Being Black in a White World: Understanding Racism in British Universities

Abstract

This paper critically examines the experiences of racism encountered by academics working within British universities. The conceptual position is underpinned by a critical race theory and postcolonial feminist framework. These theoretical approaches intertwine to present a rich and complex set of snapshots that document the various challenges and barriers faced by British academics of colour/difference in higher education. The empirical data that informs this piece has been generated by a series of qualitative, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with academics of colour and of difference, and who are based broadly within the social sciences and humanities. Those interviewed come from a range of different racial, religious and ethnonational backgrounds, and occupy different academic positions within the university structure. Through a close engagement with the empirical material, this paper analyses the effects of the structural and systemic nature of racism as experienced by my respondents. The account is focused around three key themes including microaggressions and institutional racism, teaching, and promotion and support. Palabras claveRacismo institucional Gran Bretaña Educación Superior Blanquitud/Whiteness Universidades Identidad Resumen Este artículo examina críticamente las experiencias de racismo de académicos que trabajan en universidades británicas. El marco conceptual en el que se apoya son la teoría crítica de la raza y el feminismo postcolonial. Estas perspectivas teóricas se entrelazan con el fin de presentar una serie de imágenes que documentan los diversos retos y barreras que se encuentran académicos británicos de color y de diversidad en la educación superior. La base empírica de este trabajo es cualitativa, habiéndose realizado una serie de entrevistas en profundidad y semi-estructuradas con académicos de color y de diversidad, y que en su mayoría trabajan en el ámbito de las ciencias sociales y las humanidades. Las personas entrevistadas provienen de una amplia gama de orígenes raciales, religiosos y etno-nacionales, y ocupan diferentes posiciones académicas dentro de la estructura universitaria. A través de un trabajo minucioso sobre el material empírico, este texto analiza los efectos de la naturaleza estructural y sistémica del racismo tal y como es experienciada por las personas entrevistadas. El artículo se focaliza en tres temas clave, incluyendo microagresiones y racismo institucional, docencia, y ascenso y apoyo.

The Blackened body and White governmentality: Managing the UK academy and the production of shame

“…Her marginalization in the academy is normalized and statistically invoked through numerous reports. Katy Sian (2017) writing on 'Being Black in a White World' notes:…”

“…As such, institutional racism is conditioned and patterned through the structured and everyday interactions that normalize the marginalization and exclusion of people of colour so that it becomes impossible to refute or call attention to racist practices in ways that seek to overturn structures of power that reproduce racial inequalities and hierarchies (see also . Sian (2017) focuses on institutional practices that systematically affect the prospects of people of colour where these constitute a set of hidden racist values, practices and customs that form the institutional norms of structures and organizations while being closely associated with White privilege.…”

Hostile climates are barriers to diversifying the geosciences

“…Some of these can manifest in unique ways in the earth sciences and related careers, through stereotypes of geoscientists as field scientists and challenges associated with training, research, and fieldwork outside the bounds of academic institutions. To remove these barriers, multiple strategies are needed with engagement from members of the community across all levels, especially those in leadership positions (e.g., St. John et al, 2016).…”

Black and Ethnic Minority Academics’ Perspectives on Intercultural Interaction in UK Universities: Beyond Racialization

“…Representation in this study is focused on discourse analysis to examine how meanings are represented within narratives. This research thus explores how discourse shapes the structures of the context (Sian, 2017). Since speakers of different languages engage in an arbitrary division of reality (Thomas et al, 2004), it thus follows that every language could be a system of representation that mirrors and reinforces the worldview of its speakers (Thomas et al, 2004).…”

“…Researchers seem to have neglected the experiences of BAME academics a great deal. Few studies conducted in this area were either focused on racialization (Sian, 2017), representativeness (Alexander & Arday, 2015), or mobility (Bhopal, 2016). Research has established that there is a widening of attainment gap between white and BAME students in the UK at the disadvantage of the latter (Cotton el al, 2015;Richardson, 2015).…”