{"id":125926,"date":"2023-04-17T00:06:48","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T04:06:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=125926"},"modified":"2023-04-16T12:50:59","modified_gmt":"2023-04-16T16:50:59","slug":"its-time-to-decolonize-the-business-curriculum-university-administrator-argues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/its-time-to-decolonize-the-business-curriculum-university-administrator-argues\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s time to \u2018decolonize the business curriculum,\u2019 university administrator argues"},"content":{"rendered":"

Western countries ‘benefited from an imperialism that placed their ideologies in a powerful and privileged position’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Universities should \u201cdecolonize\u201d their business school curriculum, according to a senior administrator and professor at King\u2019s College in London.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusiness schools in Western and European countries have benefited from an imperialism that placed their ideologies in a powerful and privileged position,\u201d Professor Sally Everett wrote in an op-ed<\/a> published by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, a higher education accreditor.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs more business schools strive to become diverse and inclusive, they should consider the very sources of knowledge they teach in their classrooms,\u201d Everett wrote.<\/p>\n

The College Fix<\/em> reached out to Everett for further comment but she has not responded in the past weeks.<\/p>\n

Everett argued three main points. First, she wrote that European and Western business schools have benefited from imperialism. Second, Everett said business schools \u201cmust incorporate the knowledge and educational approaches of scholars from different philosophical and cultural backgrounds\u201d to \u201cdecolonize\u201d their curriculum. Third, she said that taking these actions will positively affect the discipline by making it stronger.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, business schools around the world seek to become more inclusive and diverse,\u201d she wrote. \u201cSome of us want to go even further\u2014to address racial injustices, dismantle global power structures, and decolonize the typical business school curriculum.\u201d<\/p>\n

In order to seriously decolonize what she sees as a curriculum based on colonization, Everett said business schools must do four things – \u201cQuestion and expand [their] sources of knowledge,\u201d \u201cdesign and teach courses in an inclusive manner,\u201d \u201cengage a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders,\u201d and \u201chold a collective conversation with […] colleagues about decolonization.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE:<\/strong> Cornell professors demand university ‘decolonize’ curricula across the board<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we each reflect on our own privilege and positionality, we can lay the foundation of an honest dialogue,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Everett advocated for affirmative action, writing that \u201cpeople who are Black, Asian, and from marginalized ethnic populations [should be] sufficiently represented as students and teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n

A business professor at Drexel University criticized Everett\u2019s opinion piece in an email to The Fix<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was only a matter of time before the parochial racialist theories of education schools made their way to the business school,\u201d Professor Stanley Ridgley wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cMs. Everett\u2019s call for \u2018decolonizing\u2019 the business school curriculum is a shopworn trope borrowed from schools of education, most of which were captured by neo-Marxist \u2018critical theory\u2019 long ago,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBusiness schools and the curriculum aren\u2019t \u2018colonized\u2019 to begin with,\u201d he told The Fix<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Conservative political commentator Chris Rufo also criticized Everett.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe accreditor for 900 university business schools is now arguing for \u2018decolonizing the business school curriculum,\u2019\u201d he wrote on Twitter<\/a>. \u201cThe organization wants universities to critique \u2018geo-colonial capitalist formations\u2019 and denounce corporations for oppressing the Third World.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the AACSB noted that the op-ed did not necessarily reflect its own views, the accreditor does officially support \u201cdiversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging\u201d which it says it has \u201cembedded\u201d in its accreditation standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe principles of diversity and inclusion are embedded throughout AACSB\u2019s 2020 business accreditation standards and aim to ensure that schools will create a welcoming environment where faculty and learners feel they belong and can thrive,\u201d a 2021 position paper<\/a> from the organization stated.<\/p>\n

MORE:<\/strong> Former UCSD professor gave no homework to ‘decolonize’ classroom<\/a><\/p>\n

IMAGE: The Conversation<\/p>\n

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