‘Hidden in ‘plain’ sight: the ethnic minority teachers that seek to subvert dominant UKHE narratives

A growing body of work articulating the need for UKHE to decolonise its curriculum and structures (see Arday. 2015 and Bhambra et al. 2018 as examples) is starting to gain much needed traction across the sector. However, there remains little discussion about how those who have been subject to internal colonisation - as a result of what is known as the ‘English project’ (Hechter 1975; Erikson 1993), can also contribute to the expanding discourse.
This chapter seeks to explore how lecturers from one minority group - subject to internal colonisation, have through their curriculum design and pedagogic practices sought to ensure that students are offered a culturally relevant learning experience. Utilising the hegemonic discourses of neo-liberal higher education - in order to deflect the unwanted gaze of gatekeepers within their institutions, the lecturers have enabled the creation of a localised pedagogic identity (Bernstein 2000) which co-exists alongside the dominant neo-liberal pedagogic identity promoted by their institutions.
The chapter ends with consideration of how, as the Black Lives Matter movement gains traction within the UKHE sector, Cornish lecturers can contribute to growing discourse about decolonisation.