Image created by Rhoda Datsomor, University of Lincoln graduate, 2022 (@rhozzie14)
Converted from a handout by Dr Simon Obendorf which draws from and gratefully acknowledges the Decolonising SOAS Working Group "Learning and Teaching Toolkit for Programme and Module Convenors"
Some starting points
1. What are the knowledge politics underpinning my/our syllabus/programme?
- What types and sources of knowledge are preferred or regarded as authoritive? Why?
- What types and sources of knowledge are downplayed, dismissed or ignored? Why? What is the impact of this on student learning and engagement?
- In what ways and to what extent is the academic culture we create and reward in our syllabus/programme a product of our own preferences, values, prejudices and/or traditions? Do we explain this to our students? Do we (can we?) justify it?
To what extent does the content of my/our syllabus/programme presume a particular profile/mindset of student and their orientation to the world?
- What are the characteristics of this profile?
- Who is represented as 'Other' in my teaching and how?
- Is this potentially problematic and for whom?
- Are there ways of thinking about the material or subject matter from different perspectives?
To what extent does my/our syllabus/programme allow students to understand the origins and purposes of this field of study in its historical context?
- Could such an understanding, if absent, be introduced into core or introductory material?
To what extent does my/our syllabus/programme acknowledge/cultivate an appreciation for diverse entry points around a particular subject?
- To the extent that it does so, are these an afterthought or more central to the mode of study?
Does the syllabus/programme allow for/encourage a critical approach to received/authoritative texts as a central feature of study, and not just something supplementary?
Could particular topics/modules or readings on my syllabus/programme be potentially traumatic or painful to students either in general or in particular?
- Should this be examined/acknowledged/managed?
- If so, how?
What is the demographic profile of authors on the syllabus/programme?
- What is the effect of this on the diversity of views with which the students are presented?
- What is the effect of this on student engagement?
- Is the profile of authors acknowledged and examined as part of the learning aims and outcomes of the syllabus/programme?
To what extent does the programme design and delivery enable, encourage or require students to study non-European languages and materials?
Do programmes/modules enable the use of non-English sources in the curriculum?
Are students given opportunities in their learning to widen their circles of contact or experience?
Are students trained in how to work with, challenge and synthesise different points of view?
To what extent are teachers and students aware of what might constitute colonialist, racist or racialising behaviour in a learning context?
This might include manifestations of personal disrespect, such as students being cut off, laughed at, or spoken over; expecting someone to act as a 'spokesperson' for a particular group or view; the stigmatisation of different educational backgrounds, pathways into education or linguistic skills which may be associated with ethnicity; unconscious forms of bias in terms of recognition, expectations and personal interactions; as well as more obvious forms of discrimination and bias.
- Is there an understanding of ow these can be addressed?
- Is space and time given in modules, lectures, seminars and office hours for students to openly acknowledge and confront this?
- Do students have a place to go to discuss these matters?
Potential or suggested adaptations
Reorganise material in the syllabus to bring different issues to prominence; in particular through bringing various kinds of critical perspectives to earlier sessions. Consider:
- module/programme learning outcomes
- assessment tasks and assessment criteria
- pedagogy, skills development and methods
Consider the "entry points", "major thinkers", "central theories" and "key debates" we signal as being of importance to our students.
- Why have we chosen these?
- Are there others we could choose? Why have we chosen not to?
- Are we making clear to students that these choices shape understanding?
Contextualise the subject in its historical moment, making explicit the kinds of research programmes, assumptions and aspirations that generated it.
Consult a wider range of journals or textbooks for source materials, particularly journals located in the Global South which may help capture different debates of perspectives.
- Library toolkit https://guides.library.lincoln.ac.uk/DecolonialityAtLincoln including audit tool and reading list of resources around decolonising
Work with Subject Librarian to widen range of holdings of relevance to our programmes/modules.
- Your Subject Librarian contact https://guides.library.lincoln.ac.uk/asl
- Each Library Subject Guide has an introductory subject specific page on decolonising.
Talk to colleagues in the discipline who specialise in different research areas to get recommendations.
Keep open some spaces in the course to teach around topics identified by students in that year.
Teach 'controversies' around key issues in the field or think about how to engage topics dialogically.
Teach through the juxtaposition of material from different areas.
Facilitate students' engagement with language learning within programme design.
Diversify the kinds of source material that come into the classroom; intelligent writing or comment on particular issues might well be available online in non-academic form.
Signal/confront issues that may arise around potentially distressing topics.
Find ways to give students a wider circle of contacts or experience within the programme design through visits, engagement with people outside the University or new kinds of material.
Build awareness of coloniality/perspective into monitoring processes:
- Module feedback
- Programme monitoring
- External examiner reports
- Module reporting
- Subject committees
- Examination boards
Credits:
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