Decolonisation: Meaning and significance of decolonising academia

In this online seminar series ‘Decolonising Academia: Realisation and Beyond’, we focus on what ‘decolonisation’—a term that has gained much traction in recent times and has generated various critique—entails in academia, and the role of academics in challenging colonial structures that form the foundations of the modern world. This seminar series is organised by PhD researchers in International Development and Politics: Francesca Chiu, Touseef Mir, and Moé Suzuki, supported by the School of International Development and the University of Sanctuary.

The second session of this series will focus on the meaning and significance of ‘decolonisation’, and why academia in general and academics in particular should care about it. Starting with the basic premise of understanding decolonisation in the present context and how it is embedded in academia, at large the session will focus on underscoring what decolonisation in the context of academia embellishes. From having more scholars, authors, and activists of colour on the reading lists, questioning and contextualising ‘the canon’, more spaces for academics of colour, to the entanglements of knowledge-production with social movements and struggles, the discussion will explore foundational steps that could commence the change towards decolonisation of academia. We will dive into the differences between terms like equality, diversity, and inclusion and decolonisation, and explore whether equality, diversity, or inclusion can actually change the ground realities. The session will have Prof. Dibyesh Anand from the University of Westminster and Dr. Claire Hynes from the UEA in conversation with Touseef Mir, PhD researcher in International Development at UEA.