University of Lincoln among 20 per cent of UK unis decolonising their curriculums

University of Lincoln began taking steps to decolonise the curriculum in 2016. However, an article by the Guardian revealed that only a fifth of UK universities are committed to taking similar action.

Students receiving a fuller version of British history, that reflects racial injustices and acknowledges the contributions of black British people, has received widespread support from Black Lives Matter protesters.

The University Library also offers a wealth of educational materials about race and racism, and has also taken steps to extend this in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Over 18 months ago, the University also initiated the “Lincoln Equality of Attainment Project”, in order to investigate causes of differential attainment.

On the topic of decolonising the curriculum, University of Lincoln said in an email to students:

“This is important work and needs to be taken forward.  The University has already started work to decolonise the curriculum and to make it more inclusive. The Inclusive Curriculum project was initiated in Lincoln International Business School in 2016 and, amongst other activities, has been working with a number of students to consult on curricula content and make changes as required.”

“This work needs to step up in pace and be broadened to all Colleges. There are several other colleagues working to decolonise the curriculum at programme level (e.g. in the Schools of English and History) and again, this work needs wider dissemination. We accept the challenge that our staff should be more reflective of society at large and we will commit to ensuring our recruitment activities reach a wider audience and we aim to remove unconscious biases.  We have already moved to anonymised applications but we will ensure we find and remove other barriers to employment found by BAME applicants.”