VIRTUAL MADRID FOCUS ON PEDAGOGY

Abstract

This presentation explores the complex and contested process of embedding decoloniality and decolonisation within the HE curriculum. It interrogates what it truly means to move beyond performative gestures toward sustained structural transformation in education. Drawing on the foundational work of Quijano (2000) and Mignolo (2011), the presentation frames decoloniality as a delinking from Eurocentric epistemologies that have historically marginalised non-Western knowledges. This deconstruction must be coupled with the recovery and re-centring of voices, perspectives, and contributions rendered invisible through coloniality and structural marginalisation. The session critically engages with Ahmed’s (2012) concept of “institutional whiteness,” highlighting how even well-meaning diversity initiatives can be subsumed into systems that maintain the status quo. In doing so, it invites participants to examine the ways curricula often reproduce exclusion, even while purporting to be inclusive. Central to the discussion is the question of authentic belonging: What does it look like in practice? And how can educators design curricula that do not simply “include” but affirm, validate, and empower diverse identities and histories? Finally, leaning on hooks’ (1994) vision of education as the practice of freedom, this session challenges educators to reconceptualise their role: not as neutral deliverers of knowledge, but as critical actors shaping the conditions for epistemic justice. Participants will be encouraged to share, question, and develop strategies for embedding decolonial thought and practice within their own disciplines, contributing to a broader shift toward meaningful, transformative curriculum reform.