Abstract
The Introduction examines the implications and significance of decolonising the literature curriculum in universities and details pedagogical strategies utilised in this endeavour. The chapter traces recent critical developments of decolonisation, linking these specifically to literature teaching and related academic subjects. Examining the unevenness of decolonisation and the “war on woke,” I argue that these contexts reflect the resistance decolonisation work encounters; however, referencing critical debates as well as activism and the student experience, the chapter shows that decolonisation in literature has a vital role to play in engendering progressive change. Discussions also outline constructions of canons and traditions within literary and critical/theoretical bodies of knowledge and the implications of these for educational practice. The chapter furthermore presents the contents of the book, establishing the connections between the individual chapters in the book, as well as highlighting their cultural-specific contributions to pedagogical and academic debates around decolonising the curriculum.
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Notes
- 1.
Dawn Zinga and Sandra Styres, “Decolonizing Curriculum: Student Resistances to Anti-Oppressive Pedagogy.” Power and Education 11, no. 1 (March 2019): 30–50; Doug Stokes, “Universities should resist calls to ‘decolonise the curriculum’.” The Spectator, 18 February 2019. https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/universities-should-resist-calls-to-decolonise-the-curriculum-. Accessed 27 June 2021.
- 2.
David Batty, “Only a Fifth of UK Universities Say They Are ‘Decolonising’ Curriculum.” The Guardian, 11 June 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/11/only-fifth-of-uk-universities-have-said-they-will-decolonise-curriculum#:~:text=Only%20a%20fifth%20of%20UK%20universities%20have%20committed%20to%20reforming,by%20the%20Guardian%20has%20found.&text=The%20University%20of%20East%20London,of%20art%20and%20digital%20industries. Accessed 20 June 2021.
- 3.
Jason Arday, Dina Zoe Belluigi, and Dave Thomas, “Attempting to break the chain: reimaging inclusive pedagogy and decolonising the curriculum within the academy.” Educational Philosophy and Theory 53, no. 3 (2021): 301.
- 4.
Ruvani Ranasinha, “Guest Editorial: Decolonizing English.” The Journal of Commonwealth Literature, 54 issue: 2 (2019): 119–123.
- 5.
Shannon Morreira, Kathy Luckett, Siseko H. Kumalo, and Manjeet Ramgotra, eds. Decolonising Curricula and Pedagogy in Higher Education: Bringing Decolonial Theory into Contact with Teaching Practice (London: Routledge, 2021).
- 6.
Decolonising the Discipline. https://sites.google.com/brookes.ac.uk/decolonising-the-discipline/home. Accessed 27 June 2021.
- 7.
https://academic.oup.com/english/pages/decolonising-english-studies-cfp. Accessed 27 June 2021.
- 8.
Arday, Belluigi, and Thomas. “Chain,” 299.
- 9.
Nadena Doharty, Manuel Madriaga, and Remi Joseph-Salisbury. “The university went to ‘decolonise’ and all they brought back was lousy diversity double-speak! Critical race counter-stories from faculty of colour in ‘decolonial’ times.” Educational Philosophy and Theory 53, no. 3 (2021): 233.
- 10.
Gurminder K. Bhambra, “Postcolonial and decolonial dialogues.” Postcolonial Studies 17, no. 2 (2014): 115–121.
- 11.
Margaret Kohn and Kavita Reddy, “Colonialism,” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2017 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2017/entries/colonialism/. Accessed 20 June 2021.
- 12.
See the following works: Rhodes Must Fall. “Mission Statement.” The Salon 9 (2015): 6–19. Patel, Leigh. Decolonizing educational research: From ownership to answerability. Routledge, 2015. Joseph Mbembe, Achille. “Decolonizing the university: New directions.” Arts and Humanities in Higher Education 15, no. 1 (2016): 29–45. Diversi, Marcelo and Claudio Moreira. Betweener talk: Decolonizing knowledge production, pedagogy, and praxis. Routledge, 2016. Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. London: Zed Books Ltd., 2021. Bhambra, Gurminder K., Dalia Gebrial, and Kerem Nişancıoğlu. Decolonising the university. London: Pluto Press, 2018. De Jong, Sara, Rosalba Icaza, and Olivia U. Rutazibwa, eds. Decolonization and feminisms in global teaching and learning. London: Routledge, 2018.
- 13.
Julia McClure, “Connected global intellectual history and the decolonisation of the curriculum.” History Compass 19, no. 1 (2021):1. McClure further references Bhambra, Gurminder K., Dalia Gebrial, and Kerem Nişancıoğlu. Decolonising the university. London: Pluto Press, 2018.
- 14.
Kay Hack, Decolonisation of the Curriculum – a Conversation. Advance HE, 26 May 2020. https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/news-and-views/decolonisation-curriculum-conversation. Accessed 27 June 2021.
- 15.
Noha Abou El Magd, “Why Is My Curriculum White?–Decolonising the Academy.” National Union of Students. (2016). https://www.nusconnect.org.uk/articles/why-is-my-curriculum-white-decolonising-the-academy. Accessed 27 June 2021.
- 16.
Hack, “Conversation,” n.p.
- 17.
Wamai, “Decolonising the Academy—Towards a Global Movement.” University World News Global Edition, 27 March 2016. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20160524135416842. Accessed 20 June 2021.
- 18.
Doharty, Madriaga, and Joseph-Salisbury. “Diversity double-speak,” 233–244.
- 19.
Ankhi Mukherjee, “‘What Is a Classic?’: International Literary Criticism and the Classic Question.” PMLA 125, no. 4 (2010): 1026–42.
- 20.
Hack, “Conversation,” n.p.
- 21.
Arday, Belluigi, and Thomas. “Chain,” 307.
- 22.
Hack, “Conversation,” n.p.
- 23.
Daniel Trilling, “Why Is the UK Government Suddenly Targeting ‘Critical Race Theory’?” The Guardian, 23 October 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/23/uk-critical-race-theory-trump-conservatives-structural-inequality. Accessed 20 June 2021.
- 24.
David Theo Goldberg, The war on critical race theory, Boston Review, 7 May 2021. http://bostonreview.net/race-politics/david-theo-goldberg-war-critical-race-theory?fbclid=IwAR3Jv2Mb34sqHEnX9MzLwbkRcH09wGRvFgSsHu4LijrBuG3NH0OiwY1Jkx0. Accessed 31 May 2021.
- 25.
“Wokeism,” Macmillan Dictionary, https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/wokeism. Accessed 9 October 2021.
- 26.
Goldberg, “Critical,” n.p.
- 27.
Trilling, “Why,” n.p.
- 28.
Decolonising the Discipline, https://sites.google.com/brookes.ac.uk/decolonising-the-discipline/home. Accessed 29 June 2021.
- 29.
Batty, “Fifth,” n.p.
- 30.
Batty, “Fifth,” n.p.
- 31.
Batty, “Fifth,” n.p.
- 32.
Harriet Swain, “Students want their curriculums decolonised. Are universities listening.” The Guardian, 13 March 2019. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/jan/30/students-want-their-curriculums-decolonised-are-universities-listening. Accessed 20 June 2021.
- 33.
Lottie Hoare, Decolonising the Curriculum: A Conversation. CRASSH Blog, 26 October 2016. http://www.crassh.cam.ac.uk/blog/post/decolonising-the-curriculum-a-conversation
- 34.
Hoare, “Decolonising,” n.p.
- 35.
Merrydew is a research student at Keele University, researching decolonisation and literature; see Aimee Merrydew, “Tackling Inequalities: Building a ‘healthier’ Curriculum through Feminist Reflexivity,” KITE Student Education Conference 2020, University of Keele.
- 36.
Arday, Belluigi, and Thomas, “Chain.”
- 37.
Priyamvada Gopal, “Yes, we must decolonise: Our teaching has to go beyond elite white men.” The Guardian, 27 October 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/27/decolonise-elite-white-men-decolonising-cambridge-university-english-curriculum-literature. Accessed 20 June 2021.
- 38.
Penny Jane Burke and Ronelle Carolissen, “Gender, post-truth populism and higher education pedagogies,” Teaching in Higher Education, 23, no. 5(2018): 543.
- 39.
Arday, Belluigi, and Thomas, “Chain”, 301.
- 40.
Dan Hicks, Decolonising Museums isn’t part of a ‘culture war’. It’s about keeping them relevant. The Guardian, 7 May 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/07/decolonising-museums-isnt-part-of-a-culture-war-its-about-keeping-them-relevant. Accessed 31 May 2021.
- 41.
Judy Rohrer, “‘It’s in the room’: reinvigorating feminist pedagogy, contesting neoliberalism, and trumping post-truth populism.” Teaching in Higher Education 23, no. 5 (2018): 580.
- 42.
There isn’t the space within this book for an in-depth consideration of the implications of the pandemic on decolonisation. However, research is already emerging on this vital topic, such as Pillay, Ansurie, Martha Khosa, Ayub Sheik, Bridget Campbell, Bheki Mthembu, and Nicholus Nyika. “How Home Contexts of South African University Students Shape Their Experiences of Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning.” Student Success 12, no. 2 (2021).
Works Cited
Abou El Magd, Noha. “Why Is My Curriculum White?–Decolonising the Academy.” National Union of Students, 9 February 2016. https://www.nusconnect.org.uk/articles/why-is-my-curriculum-white-decolonising-the-academy. Accessed 27 June 2021.
Arday, Jason, Dina Zoe Belluigi, and Dave Thomas. “Attempting to break the chain: reimaging inclusive pedagogy and decolonising the curriculum within the academy.” Educational Philosophy and Theory 53, no. 3 (2021): 298–313.
Batty, David. “Only a Fifth of UK Universities Say They Are ‘Decolonising’ Curriculum.” The Guardian, 11 June 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/11/only-fifth-of-uk-universities-have-said-they-will-decolonise-curriculum#:~:text=Only%20a%20fifth%20of%20UK%20universities%20have%20committed%20to%20reforming,by%20the%20Guardian%20has%20found.&text=The%20University%20of%20East%20London,of%20art%20and%20digital%20industries. Accessed 20 June 2021.
Bhambra, Gurminder K. “Postcolonial and decolonial dialogues.” Postcolonial Studies 17, no. 2 (2014): 115–121.
Bhambra, Gurminder K., Dalia Gebrial, and Kerem Nişancıoğlu. Decolonising the university. London: Pluto Press, 2018.
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De Jong, Sara, Rosalba Icaza, and Olivia U. Rutazibwa, eds. Decolonization and feminisms in global teaching and learning. London: Routledge, 2018.
Diversi, Marcelo, and Claudio Moreira. Betweener talk: Decolonizing knowledge production, pedagogy, and praxis. London: Routledge, 2016.
Doharty, Nadena, Manuel Madriaga, and Remi Joseph-Salisbury. “The university went to ‘decolonise’ and all they brought back was lousy diversity double-speak! Critical race counter-stories from faculty of colour in ‘decolonial’ times.” Educational Philosophy and Theory 53, no. 3 (2021): 233–244.
Goldberg, David Theo. The war on critical race theory, Boston Review, 7 May 2021. http://bostonreview.net/race-politics/david-theo-goldberg-war-critical-race-theory?fbclid=IwAR3Jv2Mb34sqHEnX9MzLwbkRcH09wGRvFgSsHu4LijrBuG3NH0OiwY1Jkx0. Accessed 31 May 2021.
Gopal, Priyamvada. “Yes, we must decolonise: Our teaching has to go beyond elite white men.” The Guardian 27 October 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/27/decolonise-elite-white-men-decolonising-cambridge-university-english-curriculum-literature. Accessed 20 June 2021.
Hack, Kay. Decolonisation of the Curriculum – a Conversation. AdvanceHE, 26 May 2020. https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/news-and-views/decolonisation-curriculum-conversation. Accessed 27 June 2021.
Heleta, S., 2016, ‘Decolonisation of higher education: Dismantling epistemic violence and Eurocentrism in South Africa’, Transformation in Higher Education 1(1), a9. https://doi.org/10.4102/the.v1i1.9
Hicks, Dan. Decolonising Museums isn’t part of a ‘culture war’. It’s about keeping them relevant. The Guardian, 7 May 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/07/decolonising-museums-isnt-part-of-a-culture-war-its-about-keeping-them-relevant. Accessed 31 May 2021.
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Trilling, Daniel. “Why is the UK Government Suddenly Targeting ‘Critical Race Theory’?” The Guardian, 23 October 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/23/uk-critical-race-theory-trump-conservatives-structural-inequality. Accessed 20 June 2021.
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Beyer, C. (2022). Introduction: Decolonising English. In: Beyer, C. (eds) Decolonising the Literature Curriculum. Teaching the New English. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91289-5_1
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