Race, riots and empire: Why education should be decolonised

Flowers laid at a memorial after a Professor Jason Arday vigil I attended

In the light of the tragic death of Professor Jason Arday, an academic at Cambridge University for merely existing as who he was (however the media and the establishment wants to hide this and sanitise this to normalise and make institutional racism seem more palatable), one must reflect not only on the huge loss to the university his many students he inspired and helped out on their academic journeys, but why people continue to shy away from recognising racism, slavery and Western colonialism for what they are, as opposed to glossing over and sugar coating these with falsified bias on modernisation and the influential power of the West. It is through observing this tragedy through this lens that one can further realise more clearly that the decolonisation process in regard to societies attitudes on the legacy of these aforementioned events needs to extend to education, particularly with regard to the teaching of humanities and social sciences both at a higher educational level and below this, as well as in better holding certain individuals and organisations accountable for their acts of racism and discrimination done through a colonial lens or otherwise.

With modernity, growth and the rise in influence of the chronically underdeveloped appears as a significant developmental priority, this being achieved through these societies transitioning to the default heavily westernised homogenised model of civilisation through imperial and neo-colonial means instigated by geopolitically influential superpowers. In fact, it was seen to be, as put by Claire Gallien, "a gesture that de-normalizes the normative, problematizes default positions, debunks the a-perspectival, destabilizes the structure, and as a program to rehabilitate epistemic formations that continue to be repressed under coloniality", so as to create an illusion of dependency and inter-reliance on global systems and their power. This, aside from furthering the gaps in development, only serves to greater increase the opportunities for exploitation from the developed world. This aspect of the situation can be seen to be heavily overshadowed by the rather rosy view of colonialism that much of the heavily Eurocentric curriculum developed under the assistance of a patriotic and socially conservative education system, at a time in which national pride and individual sovereignty for the UK remain hugely prevalent, and paramount for maintaining a good level of sociopolitical security. 

Moreover, the prevalence could arguably also appear to be a very effective reminder of the growing support for extreme right, ultranationalist and xenophobic agenda developed from this imperialist ideation, this rhetoric having been on the rise due to increased desperation amidst a struggling economy and unstable political system, these patterns of behaviours and voting habits having been repeatedly observed globally in similar forms both historically and during present times when these points of crisis had peaked. As a result, this would in turn pave the way for much racism and discrimination to be present within society, therefore effectively explaining the media's outrage at Jason Arday's academic career, all of this having been racially motivated. With Nathan Cofnas' eugenicist ideals and interest in the field of "race realism" showing clear parallels with many of the ideas developed by the likes of individuals such as Watson and Mengele in the mid 20th century, one can see this society as heavily reminiscent of many ruled by authoritarian regimes in the past. In fact, rising conflicts through the establishment of settler colonial western homogenous ethnostates globally such as with Israeli occupation, and division and polarisation over land resources and culture throughout Sub Saharan Africa and the Middle East further act as stark reminders of the lack of advancement in humanity. Lenin's statement that imperialism is the highest stage of capitalism still remains true to society today, and thus presents the need for reflection and recognition of all aspects of colonialism in a global lens, thus allowing for accountability to be held for criminal exploitative activities led by colonisers, and for those in positions of authority to be challenged if their actions remain inhumane. This can be further helped just on a smaller scale within institutions themselves, making universities safer and fairer for all individuals through challenging discrimination present within them, and through the presentation of a decolonised and comparatively more diverse curriculum reflective of all backgrounds and perspectives to historic colonialism. 

For this, I will end this post not with anger but with hope that Professor Jason Arday's tragic death will not just be forgotten and brushed under the rug like many other people of ethnic minorities who have lost their lives due to racial abuse. It will be a reminder for much needed change to be observed within our education and ultimately as a means of encouraging other students and academics regardless of culture to transcend social expectation and views as to what academia is, and feel empowered to fight against any implicit or explicit discrimination they or their other fellow students and colleagues they experience or witness. I for one certainly will be doing so. And as for the likes of Nathan Cofnas, may their hate filled eugenicist works be removed from all library bookshelves and replaced with the academic works of the future minority ethnic academics here to come.