II. Resources to Support Decolonizing Your Syllabus
This section contains several articles, as well as a checklist, to support instructors in decolonizing their syllabus. Click on the title to access the resource.
Mercer University (2020). Checklist for Decolonizing the Syllabus: Designing a Diverse and Inclusive Syllabus.
This checklist for decolonizing the syllabus outlines what a decolonized syllabus should contain and provide a method to evaluate and reflect on the decolonization of your own syllabus.
Ahadi, H. S. & Guerrero, L. A. (2020). Decolonizing Your Syllabus, an Anti-Racist Guide for Your College. In Senate Rostrum: Collegiality and Vigilance in Time of Crisis. Academic Senate for California Community Colleges
This article examines the theme of anti-racism in syllabus design and notes how and why instructors should decolonize their syllabus by introducing anti-racism and equity as key elements. The article overviews past and current research on anti-racist syllabi and provides guiding question to support the development of an anti-racist syllabus,
Dechavez, Y. (2018). It’s time to decolonize that syllabus. Los Angeles Times.
In this article, the author discusses why it is important to decolonize syllabi and explains why she decided to decolonize her syllabus. She offers her methods for decolonizing her syllabus and recounts her experience of the process, including how it was received by colleagues.
Morreira, S. & Luckett, K. (2018). Questions Academics Can Ask to Decolonise their Classrooms. The Conversation.
This checklist provides a collection of questions that serve as a guide to decolonize the classroom. The questions are organized into two themes: curriculum and pedagogy.
Wilson, Chanelle. 2024. Revolutionizing my Syllabus: The Process. Bryn Mawr College. Bryn Mawr College.
The author outlines five principles to conceptualize what it means to decolonize curriculum. The article emphasizes that decolonization is rooted in the principle that the syllabus is a cumulative and shared resource, knowledge is marked by power relations, decolonization requires rethinking, reframing and reconstructing the current curriculum to make it better and more inclusive and identifying ways in which the university structurally reproduces colonial hierarchies.