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According to a new report, 70% of UK universities are engaged in some form of decolonization.
British think tank Civitas, which works on issues related to democracy and social policy, said attacks on free speech appeared to be worsening, while universities were facing the spread of a phenomenon known as “decolonization”. also claims to see
Report (pdf) stated that there is no specific definition of decolonization, but that “in the name of making universities more ‘inclusive’, we are trying to rewrite educational curricula and reorganize universities as institutions.”
“Is this a threat to academic freedom? If it involves pressure on academics by radical activists, setting reading lists and subverting their independence in writing lectures, the answer is,” Jesus.
Seven out of 10 universities admit to having “decolonized” their curriculum in some way, either through public statements or academic advocates.
“That’s horrible”
Decolonization has a “frightening” aspect, the radical idea that social institutions and cultural practices lead to injustice, violence, and exploitation, and that they “could be replaced by new ones and We must do so,” he said.
On policy, the report draws on Mia Ryanage’s Higher Education Policy Institute paper “Miseducation: The Decolonization of Curriculum, Culture and Education in British Universities” (pdf).
Liyanage recommends that universities “institutionalize decolonization” by implementing specific departmental roles.
This includes “interrogating staff and student positions before approaching the curriculum.”
This is meant to provide “some important reflexive activities to make you think about whiteness, privilege, and the ill effects of colonialism in your subject area.”
“It’s a kind of hearing when students and staff are ‘interrogated’ about something they can’t do anything about,” Norry said. “This will require screening for bad ideas,” he added.
The report added that free speech controversies occurred more frequently at universities with official policies on decolonization and academic advocates of decolonization.
According to Civitas, there were 374 free speech disputes at UK universities between January 2017 and August 2020, of which 123 related to transgender people and 14 related to Islam. rice field.
“Threats to freedom of speech, controversy and the new radicalism of transgenderism and decolonization” tend to be associated with top UK universities, it added.
But Norrie said the think tank’s analysis “suggests that whatever the general pattern, these things can happen at any university.”
The Civitas study concludes by arguing that a growing number of students prefer “tolerance over free inquiry” and that leading universities are more “awakened” and more liberal.
This is despite a June poll that concluded that students generally support freedom of expression significantly less than they did just a few years ago.
The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill is currently being debated in Congress. The law requires universities to defend free speech and help eradicate illegal “silence,” and gives higher education regulators the power to impose fines if institutions violate this condition. .
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Owen Evans is a UK-based journalist with a particular interest in civil liberties and free speech, covering stories from a wide variety of countries.
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