Decolonizing Sociology and Anthropology

Note: this was written by a Sociology and Anthropology student and so the personal experiences of how diverse her courses are, are reflected in this piece. She is less able to comment on Philosophy and other social sciences disciplines.

As a department, SPA is presented as diverse and forward-thinking. While the lecturers and staff make up close to an even split with regards to gender and many of them are not from England, the large majority of them are white1. Further, this does not translate into a diverse curriculum. On the contrary, particularly within the Sociology department, the majority of the scholars studied are white men. Additionally, the compulsory readings are mostly written by white male academics as well, and where women are the authors, they are mostly white. Within Anthropology, there seems to be more access to female academics as across several modules most topics have at least one female scholar as one of the core compulsory readings. However, these women are mostly white.

If the Social Sciences Department want to truly represent the student body, change needs to be pursued. It is clearly stated on Exeter University’s website that “The University of Exeter values the diversity of its community because it believes this enriches employment, research, studying and learning experiences.” 2 If the university values diversity in education, why is the curriculum Euro-centric and heavily male focused? This makes it seem like the university is performative in their commitment to diversity. This is particularly worrying in relation to degrees like Sociology and Anthropology that aim to allow students to “gain an insight into culture and society and explore the nature and complexity of human social life and the key challenges faced by diverse human societies”3 because if the course itself is not presented by a diversity of voices, the students will not be able to fully explore the diversity of that which they are studying. Additionally, students that are not white and do not identify as male will not be able to see themselves represented in a course that promises to do so.

Ensuring representation and diversity within any space can be hard work, especially in places that were not historically inclusive. However, students put their trust in the departments they are a part of to truly represent them and to receive a holistic education. The responsibility to find academics and scholars within their discipline that diversify and enrich their understanding of their subject should not solely lay with students. The university has published a page that enables lecturers to aim to decolonise their modules4, however, taking into consideration how little BAME people are represented in the curriculum, it should be questioned how many lecturers take this page into account. It is a good start but if the site just exists without being used, the value thereof should be questioned.

Instead of making suggestions, real policies need to be put in place that require the representation of women and BAME people within the curriculum and the readings that students are required to do. Clearly, if staff are not required to diversify their modules, they do not make the necessary changes. Furthermore, we recommend that a section on ELE – similar to a module page- should be set up that gives students access to find and engage with work of women and BAME people. Lastly, and perhaps most significant, we urge the university to employ more BAME people – as the Exeter University website states, the is value in a diverse community where diverse views and understandings can be introduced. If the University and the SPA department are serious about their commitments towards diversity, they will insure the diversity of their department.

In summary, in order to truly reflect that which Exeter University say they value, more effort needs to be put into the decolonisation of the curriculum that it offers. This will not only benefit the University in terms of enriching the curriculum and university community but also the students who will be better represented. Overall, decolonising the curriculum will lend to breaking down misrepresentations and enable a truly diverse environment.