Warwick Law School has a long tradition of activism, scholarship and engagement with systemic racism. We are currently beginning the process of Decolonising our Curriculum, our teaching and research focuses on the impact of structural racism and inequality and we strive to create a student community that is not just inclusive but actively anti-racist.

WLS Decolonise Project

As part of our efforts to Decolonise the Curriculum we launched the WLS Decolonise Project in 2019. In 2020, we embarked on a yearlong project, with our undergraduate students who held several focus groups in order to craft their vision of what a decolonised law school would look like. View the report by Shay Runsewe.

Several members of the Law School have also attempted to think about decolonisation both within the context of their research and also their teaching and pedagogy. WLS recruited a master’s Student, Amikah Stewart, to talk to staff and students about their experiences.

WLS remains committed to continuing efforts in Decolonising the Curriculum. In 2021, we are planning a PhD seminar series led by Sahar Shah on how we can decolonise the core law curriculum. Further information on this will be available on our events page.

Interviews with members of Warwick Law School

Why is it important for you, as Head of School, to lead efforts in decolonising the curriculum?

Britain has an imperialist history. Britain has become rich through colonising other countries. The colonialist legacy remains in its institutions of learning as well as other institutions. Universities are still dominated by the white middle classes, whose privilege is self-reinforcing as the language and culture of universities is predominantly that of the white middle classes and is shaped by the concerns, interests and perspectives of the global north. Decolonising the curriculum will help to reverse these biases. This will enable the concerns, interests and perspectives of the global south, and of ethnic minorities in this country, to be taken into account in our education. This will increase diversity, reduce the attainment gap, and increase equality. It will be a step towards redressing colonial injustice.