Good schooling is essential to give humans an understanding of the world. However, education has always been determined by time spirit, culture and politics. As such, the influence of colonialism has been felt in school curricula. Although the colonial era is behind us, colonial concepts and influences have not left the educational system. Curricula need constant re-evaluation to keep up with our continually changing understanding of the world. History is one of the select few courses in school in which mentalities, society, politics and ideologies are discussed. Therefore, it is vital that we take a critical look at what is being taught and how that is done, and which mindframes and thoughts it inexplicitly perpetuates.
In this workshop we opted for a structured program in which we shall continuously delve deeper into the topic of colonialism in the field of education. In the first session we aim to analyse colonial thinking in traditional classroom history topics related to colonialism such as the ‘Age of Exploration’. In the next sessions we shall explore neocolonialist mindsets in 20th century history, and re-evaluate traditionally non-colonial western history topics such as the Middle Ages to encourage the participants to rethink more subtle forms of colonial thinking and rethink how traditionally western topics can be transformed into more diverse and inclusive classes. To finish our workshop, we shall examine the lingering presence of colonial mindsets and how European superiority still affects the concepts, discourses and practices of educational models and non-history related courses.
Participants can expect to attend, take part in and give creative presentations on the earlier mentioned topics, while receiving thorough guidance of the workshop leaders. Learning to reflect on - and reflecting on - existing paradigms and mindframes will be a central activity during the different sessions. The workshop shall work towards creating a final product which is aimed towards informing and educating the general public on the topic.
In this workshop we opted for a structured program in which we shall continuously delve deeper into the topic of colonialism in the field of education. In the first session we aim to analyse colonial thinking in traditional classroom history topics related to colonialism such as the ‘Age of Exploration’. In the next sessions we shall explore neocolonialist mindsets in 20th century history, and re-evaluate traditionally non-colonial western history topics such as the Middle Ages to encourage the participants to rethink more subtle forms of colonial thinking and rethink how traditionally western topics can be transformed into more diverse and inclusive classes. To finish our workshop, we shall examine the lingering presence of colonial mindsets and how European superiority still affects the concepts, discourses and practices of educational models and non-history related courses.
Participants can expect to attend, take part in and give creative presentations on the earlier mentioned topics, while receiving thorough guidance of the workshop leaders. Learning to reflect on - and reflecting on - existing paradigms and mindframes will be a central activity during the different sessions. The workshop shall work towards creating a final product which is aimed towards informing and educating the general public on the topic.
Dylan Couck is a PhD Research Fellow and academic assistant within the research group of Constitutional Law (Department of European, Public and International Law). He has obtained his master’s degree in law at Ghent University in 2019 and he is currently studying a master of Instructional and Educational Sciences at the University of Antwerp.
His research focuses on higher education, in particular the autonomy of Flemish higher education institutions and the legal history of (higher) education. During his studies, he has been and still is active as a student representative within the Faculty of Law and Criminology, the University of Ghent and at the Flemish level. He currently is amongst others vice-president of the Council on Higher Education within the Flemish Education Council. |
Lynn De Palmenaer is a History graduate of Ghent University, minored in Art History, and wrote both her bachelor paper and thesis on documentaries. Her main interests are education, history and policy making, which is why she is currently combining a Master of Education in Cultural Sciences and a Master of International Relationships and Diplomacy.
She was a board member of the Flemish History Student Society (V.G.K.) for three years, and worked as a student representative in multiple councils as well. She is currently working as Culture praeses for the european debate association Minos Gent. Some of the older participants might remember she was a workshop leader of the ‘Media and Popular Culture’ workshop during the 2018 Extra Seminar ‘Remembering the First World War’. |
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