Prof. Dibyesh Anand and Dr. Claire Hynes in conversation with PhD Researcher Touseef Mir
Decolonisation: Meaning and significance of decolonising academia
This second seminar of the series will focus on the meaning and significance of ‘decolonisation’, and why academia in general and academics in particular should care about it. Starting with the basic premise of understanding decolonisation in the present context and how it is embedded in academia, at large the session will focus on underscoring what decolonisation in the context of academia embellishes. From having more scholars, authors, and activists of colour on the reading lists, questioning and contextualising ‘the canon’, more spaces for academics of colour, to the entanglements of knowledge-production with social movements and struggles, the discussion will explore foundational steps that could commence the change towards decolonisation of academia. We will dive into the differences between terms like equality, diversity, and inclusion and decolonisation, and explore whether equality, diversity, or inclusion can actually change the ground realities. The session will have Prof. Dibyesh Anand from the University of Westminster and Dr. Claire Hynes from the University of East Anglia in conversation with Touseef Mir, PhD researcher in International Development.
Watch the recording here!
Professor Dibyesh Anand is the Head of the School of Social Sciences at the University of Westminster. He is the author of monographs “Geopolitical Exotica: Tibet in Western Imagination” and “Hindu Nationalism in India and the Politics of Fear” and has spoken about, and published on, varied topics including Tibet, China-India border dispute, Hindu nationalism, Islamophobia, and conflict in Kashmir. He is the Co-Chair of Westminster BME Network as well as EDI Committee and identifies as queer in personal and political terms. Dibyesh is passionate about challenging the divide between academia and activism and believes in embedding equality, diversity and inclusion in every aspect of life. He is on Twitter @dibyeshanand
Dr. Claire Hynes is a lecturer in Literature & Creative Writing at the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing (LDC), University of East Anglia. She has led decolonisation efforts at LDC. She has worked in the Creative Industries as news editor for The Voice newspaper, BBC television producer, and writer for national newspapers. Her literary works include fictions such as ‘In Her Hair’ and ‘Assorted Biscuits’. Her monologue ‘Welcome to the Freak Show’ was performed at The Contact Theatre, Manchester (2016), and another monologue ‘How It Feels…’ was performed at The Contact Theatre, Manchester (2017). Her creative non-fiction piece, ‘How It Feels to Be, Black Person Me,’ is to be published in the Lighthouse literary journal. Her current writing project explores Virginia Woolf’s essay, ‘A Room of One’s Own’, and the work of Zora Neale Hurston. She has won Creative Industry awards including a George Viner Memorial Award for Journalism.
Decolonising Academia: Realisation and Beyond 