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Comenius Project Woke and Resistance 

In the Woke and Resistance project, students and staff come together to discover how they can work together as agonists (critical cooperatives) rather than as distrustful antagonists.

Description

Around the world, more and more students are asking critical questions about the epistemological basis of their education. They criticise the curriculum for being too one-sidedly based on Western knowledge, which is considered superior. They believe that this selective knowledge does not adequately prepare them for life and work in a dynamic, pluralistic society and that they learn too little about the possibilities for contributing to a more just society. Students ask, for example: Why is my curriculum white? And they say: No democratisation without decolonisation! Their criticism is often received with difficulty. Teachers, for example, speak of “infringement on academic freedom” and reject what they call “cancel culture”. Internationally, the debate has become so heated that politicians are getting involved and it is being discussed in the (social) media.

This is also the case at the University of Humanistic Studies. In the Woke and Resistance project, students and staff come together to discover how they can work together as agonists (critical cooperatives) rather than as distrustful antagonists. In study meetings, dialogue afternoons and workshops, they will try to translate difficult and contentious issues into fruitful and concrete ways of revising the curriculum, taking into account diverse views.

The project also has an international component: UvH students and staff will engage in dialogue with experienced students and staff from South African universities. Although the contexts in the Netherlands (global North) and South Africa (global South) differ, there are also similar ideas, concerns and ambitions. Through dialogue, similarities and differences will be compared in order to gain more insight into why and how we can position decolonisation and anti-racism within universities. The final phase will feature a national closing conference with poster and panel sessions, columns and lectures that will also be open to other universities and colleges.

On Friday, 7 June 2024, the national closing conference of the two-year Woke and Resistance project took place.

Researchers

Funding

UvH with assistance from Comenius Senior Fellowship grant from the National Coordination Point for Education Research (NRO). The NRO is a division of NWO that focuses on improving and innovating education with knowledge gained from research. The idea for the Woke and Resistance project arose in consultation with the Pluralistiek study association.

Toolkit

The online toolkit was delivered on 5 July 2024. The toolkit provides insight into working methods, experiences and lessons learned from the project. The project followed four phases for educational change, which also form the roadmap for the toolkit: (1) setting the agenda; (2) exploring and designing; (3) practising; and (4) evaluating and sharing. In the toolkit, you will find an overview of the activities for each phase, a reflection on experiences and results, a brief in-depth explanation of the content, and an example of a concrete working method (tool).