Stories of the canon (stories of the self): towards an intra-active decolonisation of higher education

Bradley, L. (2023) Stories of the canon (stories of the self): towards an intra-active decolonisation of higher education. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 44(6), pp. 859-872. (doi: 10.1080/01596306.2023.2202898) (Early Online Publication)

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Abstract

This paper contributes to decolonisation theory and debates in Higher Education by thinking from the practice of diversifying subject reading lists. To illustrate the scene within which diversification efforts unfold I draw on primary research designed to explore the function of a subject canon (Urban Studies). Researched and written as an autoethnographic rhizoanalysis, I show that texts’ meanings are intertextually established through hegemonic processes of canonisation, which are curricular in effect; and which draw in readers as nodes through which the assemblage proliferates. Using Karen Barad’s concept of intra-activity to better articulate the materiality of this curricular assemblage and our inseparability from it, I critique the common practice of adding more diversity for its failure to attend to underlying logics and its edging out of more radical responses. I then discuss the decolonial openings that intra-action makes possible, focusing on its potential for producing different knowledge(s) through reading and research.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:The original research on which this work is based was funded by a 1 + 3 PhD scholarship from the Urban Studies Foundation.
Status:Early Online Publication
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Bradley, Dr Lisa
Authors: Bradley, L.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Education
Journal Name:Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education
Publisher:Taylor & Francis
ISSN:0159-6306
ISSN (Online):1469-3739
Published Online:18 April 2023
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2023 The Author
First Published:First published in Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education 44(6):859-872
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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