The Connected Sociologies Curriculum Project is led by Prof Gurminder Bhambra and is designed to support students and teachers interested in ‘decolonising’ school, college, and university curricula. It provides resources for the rethinking of sociological concepts, categories, and topics that will enable us to make better sense of the worlds we inhabit. This supplements and... Continue Reading →
In this MPhil dissertation, Joe Cotton traces the emergence of the decolonisation movement in Cambridge and describes the various efforts and initiatives across the University. He writes: "Broadly speaking, decolonisation at Cambridge calls for a rigorous, reflexive and historically-aware curriculum, at an equitable, just and genuinely inclusive university, which refuses to enact or support neo-colonial... Continue Reading →
In this thread, Lecturer in Social Inequalities Dr Ali Meghji (@alim1213) provides "twitter abstracts" on sociology readings that can help us to understand systemic racism in the US. His notes cover over a century's worth of critical thought from Ida B Wells and WEB Du Bois in 1898 to Louise Seamster and Victor Ray in... Continue Reading →
Theatre collective 20 Stories High have created a useful resource with information on how to support the fight against racism (now and into the future), signposting for people that want to learn how to be better allies, and accounts to follow to stay updated locally, nationally and internationally.
Watch Dr Priyamvada Gopal and George the Poet in conversation about Cambridge, slavery, colonialism and decolonisation, as well as the motivational role of anger, navigating identity politics, and feelings of statelessness as an immigrant. Watch on Al Jazeera
Misguided assumptions about race are going mainstream, but hard facts can help you combat entrenched attitudes, writes Adam Rutherford in The Guardian.
Watch the 8th Annual Equality Lecture at the British Library, delivered by Prof Kalwant Bhopal, which provides statistical evidence for the attainment, employment and wage gaps between white and black staff and students in the UK education system.
At the "50 Years of Sociology at Cambridge" conference, this panel focused upon the question of what decolonising sociology means; attending to the historical ‘colonisation’ of sociology, as well as how thinkers, systems of thought, topics of study, and geographical areas have historically and presently been excluded from sociology’s canon and periphery. You can watch a video recording of the panel session here.
Dr Ali Meghji joins the Surviving Society podcast to discuss how sociology was formally institutionalised in the West during the height of imperialism. The following conversation also approaches concerns about the current decolonising moment in British universities. Continue Reading →
Global Social Theory is a free online resource for students, teachers, academics, and others interested in social theory and wishing to understand it in global perspective. The site was established by Gurminder K Bhambra in response to the campaign organised by students in the UK asking ‘Why is my curriculum white?' This question, alongside many... Continue Reading →
Dr Manali Desai is a Reader in Comparative and Historical Sociology at the University of Cambridge. Her work focuses on the areas of state formation, political parties, social movements, development, ethnic violence, gender and post-colonial studies. In this conversation, Dr Desai describes the underlying factors behind gendered violence in India, which is a key focus... Continue Reading →
Around a third of the manpower drawn upon by Great Britain to fight in the first world war came from the colonies in India, Asia and Africa. Featuring testimony from Black British WW1 veterans, Mutiny tells the story of a dramatic shift from loyal volunteers for King and Empire in 1914 to a new Black... Continue Reading →
In this event, organinsed by the Personal Histories Project and Trinity College BME Officer Richelle George, panellists reflected on their histories and experiences to investigate what it means to be a person of colour at the University of Cambridge.
You can watch a video of the event here.
Decolonise Sociology @ Cambridge 