decolonise the curriculum
London
Decolonizing the Curriculum Project (DCP) at UoK (funded by Teaching Enhancement
Award and led by Dr Suhraiya Jivraj, Senior Lecturer in Law) Students are
increasingly demanding a ‘liberated curriculum’ that represents their diversity
as we see from #liberatemydegree, ‘Why is My Curriculum White?’ and other
movements mentioned above as well as Kent Student Union campaign ‘Diversify My
Curriculum’. Also at UoK law and politics students on the Race, Religion and Law
module (convened by Dr Suhraiya Jivraj) have relished the opportunity both in
workshops and through their assessment to explore both historical and
contemporary issues that enable them to acquire ‘consciousness of their own
position and struggle’ in society and education. The UoK EDI Project phase II
strategy acknowledges this need in affirming that the ‘white curriculum acts as
a barrier to inclusivity’ including because ‘it fails to legitimise
contributions to knowledge from people of colour’. Phase II therefore seeks to
ensure that ‘our curriculum reflects and addresses a range of perspectives’ and
asks how this can be operationalised specifically at UoK. Modules like RRL and
others in KLS are already operationalising a more inclusive curriculum requiring
students to engage with key works from critical race/religion and decolonial
studies which offer alternative perspectives to those heteronormative and
euro-centric perspectives of white, able-bodied men dominating the western
canon. This project will go one significant step further by placing students of
colour as well as knowledge produced by people of colour at the centre. Being a
student led project is crucial as it empowers them to become change actors and
co-producers of knowledge, shaping the agenda and curriculum that seeks to
include them. Moreover, it enables them to be ‘assets’ rather than see
themselves represented as quantitative data in University diversity reports
which does not capture the nuance and complexity of their lived realities.
Empowerment for self-determination at the grassroots level is key as is apparent
from student led movements that have already effected change in the curriculum.
The desire for self and culturally intelligible knowledge is now well documented
including in the University of Kent, Student Success (EDI) Project, Phase
I:Report 2 ‘Theory and research on race and attainment in UK higher education’
by Hensby and Mitton (2017). This project seeks to operationalise this further
and more broadly through the following three interlinked activities: 1) Focus
groups: · Up to five stage 3 students will lead focus groups of five to ten BAME
students from across the KLS UG programme. · The focus group leaders will form a
research team and design the format and questions collaboratively, under the
supervision of Dr Jivraj, using naturalistic methods and going through the KLS
ethics approval process. 2) Publication of findings: · The data from the focus
groups will be collated by the research team and will produce an accessible
output such as a ‘manifesto of suggestions’ on making the curriculum more
inclusive and a co-authored e-book. · The research team will also be supported
in publishing findings via a blog and social media. 3) Student led conference ·
The workshop committee will organise a half day student led conference to
discuss the findings and invite speakers from campaigns such as the NUS
#liberatemydegree campaign; Why is My Curriculum White? (based at UCL);
Decolonising our Minds SOAS; and the #Rhodesmustfall student movements and at
least one academic speaker. Watch this space for further details.
