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Decolonising DMU: Building an Anti-Racist University

Our vision is to build an anti-racist university that challenges racism to create fairer outcomes for staff and students

Our mission is to dismantle racist barriers and structures so that staff and students can succeed. This will be achieved by changing cultures and behaviours, improving representation, progression and talent and measuring this through governance and accountability frameworks to ensure equality in education.

To meet our goals, we have focused our project work across 4 Commitments:

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The Decolonising DMU podcast delves different aspects of the work undertaken by the Decolonising DMU project at De Montfort University. This includes examining student experiences of HE, staff perspectives on teaching and research cultures and also the work of professional services such as Welfare, Library and Learning Services and Admissions.

Each month Gurvinder Aujla-Sidhu, a Fair Outcome Champion who works on the project interviews/chats with colleagues and students to examine changes at DMU and discuss and reflect upon changes to UK Higher Education and society.

Each episode, explores different issues with a range of interviewees.

Email us at: decolonisingdmu@dmu.ac.uk

Follow us on Twitter at: @DecolonisingDMU

And don’t forget to use our hashtag when tweeting about the project: #DecolonisingDMU

Equality and diversity at DMU

The links below will take you to other information, advice and support regarding equality and diversity at DMU:

• Equality and Diversity
• Disability Advice and Support
• Mental Health Support
• LGBT+ at DMU
• Centre for LGBTQ Research
• Spiritual Support

Help for students around DMU

See below for links to information about general help for students around DMU, both academic and non academic, including information about societies and other student union events, careers advice, and study support:

• HealthyDMU
• DMU Student Union
• Student Gateway (Student Support)
• Student Resources
• Centre for Learning and Study Support (CLaSS)

Reading Resource lists

Reading in preparation for Decolonising workshops at DMU

A more extensive reading list on attainment gap, race in HE and Decolonising DMU

Reading list for staff involved in DMU’s Read to Debate series

Black Lives Matter – A collection of books, journal articles and magazine content that amplifies Black voices and the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement

Other Useful Organisations – Find links to other organsations you may find useful.

Decolonising DMU

Peer-reviewed paper

Hall, R., Ansley, L., Connolly, P., Loonat, S., Patel, K., and Whitham, B. (2021). Struggling for the anti-racist university: learning from an institution-wide response to curriculum decolonisation. Teaching in Higher Education, Special Issue, Possibilities and complexities of decolonising higher education: critical perspectives on praxis. DOI: 10.1080/13562517.2021.1911987 and https://dora.dmu.ac.uk/handle/2086/20773

RESOURCE: Research

DRAFT self-auditing guide for Research Centres and Institutes – applying a decolonising lens.

Freedom to Achieve

Project Evaluation Report 2018

Read the report here

Read a summary of the report here

Atkins, L. (2018) Freedom to Achieve: Project Evaluation Report. Leicester: DMU

RESOURCE: Co-creation Schedules

In order to test out the design and organisation of the programme-level co-creation events, a short pilot was devised and implemented in April 2018. During the institution-wide co-creation events, four themes were identified and highlighted around the room via boards, with post-it notes and pens available for students and staff to capture their discussions and ideas related to each theme:

• Curriculum
• Environment
• Development
• Community and Belonging

A schedule was devised, to provide a structure for the sessions and equip the project team with prompts for students and staff.

Pilot Programme Co-Creation Events (PDF)

Pilot Programme Co-Creation Events (Word)

Addressing the attainment gap through student and staff co-creation

Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching, Special Issue

Ansley, L. and Hall, R. (2019) Freedom to Achieve: addressing the attainment gap through student and staff co-creation. Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching, Vol 12 (1)

RESOURCE: Co-Creation at DMU Guide

During her time working with the project as a Student Curriculum Advisor, Gabriella collaborated with fellow students and staff to create a guide to co-creation for DMU. The guide shares an overview of what we mean at DMU when we talk about co-creation, best practices examples from across campus and tips for getting started.

Otim-Oyet, G. (2019) Co-creation at DMU. Leicester: De Montfort University

Co-Creation Guide 2019

Student Voice Summary 2019

Read the report here

Ansley, L. (2019) Student Voice Summary 2019. Leicester: DMU

African Skies

Anti-Racist Pedagogy Guide: Methods and challenges

BAMEd Network

Black Lives Matter

BME Psychology

Building the Anti-Racist Classroom

Decolonial Dialogues

Decolonise Sussex

Decolonise UKC

Decolonising SOAS

Educate to Liberate: Build an Anti-Racist Classroom

Equally Ours

European Network Against Racism

Institute of Race Relations

Keele Decolonising the Curriculum Network

Museum of British Colonialism

New Anti-Racist Education Resources

RadicalDMU

Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust

Teaching British Histories of Race, Migration and Empire  

Teaching Tolerance

The Free Black University

The Runnymede Trust

The Teacherist

University of Leeds Anti-racism Toolkit