Decolonising the curriculum beyond the surge: Conceptualisation, positionality and conduct

Mai Abu Moghli,Laila Kadiwal

doi:10.14324/lre.19.1.23

Abstract

In recent years, there has been increased interest in, and work towards, decolonising the curriculum in higher education institutions in the UK. There are various initiatives to review university syllabuses and identify alternative literature. However, there is an increasing risk of turning ‘decolonisation’ into a buzz term tied to a trend. We fear that decolonisation within academia is becoming an empty term, diluted and depoliticised, allowing for superficial representations that fail to address racial, political and socio-economic intersectionalities. In this article, we examine several initiatives to decolonise the curriculum with a focus on the field of education as a discipline and medium. Based on our analysis, we engage with three main themes: conceptualisation, positionality and conduct. The article concludes that decolonisation cannot happen in a vacuum, or as an aim disconnected from the rest of the structure of the university, which leads to diluting a wider movement and turns into a box-ticking exercise. We argue that there needs to be a deconstruction of asymmetrical power relationships within academic spaces to allow for meaningful decolonisation in practice. This requires a real political will, a change in the structure, and in the hearts and minds of those in decision-making positions, and a shift in the practices of knowledge production.

Highlights

Decolonisation is a multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, heterogeneous and multi generational process
decolonising the curriculum (DtC) cannot happen in a vacuum, or be disconnected from the rest of the structure of higher education institutions (HEIs), which leads to diluting a wider movement and turns it into a box-ticking exercise
This article is inspired by the struggles and tireless efforts of academics, activists and students to decolonise their spaces of work, teaching, learning and knowledge production

Summary

Introduction

Decolonisation is a multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, heterogeneous and multi generational process. It builds on decades of work by scholars, activists and people from all walks of life who have been struggling for freedom and breaking structures of oppression. There are student- and academic-led initiatives to review university syllabuses, identify alternative literature and highlight the importance of knowledge(s) produced by academics of colour, and feminists from the Global South. These efforts include acknowledging the importance of alternative resources such as artistic expressions, which are increasingly considered valid sources of knowledge to be referenced within academic work.

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Conclusion