Scholarship for liberation
Reading Decoloniality is an inter-institutional research hub with an open-source publication (ISSN 2977-8573), reading group and residencies that produce and disseminate international and interdisciplinary scholarship for liberation.
Reading Decoloniality creates generous and critical thought that tackles pressing issues of knowledge, precarity and power across flexible and hybrid scholarly forms and to a broad audience.
Reading Decoloniality was founded by Claire French, and is currently co-edited by Asanda Ngoasheng, Teodora Todorova and Claire French. Our team consists of interdisciplinary scholars working throughout the world that contribute to programming and editorial boards.
Reading Decoloniality evolved out of the Decolonial/Postcolonial Working Group at the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS), University of Warwick in early 2021. This group was founded by Eloise Betrand, Giulia Champion, Nadeen Dakkak, Remi Dewiere, Will Fysh, Martha Gayoye, Luca Peretti and Doro Wiese.
There are important dialogic connections between our public and globally attended reading groups and high-quality, short-form publication:
Reading group
Reading Decoloniality operates with an open membership, allowing individuals—regardless of institutional affiliation—to participate in monthly reading groups and talks. Readers meet monthly, often on the first Wednesday of each month, to hear from a speaker presenting their work, or others’.
Publication
Speakers publish reflections on decolonial discourses that are critically located in their place, moment and wider context, and in transparent dialogue with readers.
Residencies
Members engage Institute of Advanced Studies research residencies that tackle issues of decolonial research design, reciprocal global south-north collaboration, and brokering new important relationships.
The mechanics
Reading groups are usually published in three-month cycles on our site and invite a speaker to discuss selected discourses (journal articles, chapters, practices) as an introduction, before opening to a collaborative investigation with readers. There is often something to read/view before each reading group.
Reflective articles for our publication are then penned by reading group speakers within six weeks from the reading group date and feature the minutes from the discussion as a postscript.
Residencies are developed over 2-year terms with Institute for Advanced Studies and led by a key inquiry.
New scholars and beyond
This publication and reading group began to nourish and support the ideas of new interdisciplinary scholars in dialogue with a wider public of academics, practitioners and policy makers. Although it has widened its scope to mid- and late- career speakers and authors, it continues to shape ideas with new scholars at the centre.
Institutional support
Reading Decoloniality is supported in kind as well as receives small financial aid from the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS), University of Warwick. In addition to covering the annual hosting fees, founding members of the group began decolonial discussions in their time at the IAS and new members still continue to be recruited from this base. The IAS, nor The University of Warwick, do not have any programme leadership of Reading Decoloniality.
