Building Change: Understanding Student and Staff Perceptions of and Aspirations for Decolonial and Social Justice Work

About the Event:

Prompted by events such as the murder of George Floyd (James, Joseph-Salisbury, and Gooden, 2022) and movements like Rhodes Must Fall (Elliot-Cooper, 2018), calls for social justice and decolonisation have gained momentum. As universities reassess their commitments to these issues, the alignment between institutional priorities and student activism continues to vary (Memon and Jivraj, 2020; Bhambra, Gebrial, and Nişancıoğlu, 2018).
We present preliminary findings from a university-wide study on student and staff understandings of decolonial work. Through the larger scale offered by a survey, we aim to understand participants’ conceptualisations of decolonisation, perceptions of change agents, and aspirations for decolonial initiatives. Recognising that decolonial work is not just about outcomes but also about ways of being and working together, we centre decolonial relationality and partnership as both a theoretical and ethical framing (Fraser and Usman, 2021; Yahlnaaw, 2019). This approach informs not only our analysis but also our collective efforts to build a research culture that enables meaningful decolonial pedagogical partnerships.

About the speakers:
Kelsea Costin (she/her) is a Research Assistant for the Pedagogies for Social Justice project (PSJ). Whilst completing her BA in Sociology in 2023, Kelsea joined the PSJ as a Research Intern. In her current role as a Research Assistant, she has continued to contribute to the field, conducting university-wide research. Her most recent publication on student and staff perceptions on decolonising the curriculum has appeared in a special edition centring social justice and pedagogical partnership in Social Sciences. Kelsea has presented at multiple events connected to teaching, learning and social justice, including international and national conferences. As part of a student-staff collaboration, Kelsea believes that relationality and student-staff partnerships are crucial for dismantling institutional structures and challenging coloniality in the academy. After she completes her MA in Cultural Studies at SOAS, University of London, she is keen to prioritise student-driven knowledge production and decolonial and anti-racist work in academic communities.

Ozge Suvari (she/her) is a doctoral researcher in the School of Architecture + Cities at the University of Westminster. Her research interest includes Anthropocene histories, ecologies and beings with a particular focus on the role of drawing in deciphering the climate crisis. Before her doctoral studies, she was an adjunct lecturer and practising architect in Turkey, where she was committed to designing public spaces and buildings in environmentally responsible ways. Since January 2024, she has been a research intern on the Pedagogies for Social Justice (PSJ) project and a student ambassador with the Student Partnership team. Navigating in academia as a both student and lecturer, she is committed to partnership and social justice as fundamental to shaping research, teaching, and learning