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Diversity is a Con, Unless You Decolonise
When you look at the history of Britain, it’s littered with the accomplishments of those with different coloured skin, but also the less able-bodied, women, gay people, trans people and more.
Representation is a necessity — be it people of colour, women or otherwise. When you’re any of those, it’s a struggle. Let alone, if a person manages to fit into two or more of those demographics. What about the stories of Black trans women? What if that person is also in a wheelchair, dyslexic or on the autism spectrum? Diversity is never a straight line, nor is it linear. How about that?
On Friday June 28 2019, I was part of a roundtable meeting on the ethnicity award gap at University of Birmingham. Whilst there were representatives from University of Birmingham, academics also came from SOAS University of London, Anglia Ruskin (Cambridge) and University of Arts London. Whilst we touched on many subjects, including student experience and engagement in relation to attainment, what struck me was language.
How some institutions opted for “diversification” of the curriculum — rather than “decolonisation,” as UAL did. I am interested in UAL’s training on decolonising the curriculum too. Many lecturers don’t…
