Diversifying and Decolonising the University

In this episode Vivian Umossoh-Ime talks to Vida Doulgas about diversifying and decolonising the social work programme at Hertfordshire. They discuss Eurocentric models of healthcare as well as issues of safeguarding and engaging with student feedback. FURTHER RESOURCES: Julia Warrener and Vida Douglas, “Black Lives Matter in Higher Education” Shula Ramon and Darja Zavirsek, “Armed Conflict” Special Issue  EPISODE NOTES: Dr Vida Douglas is a Professional Lead of social work and principal researcher for this study. Vida obtained a PhD from Nottingham Trent University in 2022 with a thesis evaluating staff wellbeing in the context of higher education. Her research interests are staff wellbeing in higher education, safeguarding children, and young people, living with long-term health condition at work, and belonging in the workplace.    Podcast recorded using Zencastr. Music by Rayen © Hear more via ⁠Spotify⁠ or ⁠Instagram⁠. Edited by Chris Lloyd.

In this episode Catarina Carvalho talks to political scientist Aidan McGarry about Roma communities, contemporary social inequalities, and what we can do to reach out beyond the academy.   FURTHER RESOURCES: Aidan McGarry, “Roma as a Political Identity: Exploring Representations of Roma in Europe” Aidan McGarry and Timofey Agarin, “Unpacking the Roma Participation Puzzle: Presence, Voice and Influence” Office for Students: Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller Communities David Matthews, “Roma: The UK’s Forgotten Higher Education Minority” EPISODE NOTES: Aidan McGarry is a Professor of International Politics and Associate Dean for Research at Loughborough University, London campus. Aidan’s research interests are protest, minorities and marginalised groups, visual culture, and political voice. He is a recipient of a Fullbright “All Disciplines” Scholar Award (22/23) and has been a visiting scholar at Columbia University, New York, the Scuola Normale Superiore in Florence, and the European Centre for Minority Issues in Germany. His most recent books are Romaphobia: The Last Acceptable Form of Racism (2017) and the co-edited book The Aesthetics of Global Protest: Visual Culture and Communication (2019). Aidan is on Twitter @dramcgarry.   Podcast recorded using Zencastr. Music by Rayen © Hear more via Spotify or Instagram. Edited by Chris Lloyd.

In this episode, Gertrude Acheampong talks to Frederica Brooksworth about decolonising fashion in African Higher Education. They discuss Frederica’s work, approaching colonial legacies in the fashion industry, and her new book Fashion Marketing in Emerging Economies.    FURTHER RESOURCES: Council for International African Fashion Education (CIAFE)   EPISODE NOTES:   Frederica Brooksworth (she/her) is a British-Ghanaian academic, researcher, EdD scholar, strategist, author, and editor. She is the Executive Director of the Council for International African Fashion Education (CIAFE), the Regional Editor (Africa) for the Bloomsbury Fashion Business Cases, and the Director of IA Connect at Industrie Africa. She has taught at numerous universities and is the co-editor of the multi-volume Fashion Marketing in Emerging Economies (2023).   Gertrude Acheampong (she/her) is one of the University of Hertfordshire’s Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic Student Advocates.

In this episode Sara de Sousa talks to Sami Safadi about decolonisation workshops within a Business School context, reflective practice in higher education, and engaging staff and students with this critical work.   FURTHER RESOURCES: UK Higher Education Award Gap Group EPISODE NOTES:   Sami Safadi (he/him) is Academic Student Success Lead for Salford Business School, as well as BAME Inclusivity Lead, and an academic tutor for postgraduate students. At Salford Business School, he leads on decolonising curricula and practice and supports decolonising work across the wider university. He is a senator within the university and uses his voice in that space to support decolonising and wider inclusivity efforts. Sami is also involved in an inter-institutional group committed to eliminating award gaps. For more information, see the link above to the UK Higher Education Award Gap Group, or contact Sami through his institutional page.     Podcast recorded using Zencastr. Music by Rayen © Hear more via Spotify or Instagram. Edited by Chris Lloyd.

In this episode, Hilary Emmett talks to Alex Rajinder Mason about his chapter, 'Decolonisation and the Desk' from the book The Affects of Pedagogy in Literary Studies that Hilary co-edited. They talk about decolonial approaches to the architecture of educational spaces, the desk as material object of power, and Lauryn Hill's debut album. FURTHER RESOURCES: - Christopher Lloyd and Hilary Emmett (eds.),The Affects of Pedagogy in Literary Studies - Rhodes Must Fall - George Yancy, Look, a White! Philosophical Essays on Whiteness  - bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom - Fred Moten and Stefano Harney, The Undercommons: Fugitive Planning & Black Study - Inua Ellams, Barber Shop Chronicles - Lauryn Hill, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill  EPISODE NOTES: Alex Rajinder Mason (he/him) is an early career researcher who explores the relationship between race, higher education and architecture, through the lens of literature, film and other cultural media. He is committed to anti-racist praxis and currently project manages the University of Sheffield's new Centre for Equity & Inclusion, which works with postgraduate researchers, academics, racial justice organisations, artists and community groups to address institutional racism within and beyond the University. Alex regularly writes book reviews and contributes to the literary magazine Bad Form Review. Hilary Emmett (she/her) Associate Professor in American Studies at the University of East Anglia where she specialises in transnational literary studies. She is the author of essays on a range of topics in comparative Australian and American studies. She is also the co-editor (with Philip Barnard and Stephen Shapiro) of The Oxford Handbook to Charles Brockden Brown. Podcast recorded using Zencastr. Music by Rayen © Hear more via Spotify or Instagram. Edited by Chris Lloyd.

In this episode, Chris Lloyd talks to Riadh Ghemmour about his work in social justice, decolonisation, and antiracism. The conversation is broadly about higher education in the UK and Algeria.  FURTHER RESOURCES: - Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples EPISODE NOTES: Riadh Ghemmour (he/him) holds a PhD in education from the University of Exeter. He is currently working at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (University of London) as the learning skills coordinator. Riadh's work, scholarship and activism revolve around social justice, decolonisation and antiracism within HE and beyond. He is the co-founder of the Decolonial Dialogues shared space and his latest publication explores the idea of 'safe space' in a social justice context. Riadh is in the process to turn his thesis into a book which explores the concept of research in the Algerian HE. Podcast recorded using Zencastr. Music by Rayen © Hear more via Spotify or Instagram. Edited by Chris Lloyd.

In this podcast episode, Catarina Carvalho talks to Chad Topaz about equity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) subjects. FURTHER RESOURCES: - Hatfield, Brown, and Topaz's journal article mentioned in the episode, 'Do introductory courses...'  - Article on diversity and mathematical proofs - The book, #HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice - Information about UMBC and their work in race equity  - Articles on active learning in STEM: Ballet et al & Prince - Decolonizing STEM reading list, from Chanda Prescod-Weinstein EPISODE INFO: Dr Chad Topaz (he/him) is an applied mathematician and data scientist. His current research applies quantitative tools to expose and remedy social injustice, and is based out of the Institute for the Quantitative Study of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (QSIDE), which he co-founded. Chad is also Professor of Complex Systems at Williams College and, previously, Professor of Mathematics at Macalester College. His research on complex and nonlinear systems was supported by the National Science Foundation from 2006 – 2021. Podcast recorded using Zencastr. Music by Rayen © Hear more via Spotify or at Instagram. Edited by Chris Lloyd.

In this podcast episode, Sara de Sousa talks to Ana Cristina Chiusano about ‘Standard Academic English’ and its links to diversifying and decolonising the curriculum. FURTHER RESOURCES: Ana has suggested the following that might be useful to people who want to know more about the subject. – Interview with Tracey Derwing about ‘intelligibility and comprehensibility in pronunciation teaching’ – Jennifer Jenkins introduces English as a ‘lingua franca’. – You might also want find out more about Braj Kachru, who Ana mentioned, and his ‘circles of English’ EPISODE INFO: Ana Cristina Chiusano (she/her) holds both an MA in TEFL, 2009, Universidad de Jaén, Spain, and an MA in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language, 2012, Universidad de León, Spain. She is a PhD candidate in Linguistics and is currently working on her doctoral dissertation. She is currently living in Montevideo, Uruguay, and works as a full-time professor and the academic coordinator of the Bilingual Teacher Training Program and the English Department at the Universidad de Montevideo, Uruguay and an Adjunct Professor at Abilene Christian University, Texas, USA, where she teaches online courses on Spanish as a foreign language. Podcast recorded using Zencastr. Music by Rayen © Hear more via Spotify or at Instagram. Edited by Chris Lloyd.