Race Equity and Inclusive Curriculum: Diversity Mark and Making a Lasting Impression on the Institution

This chapter discusses practical approaches towards developing and sustaining transformative conversations towards decolonising university curricula. A student–staff collaborative research initiative reviewed module reading lists in several academic schools within the University of Kent to explore the benefits of broadening perspectives in pedagogy. The aim was to encourage teaching staff to include authors from the global South often marginalised or effaced from historical texts (Olusoga,  2021). Critical race theory’s method of storytelling was applied to demonstrate the value of the voices and scholarship of people of colour. Findings from the Diversity Mark initiative reveal that reading lists are overwhelmingly comprised of white, European, male authors, indicating ‘apartheid of knowledge’ (Bernal and Villalpando,  2002) which reproduces epistemic inequality. This chapter draws on postcolonial theory and further examines legacies of structural inequalities permeating university’s curricula. Diversity Mark findings have led to a Diversity Mark toolkit used to improve belonging and inclusion within the curricula.