Answer to Question #221949 in English for Lee

Question

https://mg.co.za/article/2019-06-26-00-decolonise-the-curriculum-for-global-relevance/

Decolonise the curriculum for global relevance,
Are you against or for the topic?

Discuss Advantages and disadvantages of decolonization of the curriculum (research)

(Use facts and anecdotes to support your motion)

Answer 1

Decolonising the curriculum means creating spaces and resources for a dialogue among all members of the university on how to imagine and envision all cultures and knowledge systems in the curriculum, and with respect to what is being taught and how it frames the world.

Building an equitable system will open up a better environment to attract and retain teachers of color in the workforce, therefore, we’ll have more diversity in classrooms that actually represent the students they serve.

 Decolonizing a curriculum is a good goal. From the curriculum would be removed any assumptions of high valuation to colonize and control other, mostly weaker peoples, in order to exploit human and natural resources for the benefit of the strong colonizer. No matter how long a people remain colonized it should never be presented in the curriculum as 'natural'. Even if we are talking about the United States or Israel. 

For all its political bluster and uncritical support, decolonisation as a movement will have little to no effect on institutional curriculum because it offers the wrong response to a real problem, according to Jonathan Jansen, professor of education at Stellenbosch University.

Leading a discussion on “The problem with decolonisation”, Jansen said there was a failure among academics and students to scrutinise concepts as they emerge in society or on university campuses, abrogating their responsibility to think as academics and to be “suspicious of things that parade as truth”.

The discussion marked the launch of the Africa Centre for Scholarship and the African University Day celebrations held in late November.