Universities and Society at the End of Empire and Beyond (UNISOC)

The field of decolonisation studies has been remarkably dynamic in the twenty-first century, structured in particular by the ‘Decolonization Seminar’ held at the Library of Congress in Washington over ten years (2005-2015), and enriched by the multiple opportunities for cross-fertilization between empirical history and the theoretical perspectives underpinning postcolonial studies. Yet, one aspect which deserves further elaboration relates to the very places where these conversations have taken place: the universities, notably in the Western world. UniSoc seeks to uncover how institutions of higher education navigated the decolonisation process, both in the former metropoles and the former colonies.

Scholarship has shown how, in the late colonial period, universities both trained students that would become colonial civil servants, as well as more and more students from the colonies – with the inequalities undergirding colonialism as a result increasingly discussed and challenged. Understanding decolonization as a process, Unisoc takes the work on the role of universities in the period after formal decolonization further and examine how universities also played a role in the transition towards the post-colonial order, sending their researchers to newly-independent states, embracing the development paradigm and sometimes accompanying the development of burgeoning academic life in countries that were still in the making. Whilst it was crucial at the time, this role in helping set up an academic framework – sometimes from scratch – can also be seen as a form of acculturation.

Back in the metropoles, universities were at the heart of intellectual efforts to conceptualize the new world that was emerging out of decolonisation, from global power relations to migratory patterns, and what this meant for local societies. At the same time, the student body also changed significantly, further questioning the unspoken assumptions of these institutions. Universities continue to play a key role in conversations about the future of nations that have to re-invent their place in the world, whilst facing significant change in sociological and ethnic dynamics as a direct legacy of their imperial trajectories.

The first stage in this Birmingham-Leiden collaboration revolves around two flagship events. The first one, held in Birmingham on 23 and 24 June 2026, included a keynote lecture by Prof. Priyamvada Gopal (University of Cambridge), a workshop with Prof. Alicia Schrikker (Leiden) and the Birmingham ‘Decolonising a Business School’ team, as well as twenty papers by UK and overseas scholars (from Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Nigeria, USA and Switzerland) at various stages in their careers. The second event, scheduled in Leiden on 5-6 November 2026, will feature keynote contributions by Prof. Joe Hodge (West Virginia University), Ruth Bush (Bristol) and Insa Nolte (UoB) as part of a programme including article workshopping and roundtable discussions exploring three key themes (Universities and post-war world-making; Approaches, theory and sources: Methodological considerations; The colonial past and its legacies in present-day universities).

• Birmingham workshop, 23-24 June 2026 
• Leiden workshop, 5-6 November 2026