Demarcation and Definition: Explicating the Meaning and Scope of ‘Decolonisation’ in the Social and Political Sciences

Abstract

Decolonisation of the curriculum is a burgeoning yet controversial project of radical change, gaining slow but steady traction in higher education politics departments across the country. At its heart is the acknowledgement and systematic unravelling of colonial and imperial practices in the UK university system. This article pins down what decolonisation is and is not, highlighting the barriers and tentative opportunities to effective decolonisation work. This is discussed in the context of the structural constraints that critical scholars of race—particularly those at the intersection of marginalised racial and gender identities—work against in the academy.

Inside the ivory tower, the view from a “space invader”: An exploratory study into the ways racialized PhD students experience white ignorance in elite universities in the UK

“…Using a Eurocentric lens in the field gives the power to decide which histories and intellectual contributions should be considered canonical and worthy of critical attention. It is clear that the boundaries of dominant Eurocentric discourse ‘close down rather than open up alternative ways of thinking’ (Saini & Begum, 2020). Marie Battiste (2017, p. 186) writes that “in order to effect change, educators must help students understand the Eurocentric assumptions of superiority within the context of history and to recognize the continued dominance of these assumptions in all forms of contemporary knowledge”.…”

“…Universities have a history of ignoring rather than engaging with students' antiracist campaigns (Grosfoguel, 2007; Saini & Begum, 2020). As Edward Said observed, universities and their academics have for the most part been unwilling “to make the connection between the prolonged cruelty of practices such as slavery, colonialist and racial oppression, and imperial subjection on the one hand, and the poetry, fiction, philosophy of the society that engages in these practices on the other” (as quoted by Mills, 1997, p. 27).…”

Decolonising quantitative research methods pedagogy: Teaching contemporary politics to challenge hierarchies from data

“…Originating largely in South Africa (Heleta, 2016; Le Grange, 2016; Mngomezulu and Hadebe, 2018), the decolonisation of higher education curricula is a growing political and academic project in the United Kingdom, particularly at global and ‘outward-looking’ institutions, including SOAS and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge which are themselves products of Empire (Arday and Mirza, 2018; Begum and Saini, 2019; Bhambra et al, 2018; Saini and Begum, 2020). The burgeoning literature on decolonising curricula and the intractability of colonial remnants in classrooms and libraries reflects a formidable and ongoing struggle (Heleta, 2016; Mamdani, 2016; Mngomezulu and Hadebe, 2018).…”

Decolonising the political theory curriculum

“…What exactly decolonising the curriculum entails in practice is a matter of ongoing debate; indeed, it is not something that can be prescribed in advance, given that one thing that decolonisation definitely involves is an appreciation that there are a plurality of ways of thinking and speaking about social and political phenomena (Saini and Begum, 2020: 3). I would claim, however, that at a minimum a decolonised curriculum will be one that acknowledges and calls for discussion of the colonial contexts within which concepts, arguments, and theories have been developed and advanced; recognises that there are alternatives to Eurocentric knowledges, epistemologies, and pedagogies that were suppressed by colonial domination; and includes study of and readings by non-White and women thinkers, figures, and authors.…”