I. “Model” Decolonized Syllabus
In her chapter, Cann discusses her effort to apply the Integrated Multimodality Approach (IMA) by creating her own, decolonized syllabus. This syllabus is shared below. The sample syllabus is conceptualized as a living document that instructors can adopt to articulate their scholarly and educational priorities as well as their positionality relative to decolonization.
Download the syllabus here: Cann_Sample_DGS Decolonized syllabus
The Sample Syllabus
Course Structure and Goals
The course is composed of three parts, with each part divided into 5-week blocks for a 15-week semester. Section 1 will be an Introduction to course examining colonialism, and perspective on education; section 2 encompasses curriculum, methodologies, and knowledge construction, and section 3 addresses decolonization as resistance and social justice framework. Together the weekly readings within each block will allow students to realize the following learning outcomes:
- Develop an understanding of decolonization as a critique of colonialism;
- Apply of the decolonization framework;
- Demonstrate their knowledge on the roles played by different actors in the fulfillment of decolonization.
Foundational knowledge will be developed through reading major texts and authors on colonialism and decolonization.
Course Description
The course will present practices in decolonization, address recent decolonial movements in the global application of decolonial frameworks and expose students to strategic tools – or “levers of effectiveness” – used to promote the realization of decolonization praxis. It will present the work of theorists and practitioners at the international and local level in promoting decolonization and case studies from world regions.
Course Objectives
Students will acquire knowledge of Decolonization as a critique of Colonialism, and the application of the decolonization framework; explore the roles played by different actors in implementing programs that promote the realization of decolonization and the strategies for enhancing the fulfillment of decolonization in education. Students will develop policy memos to engage in critical reflection and cases analysis. No prerequisites required. However, the course is intended for students with an interest in colonial and post-colonial theories, epistemological pluralism, social justice, and social movements.
Course Requirements
Attendance and engagement. Students should come to each class prepared to discuss the day’s readings and to participate actively in the class discussions and group work. Students can take unexcused absences and engage in dialogue about challenges related to attendance. (20% of the final grade). Presentation/discussion of reading. Students will lead the class in a 20-minute discussion on key questions on the day’s themes to deepen our understanding and critical reflection (10% of grade). Written Assignments-Policy Memo and Analysis of a Case Study: Students have the option to work individually or in groups; identify a case study of their own or select from sample case studies. Students may submit 3 papers and drop the lowest grade.
Policy Memo: Write 1 or 2 policy memos related to decolonization in an educational setting. Apply key concepts across the course in the written work (35% of the final grade). Case Studies: Write 1 or 2 analysis of selected case studies (35% of the final grade). Final Exam: No Final Exam will be required.
Major Texts
Fanon, Frantz. 2004. The Wretched of the Earth. New York: Grove Press. (ISBN: 0802141323)
Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Dunedin, New Zealand: University of Otago Press.
Willinsky, J. (1998). Learning to divide the world: Education at empire’s end. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Minor Texts
Suárez-Orozco, C., Suárez-Orozco, M. M., & Todorova, I. (2008). Learning a new land: Immigrant students in American society. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, Harvard University Press.
Organization of Each Class
The first 20-30 minutes of class will be a student-led discussion, followed by an hour of lecture with class discussion. The remainder of the class will focus on application of the course
themes for that day and may involve a guest speaker qualified on the topic and/or group work. There will be a 10- 15-minute break but not necessarily at the midpoint.
Community of Learners
Consider the following to allow for critical discussions
- Contribute to suggested guidelines during the first-class meeting.
- Be respectful of peers; be critical of ideas raised but not of the people themselves.
- Listen attentively to others’ ideas, especially if you do not agree with them.
- Criticisms should not be taken as ad personal attacks but as inputs to the discourse.
- Weigh and strive at the understanding of both sides of an idea.
- Be open to changing your mind when evidence supports it a mark of intellectual honesty
Consider the following tips on reading[1]
What to read
Given the compressed timeline of the course, the reading load of the class can seem heavy. Read the description of the class session before you begin the assigned readings (book chapters, journal articles etc.); it provides guidance on the kinds of questions you will want to ask yourself of the readings.
How to read
Through the course of the classes, we will continue to give each other feedback to continue building and strengthening our work. Your reading should be engaged, thorough, and reflective. It is helpful to respond to the following questions:
- What is the main point of the reading? What sub-points contribute to this main point?
- What “conversation” (intellectual/political context) does the reading enter into/respond to?
- What methods are used? How do the author(s) describe the rationale, benefits, and challenges of their choices?
- What evidence does the author(s) base his/her claims upon? Is the argument credible? What makes it so (or not so)?
- Who is the intended audience?
- What/whose points of view are presented/represented? What/whose are missing?
- How do the author(s) make ethical decisions? What challenges do they encounter?
- What experiences, information, or exposure influence how you read this piece? Where are your reactions coming from?
- What are the practical and/or intellectual implications for you? For others?
Consider the following tips for your course engagement:[2]
- Engagement = Preparation + Participation. Please come to class having read the course materials. This is a reading-heavy methods course and if self-organizing into reading groups helps you, please feel free to do so. Moreover, once you have prepared, please reference your notes, reflections and questions when engaging in class.
- Self-monitoring airtime: Please be reflective of the amount of airtime you utilize in class. If there are no students in class, please calculate your airtime as approximately 1/n * 60 minutes, for every hour of class. This does not mean that you should feel forced to participate in large group discussion.
- Modes of participation: The course has been designed to include several pedagogies that enable engagement (in large groups, small groups, through reflections). If you would prefer engaging through follow-up emails to us as a teaching team (after class), or meet with me after class to discuss materials, I am happy to consider these alternative options.
- Completing all tasks listed in the syllabus: There are several tasks that have been created in this syllabus. These tasks are essential ingredients for the quality of your engagement, our class discussions and collective learning. Please complete all tasks.
- Turning in assignments: Tasks are usually due (insert day of the week) before class by (insert time) and (where assignment should be submitted), for example: on Canvas discussion forum
Course Policies
- Late assignments: Late assignments will NOT be penalized. I recognize that late work is typically due to medical and family emergencies.
- Grades of Incomplete: Students may request grades of “incomplete” in writing to the instructor by submitting a proposal with stated timeline for completing the outstanding work. The proposed timeline must be in alignment with the institutional policy statement.
- Flex Pass System/Unexcused Absences[3]: Students do not need the instructor’s approval to be absent from class. Everyone in the class can use a FLEX PASS at their discretion. You can use the flex pass to choose NOT to come to ONE class during each part of the course should your personal situation require it. Since the course is divided into three parts, this means you can have up to THREE Flex Passes in total during the entirety of the course duration in the 15-week semester. Flex Pass could be on account of caregiving, attending to your own (physical & mental) health and well-being, or just feeling like you need to catch a breath. No questions will be asked, and no clarification is required. All you need to do is email the instructor, letting me know that you are using your Flex Pass.
University Policy Statements
INSERT information on: Academic Integrity, disability services, religious observance, and grades of “incomplete”.
PART ONE
Colonial Project: Perspective on Education and More
The first five weeks of the class will include an overview of the syllabus and introduction to colonialism as a project in the human experience and its manifestations in geopolitical powers. Introduction to the class will include icebreaker and review of syllabus. We will orient each other to the course, and review requirements, and expectations. We will explore colonialism, its relationship to education and colonialism as a framework for centering whiteness. To make the most of the first five weeks, course participants are encouraged to come to class with personal views and knowledge of the concept of colonialism.
Week 1-Orientation
What is your reaction to the syllabus? What appeals to you or disinterests you about the content? What are your thoughts on the structure, assignments, policies, and expectations? Anything you might add or exclude?
- Ice breaker-get to know each other
- Criteria for selecting a case study and review policy memo
- Other ideas to incorporate into the class
Week 2-Introduction to Colonialism
What are the origins of colonialism and how do we define colonialism? What is your personal definition of colonialism?
Fanon, Frantz. 2004. The Wretched of the Earth. Translated by Richard Philcox. New York: Grove Press. (Read: Introduction & chapters 1-5)
Wolfe, P., 2006. Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the Native. Journal of Genocide Research, 8(4), 387–409
Week 3-Colonialism a framework for Centering Whiteness.
What are the main characteristics that constitute the manifestations of colonial regimes and post-colonialism in the 21st century?
Willinsky, J. (1998). Learning to divide the world: Education at empire’s end. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. (Read Chapters 1-3)
Edward Said On Orientalism (Watch the interview) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVC8EYd_Z_g
Week 4-What is Decolonization?
What are the key tenets and definitions of decolonization? How is decolonization conceptualized on various dimensions-political, social justice, and human rights?
McMichael, P. (1996). “The rise of the development project.” Development and social change: A global perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. pp. 15-43.
Tuck, E. & Yank, K.W. (2012) Decolonization is not a metaphor. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society Vol 1(1) pp. 1-40
White, P., (2017). ‘Decolonising Western missionaries’ mission theology and practice in Ghanaian church history: A Pentecostal approach’, In die Skriflig 51(1), a2233
Week 5-Colonialism and Education
How are notions of colonialism understood in education? In what ways is education formulated as a colonial project? What are the complexities of the relationship between education and colonialism?
Alvares, C., Faruqi, S. S., Parsa, M. (2011). Decolonising the University: in Alvares, C. & Faruqi, S. S. (Ed) The Emerging Quest for Non-Eurocentric Paradigms, Penerbit USM.
de Oliveira Andreotti, V., Stein, S., Ahenakew, C., Hunt, D. (2015) Mapping interpretations of decolonization in the context of higher education, Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society 4 (1) pp. 21-40.
Ferguson, J. (1997) “Anthropology and its Evil Twin: ‘Development in the Constitution of a Discipline” In International Development and the Social Sciences: in Frederick Cooper, F. & Packard, R. (Ed) Essays on the History and Politics of Knowledge, Berkeley: University of California Press. Read 150-175
FreshEd #35 – Decolonizing Knowledge (Raewyn Connell, Australian sociologist; or copy/paste link: https://soundcloud.com/freshed-podcast/freshed-35-decolonizing)
Submit 1st case study analysis or policy statement
PART TWO
Curriculum and Decolonization-Epistemologies and Methodologies
Weeks 6-10 will address various research traditions that support or critique colonialism and decolonization. Attention will be focused on how subjective narratives help in critiquing education and how personal narratives add to the decolonization discourse. Emphasis on indigenous methodology and “Fanonian Love” for realizing epistemic pluralism in knowledge production will be explored.
Week 6-Theories on Epistemological Pluralism
What are the main models for employing decolonization approaches in education? What assumptions do these models bring about the relationship between education and decolonization?
Banks, J. A (2016) Expanding the Epistemological Terrain: Increasing Equity and Diversity Within the American Educational Research Association. Educational Researcher, Vol. 45 (2) 149–58
Freire, P. (2018). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum. (4th Edition, 50th Anniversary)
Hickling-Hudson, A. & Ahlquist, R. (2003). Contesting the curriculum in the schooling of Indigenous children in Australia and the USA: from Eurocentrism to culturally powerful pedagogies. Comparative Education Review, 47 (1) 64-89
Week 7-Personal Narratives
In what ways does personal, subjective narratives help in critiquing education? How does personal narrative add to academic discourse?
Allen, C. (1994). First they Changed my Name…Deep in Appalachia, Education Came with a Price. MS 4 (4) 25.
Bohannan, L. (1966) Shakespeare in the Bush. An American Anthropologist set out to study the Tiv of West Africa and was taught the real meaning of Hamlet. Natural History Magazine 2008.
Parker, P. S., Smith, S. H. Dennison, J. (2017) Decolonising the classroom Creating and sustaining revolutionary spaces inside the academy. Amsterdam University Press
Week 8-Indigenous Methodologies
How might researchers/teachers apply strategies in decolonial work in schools and communities?
Bunda, T., Zipin, L., & Brennan, M. (2012) Negotiating university ‘equity’ from Indigenous standpoints: a shaky bridge, International Journal of Inclusive Education, 16 (9) 941-957
Kessi, S. (2017). Community social psychologies for decoloniality: An African perspective on epistemic justice in higher education. South African Journal of Psychology, 47, 506–516
Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Dunedin, New Zealand: University of Otago Press.
Week 9-Fannonian Love as Praxis
What is Fannonian Love? How is Fannonian related to Fannon’s theory of decolonization? How is Fannonian Love invoked in educational setting?
Leonardo, Z. & Singh, M. (2017). Fanon, Education, and the Fact of Coloniality in Gale, T. (Ed.), Policy and Inequality in Education, Volume 1. Springer.
Dyrness, A. (2011). Mothers united: An immigrant struggle for socially just education. University of Minnesota Press.
bell hooks’ (1989) Toward a Revolutionary Feminist Pedagogy. Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black. 61-65. Routledge
Submit 2nd case study or policy statement (Week 10- NO CLASS-Holiday Break)
PART THREE
Decolonization as Resistance and Social Justice: Student Protest Movements
The last 5 weeks will examine the uprising of student movements as a mechanism for promoting decolonization, reflecting on ongoing challenges as well as other promising avenues in higher education setting. The case study places attention on student strategies for resisting forms of oppression. The course will include case study examples from global regions, including Africa, Europe, and North America.
Week 11-History of Student Protest and Decolonization-The Case of the U.S
How are notions of decolonization understood in the high education student community? What are the main critiques and limitations of civic engagement within the higher education system?
Jones, V. & Reddick, R. (2017) The Heterogeneity of Resistance: How Black Students Utilize Engagement and Activism to Challenge PWI Inequalities. The Journal of Negro Education, 2017, Vol. 86, No 3
Parker, J. C. (2009) “Made-in-America Revolutions”? The “Black University” and the American Role in the Decolonization of the Black Atlantic. The Journal of American History. pp 727-750
Rosas, M. “College student activism: an exploration of learning outcomes.” PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) thesis, University of Iowa, 2010. http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/589.
Week 12-History of Student Protest and Decolonization-The Case of South Africa
How is decolonization in education framed in post-apartheid transitional nation of South Africa?
Albertus, R. W. (2019). Decolonisation of institutional structures in South African universities: A critical perspective. Cognitive Social Sciences 1-14
Badat, S. (2009). Theorising institutional change: post-1994. South African higher education Studies in Higher Education, 34 (4,) 455–467
Keet, A. & Nel, W. (2016) Rights, Regulation and Recognition: Studying Student Leaders’ Experiences of Participation and Citizenship within a South African University. International Journal Education Science, 13(1): 129-144
Week 13-History of Student Protest and Decolonization-The Case of the Netherlands
How is decolonization being used in the Netherland to address racism in higher education?
de Ploeg, M. & de Ploeg, C. (2017) “No democratisation without decolonization” A testimony from the student movement in Amsterdam. Tijdschrift voor Gender studies. 20(3) 321-332
Decolonize the University, Petitioning University of Amsterdam – Executive Board. https://www.change.org/p/university-of-colour-diversify-and-decolonize-the-university.
Kintenbrouwer, V. (2016) Beyond the ‘Trauma of Decolonisation’: Dutch Cultural Diplomacy during the West New Guinea Question (1950–62). The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History. 44 (2) 306-327
Week 14-Human Rights as Resistance
To what extent is the right to education protected? What is the role of various actors in promoting human rights-based education free of oppression and discrimination? What are the dilemmas and limits of their role?
Ahmed, K. (2017) “Decolonizing Human Rights: Sovereignty, Tactics and Disruption” (OxHRH Blog, 09 January 2017) http://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/decolonizing-human-rights-sovereignty-tactics-and-disruption
Santos, Boaventura de Sousa (2015). If God Were a Human Rights Activist. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
José-Manuel Barreto (2012) Decolonial Strategies and Dialogue in the Human Rights Field: A Manifesto, Transnational Legal Theory, 3:1, 1-29
Week 15-Feminist Perspective on Decolonization
What explains the rise of feminist perspective as a tool for decolonization? How are gender, race and intersectionality important for decolonization in the educational context?
Farmer, A. D (2017) Remaking Black Power. How Black Women Transformed an Era. Chapel Hill, North Carolina, UNC Press.
Jain, J. (2003) Chandra Talpade Mohanty. Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity, South Asian Review, 24 (1) 255-258
Mirza, H. S. (2014). Decolonizing Higher Education: Black Feminism and the Intersectionality of Race and Gender Journal of Feminist Scholarship 7/8
Submit 3rd case study analysis or policy statement
Endnotes
[1] Drawn from the syllabus for a gradual level course at Teacher’s College, Columbia University titled “Mixed Methods in International & Comparative Education” in which I was the Course Assistant. With thanks to Dr. Sarah Dryden-Peterson, and Dr. Vidur Chopra.
[2] Drawn from the syllabus for a gradual level course at Teacher’s College, Columbia University titled “Mixed Methods in International & Comparative Education” in which I was the Course Assistant. With thanks to Dr. Vidur Chopra
[3] Drawn from the syllabus for a gradual level course at Teacher’s College, Columbia University titled “Mixed Methods in International & Comparative Education” in which I was the Course Assistant. With thanks to Dr. Vidur Chopra