University Reaffirms Commitment to Decolonisation with Suite of Resources

A series of online resources has been launched to share information about how the university is working to understand and overcome the negative impacts of colonialism on knowledge, learning and practice in higher education.

Members of staff from across the University of Lincoln, UK, have been working within their programmes, disciplines and departments to identify and critically question colonial legacies.

Their approaches and activities are outlined on web pages which affirm the University’s commitment to decolonization and this commitment serves to reiterate and uphold the five principles of the University’s One Community Values: equality, understanding, listening, kindness, acceptance.

The new web pages feature the ways in which the decolonising process is reshaping the institutions’ research practice, taught curriculum, academic procedures and working culture.

Vice Chancellor, Professor Neal Juster, said: “As a University, we are starting the work to decolonise our progammes and modules, along with related academic and professional practices.

“This transformative project requires all of us to reimagine the knowledge and practices we create and share, by considering who creates knowledge – and to what purpose – and how we acknowledge those whose shoulders we stand on.

“This process will add richness, diversity and plurality to all that we do. For example, research from our ‘Reimagining Lincolnshire’ project has already revealed that diversity has been hidden in our immediate community and beyond.

“Our University steering group will drive the necessary transformation, setting the agenda for decolonisation across the University.”

Abigail Woods, Pro Vice Chancellor and Chair of the Decolinising@Lincoln steering group, said: “I’m really delighted by the launch of these webpages. They communicate to a wide audience the work that the University began three years ago, to recognise and address some of the problematic legacies of colonialism for the world today.

“We are seeking to raise awareness of how, because of colonialism, certain forms of knowledge and practice, and the wider systems and structures in which they were embedded, came to dominate at the expense of others.

“By collaborating to recover and engage with these marginalised voices, perspectives and ways of working we aim to challenge assumptions, enrich intellectual traditions, redress previous harms, and build a more inclusive University.”

www.lincoln.ac.uk/decolonisingatlincoln.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

For media enquiries, including interview requests, please contact Hannah McGowan in the University of Lincoln Press Office on 01522 835746 or at pressoffice@lincoln.ac.uk.