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October 2018
Decolonial Transformations
Decolonial Transformations: Imagining, Practising, Collaborating. A space for conversations and collaborations around the theme of Decolonial Transformations.
Find out more »December 2018
Dr Gurnam Singh, The Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Student Attainment Gap: What is it, why does it exist and what can be done to overcome it?
From being seen of marginal concern, over the past 10 years, the existence of a significant attainment gap between white and ‘Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) undergraduate students is now high on the agenda for most UK universities, but especially those institutions that have an ethnically diverse student body. As well as providing an overview of the nature and scale of ‘the problem’, this presentation will critically explore some of the ways in which BME attainment been theorised ranging from, student deficit, a product of unconscious bias, institutional/structural racism, and colonial curriculum. The presentation will end by offering a range of strategies for addressing the problem.
Find out more »February 2019
Decolonising the curriculum: what’s all the fuss about?
Professor Gurminder Bhambra and Dr Meera Sabaratnam, will speak on their experience of both the theory and practice of ‘decolonising the curriculum’. Professor Bhambra recently co-edited the publication ‘Decolonising the University ’, which considers the historical and disciplinary context of the decolonising the university movement, and includes contributions offering practical suggestions and discussion of broader theoretical questions.
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Decolonisation: not just a buzzword…
This headphone verbatim ‘work in progress’ show captures campus conversations about how SOAS is seeking to challenge its founding imperial purpose and deliver its vision to decolonise the education sector.
Find out more »Decolonisation: not just a buzzword…
This headphone verbatim ‘work in progress’ show captures campus conversations about how SOAS is seeking to challenge its founding imperial purpose and deliver its vision to decolonise the education sector.
Find out more »March 2019
#FeesMustFall, Decolonisation and the struggle for/in South Africa
The #FeesMustFall movement was characterised by spectacular mobilisation, profound transformation demands and waves of collective action across South African university campuses in 2015 and 2016. Led by people of the ‘Born Free’ generation, this movement also inspired and connected with students globally. In response to this unprecedented mobilisation, the South African government froze tuition fee increases for a time and changed funding to universities. Individual universities such as Wits also set out a wide-ranging programme of transformation in response to student demands. Yet, what has happened since the protests? To what extent were demands achieved, and how? What has been the wider effect of this movement, what historical conditions made it possible and what are its longer-term implications for South African society?
Find out more »May 2019
What makes African Leadership University the most innovative company in Africa?: Education in the 21st century
This talk will give an overview of ALU and it's brief history and then do a deep dive into a few key elements of our learning model that earned us the title of Most Innovative Company in Africa by Fast Company magazine. We will also touch on some of the challenges and constraints of being innovative in higher education. Dr. Gaidi Faraj is the Dean of Faculty and Academic Affairs…
Find out more »September 2019
Applying a Decolonial Lens to Research Structures, Norms and Practices in Higher Education Institutions
Global research in humanities and social sciences around the world has been historically embedded in a dominant Anglo-American theoretical framework that has favoured its own traditions of knowledge generation, validation and scope, reflecting hierarchical relations rooted in the colonial past. In recent years, ethnocentric and racialised paradigms of knowledge have been profoundly challenged in different contexts, reflecting on movements to decolonise curricula, pedagogy and theoretical thinking. However, much less attention has been given to the structural and institutionalised mechanisms of research development, funding and dissemination and how these may or may not be conducive to the diversification and decolonisation of knowledge production in the world.
Find out more »October 2019
What is racism, and how do we overcome it?
Bringing together a number of thinkers who are active in anti-racism work - including but not limited to anti-Blackness, Islamophobia and antisemitism - this panel will explore how we define racism and how we can challenge it.
Find out more »July 2020
EVENT: On #BlackLivesMatter #BritainIsNotInnocent
On #BlackLivesMatter #BritainIsNotInnocent Time and date: Friday 17 July, 3-5pm GMT In light of recent anti-Black violence at the hands of the American state, the world has erupted in protest against systemic racism. The Black Lives Matter movement, which was a fringe organization over the past decade, is now leading the charge and discussions about defunding the police. At SOAS we know that silence is violence. Objectively, Black Lives Matter!…
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