Book Reviews by Robert Lynn
0 CrossRef citations to date 8 Altmetric Book Review Extended book review: Unsettling the university, confronting the colonial foundations of US higher education by Sharon Stein, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022, 325 pp., ISBN 9781421445045 (hardcover), ISBN 9781421445052 (ebook), 2024
Unsettling the University: Confronting the Colonial Foundations of US Higher Education by Sharon ... more Unsettling the University: Confronting the Colonial Foundations of US Higher Education by Sharon Stein holistically exemplifies the relationship between higher education and society. Historically, higher education has cast a shadow on diverging discourses that challenge hegemonic power systems in post-secondary education. Thus, the necessity to look at educational policies, decisions made by the university, investments done by the university, and programmes such as legacy programmes, diversity equity, and inclusion programmes (DEI), frequently are perpetuating and serving as an arm to the settler state in upholding and reproducing colonial violence and discourses (Stein 2022, 4). Though higher education has been the leading voice in upholding hegemonic policies and practices, dissenting voices by ‘Indigenous, Black, and other racialized students, scholars, and activists’ (Stein 2022, 39) have raised awareness of the pressing need to address issues revolving around higher education reoccurring problems that reciprocate ‘colonial foundations of US higher education’ violence against historically marginalised groups.1It becomes evident that institutional violence’s non-stagnate and changing dynamics are not regulated to the past but contouring to new developments that uphold these colonial foundations of power (Stein 2022). To combat these various types of oppression, Stein argues for a need to use a decolonial lens to disentangle colonial practices in higher education. However, decolonisation is a multifaceted concept that has been interpreted in various ways across different disciplines and contexts. In her scholarship, she meticulously crafts her understanding of the decolonial framework, which centres on disrupting colonial power structures within higher education and envisions alternative futures rooted in social justice. In other words, to tackle colonial violence, the author suggests using a decolonial framework would propagate critiques that have long been unchallenged in higher education. Thus, Unsettling the University: Confronting the Colonial Foundations of US Higher Education is not only a critique of higher education but rather a grounded approach to critique hegemonic systems that reproduce colonial foundations and white supremacy
International Journal of Academic Research in Business, Arts and Science, 2023
Ngugi wa Thiong'o's groundbreaking work, "Decolonizing the Mind: The Politics of Language in Afri... more Ngugi wa Thiong'o's groundbreaking work, "Decolonizing the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature," challenges the dominant Eurocentric and American-centric narratives that have long overshadowed African voices and experiences. The essence of Thiong'o's book is shedding light on his impassioned call to decolonize African history, dismantle harmful stereotypes, and usher in a new perspective on the continent. "Decolonizing the Mind" is a potent call to action, urging readers to engage in the collective effort to liberate Africa from historical misrepresentations. It underscores the resilience, cultural richness, and determination of the continent and its people. Through these efforts, we can contribute to a more equitable and just future for Africa and its diverse population.
Papers by Robert Lynn
Cogent Arts & Humanities, 2023
Scholarship surrounding the Black Power Movement has shifted from the
previous century to articul... more Scholarship surrounding the Black Power Movement has shifted from the
previous century to articulate a new perspective conducive to the realities of the past. Similarly, contemporary scholars have become the conduit of Black Power’s revolutionary violence. This illustrates the Black Power Movement as a more significant movement, leaving behind legacies and beliefs that transpired into modern-day protest tactics. Additionally, Contemporary scholarship, by being aware of historical writing, has expanded the production of history through the lenses of race, gender, class, and power. Such categories have been used as an analytical lens to interpret the past and correctly characterize the legacies of various Black Power Movement organizations and people, unlike in the previous century. Contemporary scholarship has made it clear that the legacy of the Black Power Movement has played a role in constructing modern-day literature and perspectives.
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Book Reviews by Robert Lynn
Papers by Robert Lynn
previous century to articulate a new perspective conducive to the realities of the past. Similarly, contemporary scholars have become the conduit of Black Power’s revolutionary violence. This illustrates the Black Power Movement as a more significant movement, leaving behind legacies and beliefs that transpired into modern-day protest tactics. Additionally, Contemporary scholarship, by being aware of historical writing, has expanded the production of history through the lenses of race, gender, class, and power. Such categories have been used as an analytical lens to interpret the past and correctly characterize the legacies of various Black Power Movement organizations and people, unlike in the previous century. Contemporary scholarship has made it clear that the legacy of the Black Power Movement has played a role in constructing modern-day literature and perspectives.
previous century to articulate a new perspective conducive to the realities of the past. Similarly, contemporary scholars have become the conduit of Black Power’s revolutionary violence. This illustrates the Black Power Movement as a more significant movement, leaving behind legacies and beliefs that transpired into modern-day protest tactics. Additionally, Contemporary scholarship, by being aware of historical writing, has expanded the production of history through the lenses of race, gender, class, and power. Such categories have been used as an analytical lens to interpret the past and correctly characterize the legacies of various Black Power Movement organizations and people, unlike in the previous century. Contemporary scholarship has made it clear that the legacy of the Black Power Movement has played a role in constructing modern-day literature and perspectives.