Oxford University has revealed plans to “decolonise” its maths and science degrees and will allow students of any subject who have been affected by the Black Lives Matter furore to seek lenient marking.
In a letter to the student union, Louise Richardson, vice-chancellor, said that the mathematical, physical and life sciences division had been awarded a grant to develop teaching resources that supported the diversification of its curriculums, describing it as “an area that is frequently overlooked”.
She added: “Many departments in social sciences have begun work on making their curriculum more inclusive and adding diverse voices to it. This includes steps such as integrating race and gender questions into topics, embedding teaching on colonialism and empire into courses, changing reading lists to ensure substantial representation of a diverse range of voices, and ensuring better coverage of issues concerning the global South in syllabuses.”
Mercy Muroki comments on Black Lives Matter The university invited students affected by the killing of George Floyd in the US to apply for mitigating circumstances. It also said that it was trying to employ more black counsellors. In her letter, Professor Richardson said: “Any student taking university assessments who feels their performance has been affected should submit a self-assessment mitigating circumstances form after their final examination or assessment.” Heads of house would alert tutors and welfare staff to the potential need for workload to be reduced and would “urge colleagues to reach out to any black students who may be experiencing difficulty at this time”. The Black Lives Matter protests have also had an impact on the National Trust, which said that it had been silent for too long on identifying connections that its properties have with slavery and colonialism. Hilary McGrady, director-general, said that the trust had identified that just under one third of the properties it cared for had “direct or indirect links to colonialism broadly and slavery more specifically”. She told the BBC that it had not done enough in the past to ensure that visitors to its sites were aware of the circumstances in which previous owners amassed their fortunes. Last week the trust removed from Dunham Massey Hall near Altrincham, Manchester, a statue of a kneeling black man carrying a sundial. Hundreds of young people protested on Lemon Quay in Truro, Cornwall NATASHA QUARMBY/ALAMY The Colston Hall music venue in Bristol, named after the slave trader Edward Colston, whose statue was torn down in a protest last week, removed his name from signs yesterday. A new name will be announced in the autumn. • The National Education Union wrote to Boris Johnson yesterday saying that the school curriculum should be reviewed to ensure that it was “rooted in black and global history”. The biggest teaching union said trainee teachers should be equipped with anti-racist strategies and the curriculum should cover Windrush and migration.