Erase and Silence: Decolonial posturing and unethical citational practices

With James Esson, Loughborough University.

Part of the Cultural and Historical Seminar Series.

Abstract

This interactive seminar offers insights and critical reflections on my recent experiences challenging unethical citational practice in the academy. More specifically, I use Critical Race Theory to think through the erasure and silencing of black scholarship in the context of ‘decolonial bandwagonism’ occurring within UK higher education. The talk outlines several tensions and contradictions inherent in the peer-review process that enable the erasure and silencing of black scholarship. It also provides examples of institutional processes that protect perpetrators of unethical citational practice. I conclude by reflecting on how my case, and others like it, provide possibilities for a future research agenda exploring the Black geographies of erasure and silencing.