In fieldwork research with university teachers in Rotterdam (NL) I see how whiteness and normalcy ‘recede from view’. Can we talk about decolonization if the colonial academy is not acknowledged?
Paper long abstract:
Can we talk about (de)colonization or disenclosure if that what is fixed is not acknowledged as such by those who engage with it? In other words: which closures are present in current academy that we want to lift in order for that what is present to blossom?
In my ethnographic research with higher education teachers in Rotterdam (NL) I see how whiteness and normalcy ‘recede from view’, despite good intentions and a wide range of efforts these teachers make the enhance inclusion in their institute. Everyday practices and discourses of teachers are intended, perceived, and as such, presented as equity enhancements. Yet, it seems broad conceptualizations of diversity and inclusion reproduce organizational inequalities, due to the absence of norm-thinking.
Using the experiences of university teachers to explore processes of in/visibilities, I would like to contribute to the conversation on decolonization, inclusion and racism in higher education. If disenclosure is about opening, creating space, and inviting new perspectives, then clarifying, indicating and explicating what becomes hidden from view, can be one way to encourage disenclosure in the academy.
Accepted Contribution:
Contribution description:
Paper long abstract:
Can we talk about (de)colonization or disenclosure if that what is fixed is not acknowledged as such by those who engage with it? In other words: which closures are present in current academy that we want to lift in order for that what is present to blossom?
In my ethnographic research with higher education teachers in Rotterdam (NL) I see how whiteness and normalcy ‘recede from view’, despite good intentions and a wide range of efforts these teachers make the enhance inclusion in their institute. Everyday practices and discourses of teachers are intended, perceived, and as such, presented as equity enhancements. Yet, it seems broad conceptualizations of diversity and inclusion reproduce organizational inequalities, due to the absence of norm-thinking.
Using the experiences of university teachers to explore processes of in/visibilities, I would like to contribute to the conversation on decolonization, inclusion and racism in higher education. If disenclosure is about opening, creating space, and inviting new perspectives, then clarifying, indicating and explicating what becomes hidden from view, can be one way to encourage disenclosure in the academy.
Decolonising the academy?
Session 1