Summary
The rising demand of moving away from Western narratives in education raises practical questions about why decolonization of the curriculum improves university education, as well as how to achieve it. To explore this specifically for History education, the Erasmus University Rotterdam implemented the Mobilizing Non-Western Narratives of Friendship, Conflict, and Cooperation-project, which organizes focus groups with students from the History department. These focus groups aim to understand how our students view the new and decolonized curriculum and what they believe is still missing from it. Our project not only answers to the growing demand among students for centering critical perspectives in education, but also offers historians a useful how-to guide for the decolonization of their education.
This article discusses the importance of inclusivity in education and builds on previous research from educational scholars by shifting its focus from the issue of accessibility to the issue of inclusivity of course contents. It answers the ‘why ‘ and ‘how’ questions by discussing the importance of inclusivity and diversity in History education and proposing three approaches to decolonize History curricula:
- Taking a critical approach to teaching History through the implementation of new and critical theories;
- Taking a global and inclusive approach by implementing non-Western theories and narratives;
- Taking a future-oriented approach by introducing students to new and developing theories within the field.
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Source header: ‘United Nations Flags © Tom Page, CC BY-SA 2.0, VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.
Anne van Dijken is a student in Media Studies (MA) at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, where she specializes in Media, Culture, & Society and focuses on the relationship between the media and society and the influence they have on each other. She is interested in inclusivity and diversity in the media and the effects of (media) representation on our sense of identity and community. Anne worked as a student assistant for the research project Mobilizing Non-Western Narratives of Friendship, Conflict and Cooperation, which focused on decolonizing education and introducing students to inclusive and diverse narratives and perspectives.
