Welcome to the Race and Decolonial Studies Guide - giving you information on library resources and services relating to race, critical race studies and decolonial work.
Race Equality at the University of Edinburgh
The University is committed to eliminating institutional, structural and individual racism that allows racial inequalities to perpetuate. We're striving to create a more diverse and inclusive university and provide some examples of the work we are doing in this area. This page includes links to university resources and policy as well as guides on allyship and antiracism.
Centre for Research in Education Inclusion and Diversity (CREID)
CREID's mission is to undertake research which explores issues of inclusion and exclusion for children and adults in education and related social policy fields. You can also follow them on Twitter (@CREID_Edin).
Centre for Education for Racial Equality in Scotland (CERES)
CERES is an interdisciplinary research Centre for the study of ‘race’, ethnicity, languages, culture and migration.
Associates and partners of CERES draw their conceptual base from critical social justice theories and approaches. While respecting individual forms of prejudice, Centre members focus their research on the cultural and institutional processes which impact on the life-chances of marginalised individuals and groups. They draw from a range of theorists such as Bourdieu, Marxism, Friere, Dewey, the Frankfurt and Chicago schools, critical race studies, feminist theory, post-colonial writings and queer theory. In addition, the group is interested to develop their research and theorizing in the area of intersectionality (multiple identities/across issues). You can also follow them on Twitter (@CERESED).
Essential reading: Rowena Arshad on Decolonising the Curriculum: How do I get started?
In this article for Times Higher Education, Rowena Arshad, Chair in Multicultural and Anti-Racist Education and Co-Chair of CERES, considers starting points for any colleagues keen to begin the work of assessing their own curricula.
UncoverEd was a collaborative and decolonising research project, funded by Edinburgh Global, which aimed to situate the ‘global’ status of the University of Edinburgh in its rightful imperial and colonial context.
Led by PhD candidates Henry Dee and Tom Cunningham, the team of eight student researchers created a database of students from Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and the Americas from as early as 1700, and writing social histories of the marginalised student experience. The aim was to produce at least one biography each of a ‘notable’ alumnus, leading up to a website and exhibition in January 2019.
You can find more information about the project on their Twitter account (@Uncover_ED).
The Edinburgh Centre for Global History exists to facilitate cooperation between global historians of different regions and different periods across the University of Edinburgh, and to provide a supportive environment in which postgraduate and staff research can flourish. You can find more information about ECGH via their Twitter account.
In addition to hosting an evening seminar series and the Annual Lecture in the History of Slavery, we hold informal workshops and work-in-progress seminars which provide an opportunity to read and discuss the current research of our members and develop new critical tools for the study of global and transnational history. We provide support for colleagues developing new research projects, particularly at the idea or concept stage. We seek to build connections between researchers across the University of Edinburgh and to contribute to curriculum development in global history in general and our core areas of research focus in particular. The William R. McFarlane Scholarship supports innovative PhD research in the histories of migration and diaspora.
The Centre for Research Collections (CRC) is the main space for anyone using the University of Edinburgh's historic and special collections, including rare books and manuscripts, University of Edinburgh archives, personal and institutional archives, Lothian Health Services Archives, University of Edinburgh PhD theses, art collection, musical instrument collection and more.
The CRC are based on the 6th floor, Main Library.
Britain's Colour Bar in Africa by Julius Lewin (1952). Pamphlet by Julius Lewin published 1952 by the Union of Democratic Control warning against the adoption of Apartheid in British colonies. (shelfmark: Rad.P.88). Image © The University of Edinburgh.
ConveRACEions is a project set up by PhD students in the School of Health in Social Science, in collaboration with Dr Rosie Stenhouse and supported by the School of Health in Social Science Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee. This initiative aims to discuss and dismantle barriers to racial equality, as well as ways of moving forward.
ConveRACEions involves a series of monthly talks, where guest speakers are invited to give one-hour-long talks on their research and/or experiences with racial and equality issues within (and outside) academia. In 2021, this project was supported by the Social Responsibility and Sustainability Student Project Grant. In 2022, this project was supported by alumni and friends of the University of Edinburgh through the Student Experience Grants scheme.
Scotland, Empire and Decolonisation in the Twentieth Century by 
Edinburgh University Students' Association: Liberation Officers
At Edinburgh University Students' Association, we recognise that some groups in society experience structural oppression - that is to say that they are disadvantaged by a system which prioritises and privileges the lives and experiences of others over their own. We also believe that while it is important, in the short term, to mitigate the effects that this oppression may have on individuals in the long term we must focus on dismantling the hierarchies which allow this oppression to continue. We must liberate ourselves from the structures which are founded on the subordination of groups of people. That is why we have five Liberation Campaigns which sit within our democratic structures.
Edinburgh University Students' Association: BME Campaign
The Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Campaign exists to provide a safe space within Edinburgh University Students' Association where self-identifying BME students (including students of African, Asian, Arab and Afro-Caribbean descent, those from minority ethnic groups including Jewish and Romani students, and those who identify as having mixed or multiple ethnicities) can come together, discuss the issues affecting them, and campaign to improve their student experience. The BME Campaign is led by the Students' Association's Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Officer, who was elected by self-defining BME students in the Students' Association's March elections.
Student Societies relating to geographic origin, culture or race
