah Smith, one of our current cohort has designed a weaving workshop that aligns with themes of this paper here https://www.dpslcc.com/
Savage’s piece reminded me that mobility (whether geographical, social, or intellectual) always comes with power dynamics. It’s important to create space on DPS for students to reflect on how they’re positioned within these systems, and to support them in developing not just employability skills but critical, creative agency See our DPS Instagram ‘New Agency’ @DPSLCC. I want to be more intentional in helping students examine the cultural politics of where they go and what they do, and encourage them to form peer-led, reflexive communities—just as the bolseiros did.
I’ll also rethink the way we teach research and critical reflection. Rather than assuming background knowledge, I want to scaffold entry into complex contexts, whether historical, political or conceptual – and actively use tools like ChatGPT or Co Pilot and Mid Journey for visuals, to help students develop confidence in engaging with difficult material. If I can learn to decode a dense academic text through supportive technology and peer dialogue, so can they.
In short, The New Life reminded me that learning happens not in spite of difficulty, but because of it – if we create the right structures for reflection, translation, and agency.
Ahmed, S., 2017. Living a Feminist Life. Durham: Duke University Press.
Hooks, b., 1995. Art on My Mind: Visual Politics. New York: The New Press.
Savage, P., 2020. The New Life. In: P. Savage, ed. Art, Museums and Decolonisation. London: Afterall Books.
Bishopp, J., 2023. Puffling: A Coming-of-Age Story for Young Adults and Puffins Alike. [online] DPS LCC Blog. Available at: https://www.dpslcc.com/blog/jess-bishopp-puffling [Accessed 31 Jul. 2025].
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