Oana Burcu, Assistant Professor in Contemporary Chinese Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences
1. What curricular changes did you make?
Although my primary field of study and interest, Chinese Studies, is a subject that can embrace diversity and inclusion quite naturally, certain gaps such as gender and ethnicity issues remain.
With the level two module ‘Social Change and Policy in China’, I introduced a gender themed session to enable students to examine more closely the marginalisation of women and gender in social and public policy. We explored issues such as the stigmatisation and persecution of women in a patriarchal society, property and wealth inheritance through male lineages and, the problem of cross-border ‘bride trafficking’.
For the MA China module which I convened, hoping to engage students further, I added a session on ethnicities and linked it to the Xinjiang re-education camps which were in the news at the time. The other key change was adding to the reading list the works of Chinese scholars from China as well as the Diaspora. Subjects such as Chinese Studies cannot be taught effectively without students interrogating the works of indigenous, Diaspora and Western scholars.
2. What challenges and issues did you face?
In the early stages of my academic career, one of the module conveners was very keen on decolonising the curriculum and then, I was further exposed to the subject at a PSA conference. I realised the importance of the subject and also that we were not discussing openly about what was involved in decolonising the curriculum, why it was important and how to go about it.
The second key challenge was specific to my field of study. Although I had been incorporating the works of Chinese scholars in my teaching and learning, it was not always obvious whether the scholars were based in China or whether they were Diaspora Chinese. This aspect required extra research and reflection and was an important differentiation as scholarly works can be influenced by the institutional and societal political contexts in which they are researched and published.
Finally, I had to consider how to introduce different content (in relation to decolonisation) and ensure that students were attentive even when this content perhaps was not assessed directly. Because I considered certain topics to be valuable to the students’ development, I was keen to ensure their participation which sometimes required greater creativity.
3. What can we learn from your experiences about decolonising the curriculum?
Decolonising curriculum should be of concern to all academics; sharing strategies and approaches to do this should be discussed in teams and/or sub-discipline groups. Exchanging ideas and best practice with a group of colleagues can be beneficial especially as some would already have implemented changes over the years.
When teaching, the two-hour back to back seminars and lectures gave me greater scope to teach about concepts related to the decolonisation of the curriculum through interactive small group exercises and open questioning without the need for prior knowledge and preparation. The presence of international students meant that students were able to connect the topics not only to the learning materials, but also to their own experiences. Home and international students were able to share, compare and contrast experiences with their peers and reflect on their individual and collective social realities and positionalities.
Many students stated that they had discussed what they had learnt in class with their families and through this, they were able to raise wider awareness of some of the issues. Student feedback also suggested that many felt challenged about their preconceived ideas and had learnt something new.
As educators we have a moral duty to fight for social injustice and equality and should be able to demonstrate this through our teaching. It is rewarding to know that we have contributed in some way to individual and collective development.