Decolonizing Political Economy: Transforming the University

In 2015 students from the University of Cape Town declared #RhodesMustFall. The campaign they initiated wasn’t just aimed at removing the statue of imperialist and racist Cecil Rhodes, it called for nothing less than the decolonization of the university. #RhodesMustFall re-energized an international movement calling for the recognition of the colonial legacies underpinning our universities and for their transformation as educational and political spaces. 

This one-day workshop, organised by the Decolonizing Political Economy working group at King’s College London, is the first of a series that will address the question of how to pursue a truly decolonized education. The first panel will bring together academics and students from across King’s to reflect on the work that has already been done, and the strategies and challenges faced by movements to decolonize across the university. The second panel will bring these conversations together to examine the question of what is to be done at King’s going forward? How best can we collaborate to radically transform our university?      

Schedule

• 10:30-12:30 - The experience of decolonizing at King's 
• 12:30-13.30 - Lunch Break
• 13.30 - 15.30 - Looking forward 

Speakers include:

• Dr Majed Akhter (Geography)
• Students from the Decolonizing Kings initiative
• Ivana Bevilacqua (Geography)
• Prof Richard Drayton (History)
• Dr Humeira Iqtidar (Political Economy)
• Prof Vivienne Jabri (War Studies)
• Prof Daanish Mustafa (Geography)
• Dr John Narayan (European & International Studies) 
• Dr Lucia Pradella (European & International Studies)
• Dr Mayssoun Sukarieh (International Development)
• Prof Julian Weiss (Spanish Portuguese & Latin American Studies)