Unlearn the Ivory Tower: Decolonizing Minds, Challenging Racism and Sexism in Academia

Upcoming Lectures 2024/25

This photo shows a portrait of Dr. Rahab Njeri

Online: December 6, 2024, from 10:00 to 12:00

This presentation explores the structural and systemic racism present in German universities, highlighting the barriers faced by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students and staff. We will examine the ways in which these institutions perpetuate exclusion, bias, and discrimination, as well as the broader socio-historical context that sustains these issues. The session aims to offer strategies and approaches for dismantling these structures, including a focus on decolonizing academia, fostering inclusivity, and building critical allyship among faculty and students.

About the speaker:

Dr. Rahab Njeri is a historian, scholar and community activist. Her research fields and academic interest are Postcolonial Gender Studies, Intersectionality, Black Feminism, Critical Whiteness Studies, Migration Studies, Empowerment and Black Canadian Studies. She is a Trainer and a Moderator. She is the founder of KEMET AWARDS FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN AFRICAN LANGUAGES (KAAAL) and Prof. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is a Patrone. Currently, she is a consultant for critique of racism and anti-discrimination polices and strategies development at the at the University of Cologne.

Register by following this link: Registration

Online: December 12, 2024, from 13:30 to 15:00

Our present is characterized by colonial structures and the various forms of oppression that support them. But what is systemic oppression and how does it affect the working context? Josephine Apraku explores these questions in an impulse followed by self-reflection.

About the speaker:
Josephine Apraku is an African studies scholar, author, lecturer and trainer for intersectional anti-racist educational work. Josephine's texts have been published by EDITION F, Missy Magazine and Tagesspiegel, among others. “Kluft und Liebe” (Eden Books, 2022) examines oppression in romantic relationships; ‘Mein Workbook zu Rassismus’ and the interactive card set ”Lasst uns über Rassismus reden!” (2023, Familiar Faces) invite people to engage in self-reflection critical of racism.

Most recently, Josephine's children's books “Tschüss Uroma” (2023, bli bla blub) and “Ein ganz normaler Tag” (Carlsen) were published. In 2024, “Mein Workbook zu Rassismus” was named one of the most beautiful German books by the Stiftung Buchkunst.

Register by following this link: Registration