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Reflections from Decolonising Acts: A Symposium

Four speakers sit on panel, at the front of event.
  • Written byDr Amita Nijhawan
  • Published date 29 November 2024
Four speakers sit on panel, at the front of event.
Photography: Shengdi Cui

In September the Academic Enhancement Team hosted Decolonising Acts: A Practice, Research and Pedagogy Symposium, celebrating and exploring work in the area of decoloniality at UAL

In the aftermath of the 2024 US election, the far-right riots that flared across the UK in the summer, various on-going world conflicts and increasing policing of women’s bodies, it is more important than ever to look at what colonial history can teach us about power.

It would be a mistake to think that colonialism is history, that it happened back then, that once the Transatlantic slave trade was abolished and various former British (and other European) colonies around the world gained independence, colonialism ended.

Colonialism used discourses of race, gender and sexuality to justify its existence, yes, but it aimed at making maximum profit out of a handful of commodities, including cotton, tea/sugar, tobacco, poppies and spices, and colonial powers used war, trade monopolies and unequal treaties to carry out this trade. Extraction from people and land was an intrinsic part of the colonial package and not an unfortunate by-product.

If we replace cotton and sugar with petroleum and weapons, we might be forgiven for thinking that nothing has changed. That war is created around the world so that wealth and power remain in a few hands, leaving poverty, conflict and chaos for everyone else.

At the Decolonising Acts Symposium, created and hosted by the Academic Enhancement team within the Teaching and Learning Exchange, in September 2024, we wanted, more than anything, to explore not just the grim aspects of imperialism but the hopeful sides of the work we do to disrupt colonial practices and histories, especially in the rich and diverse ways various academics and practitioners carry out this work at the University of the Arts London. As Educational Developer Jheni Arboine points out, “Decolonising is a contested area. It is a tool and a process that generates criticality and offers different ways of seeing, being and future-ing.”

We invited 5 speakers to tell us about their work in the area of decolonisation, with a focus on research and/or practice. The speakers were Victoria Odeniyi, Royce Mahawatte, Anjalie Dalal-Clayton, Carole Morrison and Kevin Brazant.

Speaker Presentations

Victoria Odeniyi is an applied linguist and a Decolonising Arts Institute Fellow. Victoria’s presentation was a reminder to rethink and disrupt the hegemonic use of English in higher education. Utilising Ruiz (1984), Victoria suggested that language can be framed as “a problem, right, resource, discourse and as colonial artefact.”

Royce Mahawatte is Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies at Central Saint Martins and has been a Decolonising Arts Fellow. Royce’s research invited us to enter the world of fashion media in the nineteenth century and its relationship to masculinity and gender discourse. In the presentation, Royce asked us to reflect that “fashion media can have a positive effect” and suggests that instead of avoiding the challenges of the topic in the classroom, we can “steer it” so that we understand that identity and “fashion concepts operate as a structure of dependency – as codes for being ‘civilized’, for example, or ‘cultural appropriation’.”

Anjalie Dalal-Clayton is a Decolonising Arts Institute Research Fellow. In the presentation, Anjalie asked us to consider and reflect on the challenges that decolonising work presents, especially in connection to museums and curation. Anjalie’s presentation brought up questions of who has agency, is the work effective, how do we do it, how do we measure impact, and how does this work throw up challenging scenarios and conversations. As Anjali pointed out, institutions who wish to grapple with decolonising must, “Openly acknowledge institutional racism and frame anti-racist and decolonial change-making as critical.”

Carole Morrison is Head of Social Purpose in the Curriculum at the London College of Fashion. Carole asked us to think about connections (and disconnections) between social and racial justice on the one hand, and decolonising on the other. Carole’s work reflected on Europe’s self-definition and how it should engage with the diversity of communities that live in Europe, and also historical connections that Europe has had with countries and cultures all over the world. Utilising Toni Morrison as inspiration, Carole asked us to reflect on the “emotional labour of doing this work” and encouraged artists to “get on with the business of creating work.”

Kevin Brazant is a Progression and Attainment Project Manager at the London College of Communication. In the presentation, Kevin elaborated on his project Disrupting the Discourse, which is an intervention that helps students and staff reflect on hegemonic educational practices, and creative ways in which these can be disrupted. As Kevin pointed out, “The student experience in HE” is framed by “dominance of western-centric traditions and practices, and disparities in degree student outcomes.”

Takeaways

Staff from across UAL attended and engaged with the symposium. Staff felt that the symposium was an accessible way to engage with decolonial practice and research. While people who already work in this area felt that the symposium was a great way to hear about decolonial work, as well as connect with colleagues who do this work or are interested in it, people to whom decoloniality was a relatively new topic found the work diverse and easy to engage with.

Symposiums such as this give staff an opportunity to a) engage with decolonial work and practice in diverse and accessible ways, b) meet other staff and create opportunities for collaboration, c) discuss common ground and commonly-encountered challenges, and d) understand how decoloniality is not different from or contradictory to UAL priorities of social, racial and climate justice but can work alongside these priorities and enrich them. As Educational Developer Mia Liyanage mentioned, “Decoloniality is very close to my heart and to my lived experience. It is really amazing to belong to a community where that’s being discussed.”

At a time that world news has been dispiriting, this kind of symposium is a way to imagine little, achievable steps that can create change, especially at times when we feel the weight of how big this work really is. Siobhan Clay, Head of Academic Enhancement, reminded us that events such as this one are an opportunity to share “approaches that decentre, question, problematise calcified HE practices to better reflect our diverse student and staff body.”

Photos from the event

All photos by Shengdi Cui

Standing woman speaks into mic at front of event hall.
Siobhan Clay, Head of Academic Enhancement | Photography: Shengdi Cui
Smiling woman at welcome desk, greeting guests.
Photography: Shengdi Cui
Two publications on decolonisation placed on table.
Photography: Shengdi Cui
Audience sitting in lecture hall, listening to speaker at the front of hall
Photography: Shengdi Cui
Three people stand in a circle chatting.
Photography: Shengdi Cui
Three people sitting in lecture theatre chat amongst each other.
Photography: Shengdi Cui
Three people sit around a table with drinks and cake
Photography: Shengdi Cui
Woman presents at the front of event hall, standing behind a podium
Carole Morrison | Photography: Shengdi Cui

Connect

The symposium was co-created by various colleagues in the Teaching and Learning Exchange, including Amita Nijhawan, Jheni Arboine and Mia Liyanage, with leadership and support from Siobhan Clay, infrastructural, organisational and creative expertise from Emma Wells and Kris Stapleton, and communications and resources expertise from Gemma Riggs and Elvira Vedelago.

We would love to engage further with staff and students who would like to know more about decolonial projects and/or are interested in developing collaborative work in this area (see our online resources on decolonising teaching and learning).

Please do get in touch with:

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