Decolonising the University: Implications for the Internationalisation of Teaching and Learning [U4 Scientific Workshop]

Date:
Tue, 14th of August 2018, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Venue:
University of Göttingen, Waldweg 26, Room3.117/3.119 (Trakt I, 3rd floor)

Workshop language: English


Content
Currently, we witness processes around the globe that prompt us to critically reflect on educational inclusivity. In the past years, a number of movements have sought to point out and transform Eurocentric notions in academia worldwide, among them for instance student-led movements like #RhodesMustFall and #whyismycurriculumwhite, but also scholarly inquiries into cultural studies and higher education. Together, they demand more diverse learning cultures, a “better representation of non-white cultures in the curriculum,” and the recognition of colonial legacies in higher education (cf. Wamai 2016). They coincide with an ever-growing body of literature on the internationalisation of higher education and an increasing number of initiatives seeking to internationalise the curriculum “at home.”
Internationalisation of the curriculum is, of course, never an end in itself, but a means to achieve certain ends. For Leask, these include students’ engagement with internationally informed research and both linguistic and cultural diversity. An internationalised curriculum, she holds, will help students to “purposefully develop their international and intercultural perspectives as global professionals and citizens” (Leask 2015, 10). Beyond the manifest agenda of a ‘global citizenship,’ a holistic approach to the internationalisation of the curriculum promises to transform higher education because it ultimately also draws on the ‘hidden curriculum’ and on what Lesley le Grange terms the ‘null curriculum.’ It triggers the discomforting questions of “whose knowledge is valued and privileged” in the curriculum, what is “not taught and learned,” and which implications this has (Leask 2012, 9; le Grange 2016, 7). This gives us reason to explore the values that might underpin a curriculum reform in the context of Internationalisation at Home and discuss which consequences a postcolonial stance might have for the process of curriculum internationalisation across disciplines.

We therefore invite you to join us in initiating a dialogue in the context of the one-day workshop “Decolonising the University: Implications for the Internationalisation of Teaching and Learning”.

Target Group
The workshop targets both academic staff currently engaged in research on the topic and teaching staff with an experience of implementing concepts and methodologies that advance the decolonization of the university, as well as curriculum developers and colleagues in teaching and learning departments who are engaged in curriculum (re)design processes and staff development.

Workshop Structure
During the morning session, the workshop will focus on creating a common ground by introducing relevant concepts and processes as well as sharing experiences. In the afternoon, and based on the insights of the morning session, we will be working on case studies, critically analyse colonial traces within, and develop alternative designs for curriculum elements or teaching approaches to first understand and later on obviate hegemonic notions within. The workshop is purposefully located at the intersection of scholarly engagement and practical implementation of curriculum reform. We would like to kick off a longer-term cooperation project in the U4-network and seek to draft a book proposal on the topic. Possibly, projects sketched within the workshop can be used and/or lead to research focusses according to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).

Technicalities
Since the workshop itself is funded by the U4-network, there are no workshop fees.
We are aiming at including a total of 20 participants – five individuals from each U4 university – ideally spanning a range of disciplines and fields of inquiry. We kindly ask you to understand that no more than one person per institute or teaching unit shall be included in the workshop group.
Please register via the webpages of the workshop until July 15th of 2018.

Contact
Dr. Tanja Reiffenrath | Student and Academic Services | Academic Programme Development
Angelika Thielsch | Student and Academic Services | Teaching and Learning




Works Cited
Le Grange, Lesley. (2016): “Decolonizing the university curriculum” South African Journal of Higher Education 30.2. 1-12
Leask, Betty (2015): Internationalization of the Curriculum. New York: Routledge.
---. (2012): Fellowship report: Internationalisation of the Curriculum in Action. Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching.
Wamai, Njoki (2016): “Decolonizing the Academy: Towards a Global Movement?” University World News Global Edition 415. 27 May, 2016