190124 SE M3b Gegenstandstheorie II: Lehren und Lernen (2024S)

The course will discuss in detail ideas and approaches towards decolonising education. We will inspect the colonial aspect of contemporary education on multiple fronts - epistemological, political, sociocultural, and gender-oriented. Topics of discussion will be around languages of instruction and publication, technology use, poetry and film-making.

We will then turn the critical gaze upon ourselves - as researchers from privileged backgrounds engaging in discussions which may only satisfy our intellectual curiosity as opposed to those who experience it directly. What can we as researchers do to add meaningfully to these conversations? Are we taking the focus away from the subject or becoming the spokesperson on the behalf of these communities? And finally, in what ways are we the "colonisers" and can we decolonise our own positionalities?

The course is thematically organised around the following broad topics. However, new topics may be introduced or modified later after consulting with the participants. Participants will be invited to select a theme of their choosing and will develop a decolonial approach to it throughout the semester.

Wednesday 13.03. - Concepts of identity, intersectionality, and positionality.

Wednesday 10.04. : Approaching the complexity of decolonial nature of education. What does colonisation mean in the context of education? Can everything be decolonised? What are the limits of the decolonial project?

Wednesday 24.04 : Poetry and filmmaking as tools of decolonising educational research

Wednesday 08.05. : Language as a means of decolonising education and educational research

Wednesday 22.05.: Technology as means of colonising and decolonising education

Wednesday 05.06.: Decolonial pedagogies when working with underprivileged/risk-prone social groups

Wednesday 19.06.2024: Measured response to accusations 'woke/political correctness/social justice warrior' and how to continue our work meaningfully. Developing ideas for future projects.