Beyond the Master’s House: Science or silence?
In a time of multiple, overlapping crises – rising fascism, ongoing genocides and increasing evidence of the colonial involvement of Dutch universities – there is a growing call for academics to step down from the ivory tower. Now more than ever, research must move beyond studying society from a distance and instead be done with and for communities. This calls for meaningful collaboration with grassroots movements, activists, artists and policy makers. Yet collaboration between academia and grassroots movements is shaped by deep and persistent tensions: historical mistrust, institutional hierarchies, unequal access to funding and conflicting ideas about knowledge production. At the same time, academics of colour and/or with migrant backgrounds continue to face additional structural barriers within the institutional spaces they represent. As Black feminist, poet, professor and civil rights activist Audre Lorde urges in her essay The Master’s Tool will never Dismantle the Master’s House: “How can we move from divide and conquer to define and empower?”.
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Within a collectively created safe space, this evening brings together activists, artists, grassroots organisations, and academics or institutional professionals to explore these challenges together. Departing from our experiences with decolonial practices in healthcare and archaeology, we will facilitate an interactive dialogue that weaves together conversation, food, and storytelling.
