Can Higher Education Be Decolonised?

A Situated Case Study of an Elite University in the Global North
Explores what it has meant to put decolonisation into practice in a higher education institution and whether it is possible to decolonise a sector when institutions are steeped in and shaped by a history of colonialism and slavery.

This open access book critically reflects on what it has meant to embark on a process of decolonising higher education at a Global North institution – namely the University of Bristol - and the real-world possibilities for realising change from this vantage point.

The book brings together a diverse team of writers representing academic staff, students and professional services staff engaged in decolonising activities at the University of Bristol. The chapters have been co-created and this process itself has generated a series of critical conversations that have highlighted tensions and contradictions involved in attempting to decolonise within the university. Through this process, the team have critiqued the concepts of “our university” and “our curriculum” and they argue that understanding these tensions and contradictions is crucial if we are to understand decolonisation as an active process. Each chapter offers examples of practice from the university, the city of Bristol and elsewhere, and implications are drawn that are of relevance for activists around the world who are engaged in decolonising their institutions.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by The University of Bristol.

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