Below are some suggested readings relating to decolonisation in the context of art history, cultural studies, curation and conservation, as well as the higher education system and our wider cultural landscape. These have been loosely organised into thematic reading lists and are by no means exhaustive.
If you are a current student or staff member at The Courtauld, many of these texts are accessible either physically or as ebooks through our Library. Links are provided where possible.
We are always open to new suggestions – please share these with decolonising.action.groups@courtauld.ac.uk
Decolonising History and Art History
Decolonising Art History, edited by Catherine Grant and Dorothy Price:
Shades of Black : Assembling Black Arts in 1980s Britain,edited by David A. Bailey, Sonia Boyce, and Ian Baucom:
Black artists in British art: a history since the 1950s to the present,by Eddie Chambers:
Travel and See : Black Diaspora Art Practices since The 1980s,by Kobena Mercer:
Black and British – A Forgotten History, by David Olusoga: Print copies available
African Europeans An Untold Story, by Olivette Otele: Print copies available
Indigenous London : Native Travelers at the Heart of Empire,edited by Coll Thrush, Kate Shanley, and Ned Blackhawk:
Inglorious Empire – What The British did to India,by Shashi Tharoor: Print copies available
Decolonising the University and Higher Education
Decolonizing the university, edited by Gurminder K. Bhambra, Dalia Gabrial and Kerem Nianciogiu:
Decolonizing methodologies: research and indigenous peoples,by Linda Tuhiwai Smith:
Narrative Expansions : Interpreting Decolonisation in Academic Libraries, by Jess Crilly and Regina Everitt:
Arts-Based Methods for Decolonising Participatory Research,edited by Satu Miettinen, Tiina Seppälä and Melanie Sarantou:
Decolonising Museums, Galleries, and Cultural Heritage
The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution,by Dan Hicks:
Practicing Decoloniality in Museums : A Guide with Global Examples,edited by Csilla E. Ariese and Magdalena Wróblewska:
Decolonizing Colonial Heritage : New Agendas, Actors and Practices in and beyond Europe,edited by Britta Timm Knudsen, John Oldfield, ElizabethBuettner and Elvan Zabunyan:
The PostcolonialMuseum: The Arts of Memory and the Pressures of History,edited by Iain Chambers, Allesandra de Angelis, Celeste Ianniciello Mariangela Orabona and Michaela Quadraro:
Decolonizing museums:representing native America in national and tribal museums,by Amy Lonetree:
Anti-Racism, Post-Colonialism, Intersectionality and Beyond
Yellow Peril! An Archive of Anti-Asian Fear, edited by John Kuo Wei Tchen & Dylan Yeats: Print copies available
Do Muslim Women Need Saving?by Lila Abu-Lughod:
Don’t Touch My Hair by Emma Dabiri:
White Fragility, by Robin DiAngelo: Print copies available
Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race,by Reni Eddo-Lodge:
Me and White Supremacy : Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor,by Layla F. Saad:
Whitewalling: Art, Race & Protest in 3 Acts,by Aruna D’Souza:Print copies available
Necropolitics (Theory in Forms), by Achille Mbembe:
On the Postcolony, by Achille Mbembe:
Orientalism,by Edward Said: Print copies available
On decoloniality: concepts, analytics, and praxis,edited by Walter D. Mignolo and Catherine E. Walsh:
Women, Race and Class,by Angela Davis:Print copies available
The Wretched of The Earth, by Franz Fanon: Print copies available
Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism, by bell hooks: Print copies available
Sister Outsider, by Audre Lorde: Print copies available
Envisioning Global LGBT Human Rights : Neo)colonialism, Neoliberalism, Resistance and Hope,edited by Nancy Nicol, Adrian Jjuuko, Richard Lusimbo, Nick J. Mulé, Susan Ursel, Amar Wahab and Phyllis Waugh: