The Cambridge Decolonising Criminology Network is excited to invite you all to our Decolonial Research Methods Workshop for MPhil, PhD students, and early career researchers. The workshop is designed to provide students with an introduction to postcolonial theory, not just as a framework for analysing research, but also as a methodological approach that can be applied in social science research and fieldwork. The workshop will commence with a lecture that covers the fundamental concepts of decolonial theory followed by an interdisciplinary panel discussion featuring PhD students who have been employing decolonial research praxis. It will conclude with small group discussions that focus on the implementation of decolonial methods in the participants' own research.
Abstract: Given that criminal legal systems arise from socially constructed value systems, the postcolonial turn in criminology promotes a continued critical analysis of the factors shaping the development of these value systems. Analysis of policing and punishment practices demonstrate persistent differences in enforcement and community impact, thereby reinforcing and co-creating social differences. Evidence indicates an internal feedback loop between the social framing of crimes and the discursive construction of a ‘dangerous other’, providing justifications for escalating policing practices, surveillance, and punishments. This provides impetus for a Decolonial Methods Seminar that aims to provide a basis for all social scientists to critically consider their own role in constructing a social reality and purporting to establish objective ‘truths’.
Workshop Format:
Training on Fundamental Decolonial Theory Concepts, led by Andrew Fallone, Institute of Criminology
Panel Discussion on Decolonial Research Praxis
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‘Towards Pluriversal Research: the Challenge of Decolonising Sociological Methods’ — Seetha Tan, Department of Sociology
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‘Criminological Research and Indigenous Agency: Reading Colonial Archives Along and Against the Grain’ — Nishant Gokhale, Faculty of Law
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‘Navigating 'The Field': Solidarity as the guiding principle’ — Julia Jakob, Faculty of Education
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‘Studying Up, Dissecting Hope: Reflections on Researching Well-Intentioned Elites’ — Emiliano Cabrera-Rocha, Department of Geography
Small Group Discussion on Implementing Decolonial Methods in Participants' Own Research