In this Teaching Matters podcast series, produced by The Race Equality and Anti-Racist Sub-Committee (REAR) at The University of Edinburgh in collaboration with Teaching Matters, we hear from different academics at the University about what Decolonising the Curriculum means for them, and how they have put this into practice in their learning and teaching or research. They also share some readings that they have found useful.
In this episode, Johanna Holtan Co-Convenor of the Race Equality and Anti-Racist Sub-Committee (REAR) and Programme Director of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program talks to Dr Shadaab Rahemtulla, a Lecturer in Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at the School of Divinity. He is also the Programme Director of the newly launched Masters in Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations. He argues that decolonisation is a conversation about power that consists in robbing knowledge of its so-called neutrality and innocence and understanding knowledge-production as located within a social context that is always filled with hierarchies and inequalities. In this humbling conversation, Dr Rahemtulla discusses how decolonising the curriculum is a reflexive exercise that those in power have a responsibility to practice.
Dr Shadaab Rahemtulla’s Recommendations:
- X, Malcolm and Alex Haley, The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965): https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/572/57282/the-autobiography-of-malcolm-x/9780141185439.html
- Rowland, Christopher (ed). The Cambridge Companion to Liberation Theology (2008): https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-companion-to-liberation-theology/F500C9F34574087A4C4EA2658E89762B
- Rahemtulla, Shadaab. Qur’an of the Oppressed: Liberation Theology and Gender Justice in Islam (2018): https://global.oup.com/academic/product/quran-of-the-oppressed-9780198820093?cc=gb&lang=en&#
- “Decolonising Divinity: A Roundtable Discussion” (15 March 2021, New College, Uni of Edinburgh): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-qy8eMkNrA
Series Produced and Edited By
Joséphine Foucher
Joséphine is doing a PhD in Sociology at The University of Edinburgh. Her research looks at the intersection between art and politics in contemporary Cuba. She supports Jenny Scoles as the Teaching Matters Co-Editor and Student Engagement Officer through the PhD Intern scheme at the Institute for Academic Development.
Joseph Arton
Dr. Joe Arton is an Academic Developer at the Institute for Academic Development at the University of Edinburgh, he is a member of the University’s Curriculum Transformation Programme Team and curated The Edinburgh Hybrid Teaching Exchange, the University of Edinburgh’s internal site for Hybrid Teaching and Learning resources and best practice. He has a PhD in Film and Media and specialises in digital media for academic development.
