Torsten Geelan, Department of Sociology

Abstract

Decolonizing sociology

Decolonizing sociology is about reconnecting, reordering, and reclaiming knowledges and teaching methodologies that have been submerged, hidden, or marginalized due to sociology’s entanglement with colonialism since the disciplines founding in the 19th century. At UCPH, a 2021 report on the distribution of gender and ethnicity among authors cited in the undergraduate sociology curriculum found that 74% were male and 94% were white. The Board of Studies in Sociology has since revised and relaunched two courses: ”Anti-Colonial and Postcolonial Theory” (elective, bachelors and masters) and “Gender, Ethnicity and Postcolonialism” (compulsory, 2nd semester bachelor students). This TLHEP project aims to further strengthen understanding of the theory and practice of decolonising sociology among staff and students. 

Three pedagogical practices were used.

The first practice was a public lecture I organised with Ali Meghji (Assoc. Prof. at Cambridge Sociology) titled “Time to Fire the Sociological Canon? Sociology and the Coloniality of Knowledge”. Ali began by examining how sociology became entangled with colonial ways of knowing. He then traced how sociology has maintained its commitment to this coloniality of knowledge into the present day. Finally, he concluded by arguing for a sociology which stresses temporal, conceptual, and spatial links, advocating for a pluriversal sociology.

The second practice was a participatory workshop I organised using the world café method. This is a structured conversational process in which pre-defined questions are discussed at small tables. The assumption is that collective discussion can shift people's conceptions and encourage collective action. Each table was comprised of a member of staff, five 1st & 2nd year sociology students, and an invited expert. At one table, Lesley-Ann Brown (Brooklyn-born writer, educator and activist) facilitated a conversation about how counter-storytelling help us understand the lived experiences of social groups who are othered, marginalised or discriminated against. At another table, Julia Suárez-Krabbe (Assoc. Prof. in Cultural Encounters at Roskilde University) facilitated a conversation about how the concept of ‘coloniality’ can help us to better understand Danish society. Last but not least Ali Meghji (Assoc. Prof. at Cambridge Sociology) facilitated a conversation about how students and staff can go about decolonizing sociology in practice. 

The third practice was a live visual summary of the lecture and workshop by a professional graphic illustrator to capture the main insights for staff and students who were unable to attend.

With regard to outcomes, the student research collective Forskerkollektivet is now organising a Decolonial Film Series in spring 2024. In addition, student reps. on the Board of Studies in Sociology have recommended a set of questions informed by a decolonial perspective for lecturers to consider when preparing course curriculum. And I’ve been invited to participate in a roundtable on curriculum diversity to showcase best practices across the Faculty of Social Sciences – organised by the gender@SAMF initiative. The challenge, though, is that decolonising is not a UCPH priority at the moment so change will have to come from the bottom up.