1810, 2018

The Telegraph: Focus on slavery is putting black children off history, teachers warned

By Saskia Kerkvliet|October 18, 2018|In the Media|0 comments

18 October, 2018 by Camilla Turner “Teachers must stop devoting so much time to slavery because it puts black children off History, the Royal Historical Society has said. “A new report by the society has found that the ‘seemingly relentless focus’ on the exploitation and abolition of slavery can be ‘intellectually limiting and, at times, alienating; for black pupils. “Aside from slavery, the history of British black and minority ethnic

Read More

1605, 2018

The Guardian: It’s time for universities to make race equality a priority

By Saskia Kerkvliet|May 16, 2018|In the Media|0 comments

16 May, 2018 By Valerie Amos “When I was appointed director of Soas University of London in 2015, I was astounded to discover that I was the first person of African-Caribbean descent to head a UK university. Ever since, I find myself frequently asked why there is such a lack of black, Asian and minority ethnic representation in senior management in higher education. “I don’t have a simple answer to

Read More

2602, 2018

LinkedIn: Decolonising Knowledge: The Role Universities Can Play

By Saskia Kerkvliet|February 26, 2018|In the Media|0 comments

February 26, 2018 by Valerie Amos “In the last year, there has been a lot of interest in how to ‘decolonise’ the curriculum in universities in a number of countries around the world including the UK, US and South Africa. Not everyone has been positive about the agenda. What I find difficult to understand is why there is so much resistance to looking at the wealth of history, scholarship and

Read More

2102, 2018

The Times: University pledges to ‘decolonise’ degrees after listening to students

By Saskia Kerkvliet|February 21, 2018|In the Media|0 comments

21 February, 2018 by Nicola Woolcock “A leading university is ‘decolonising’ its curriculums as part of a culture shift, its director revealed yesterday. “Baroness Amos, the Labour life peer who runs the School of Oriental and African Studies (Soas) in London, said it had established a working group on decolonisation and was listening to the perspectives of students. “Oxford University changed its history degree to include a compulsory examination on

Read More

2002, 2018

The Telegraph: Students must have the right to avoid talks which offend them, university chief says

By Saskia Kerkvliet|February 20, 2018|In the Media|0 comments

20 February 2018 by Camilla Turner “Students must have the right to avoid talks which offend them, the UK’s first female black university leader has said. “Universities should uphold free speech but in a way that is sensitive to the needs of students who have had ‘painful and difficult experiences’, according to Baroness Amos, who is Director of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (Soas). “Speaking at a Higher

Read More