VIRTUAL EVENT: Towards ‘decolonising’ curriculum and pedagogy (DCP): a critical synthesis

This event will discuss ‘decolonising’ curriculum and pedagogy (DCP) across disciplines and global higher education contexts. This is the eighth webinar in the Centre for Global Higher Education's (CGHE) special series, Racism and Coloniality in Global Higher Education.

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VIRTUAL EVENT: Towards ‘decolonising’ curriculum and pedagogy (DCP): a critical synthesis

30 Sep 2021, 14:00 – 15:00

Book now

Drawing on the global interdisciplinary literature on decolonising curriculum and pedagogy (DCP) in higher education, the speakers will critically examine the idea of decolonising in the context of disciplines and universities around the world.

Based on a critical analysis of 207 articles/book chapters published in English and centering a geopolitics of knowledge frame (Mignolo, 2003, 2011), they will present three themes:

decolonising meaning/s
actualising decolonisation
challenges.

They will observe three major meanings of decolonisation and four ways to actualise DCP that were driven by geographical, disciplinary, institutional and/or stakeholder contexts.

They argue that, while there are similarities within the literature, ultimately the meanings, actualisations and challenges of DCP are contextual, which has political and epistemological consequences. They end by offering directions for educational research on DCP, revealing the possibility for a field or discipline of decolonial studies.

Speakers

Chair: David Mills, University of Oxford
Riyad Shahjahan, Michigan State University
Kirsten T. Edwards, University of Oklahoma
Annabelle Estera, Independent scholar.

Racism and Coloniality in Global Higher Education series

This Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE) webinar series explores what global racial equity would mean for the future of higher education and addresses the challenges of decolonising research systems and pedagogic cultures.

The aim is to promote knowledge of, and commitment to, anti-racism within universities, and amongst researchers and policymakers. Contributors will reflect on colonial institutional legacies, racialised institutional cultures, and the power of ‘whiteness’, drawing on empirical research in a range of higher education contexts.

Why are the legacies of colonialism often overlooked, or erased, in favour of a ‘colour blind’ analysis of global higher education’s hierarchies and inequalities?
Is the institutional racism of today’s universities a historical legacy or a resurgent cultural dynamic, intersected by the geopolitics of internationalisation?
What can we learn about the structural inequalities of the global knowledge system from critical geographers and scholars in science and technology studies?
What forms of profound and transformational change would be needed to create racial equity in global higher education and research?
How are universities, faculties and students, addressing these colonial legacies?
Can owning ‘whiteness’ and acknowledging white privilege – along with the JEDI agenda (justice, equality, diversity and inclusion) – help move these debates forward?