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Really great conversation with @NaomiMasheti @carovschroeter @KristinMLeary and @Hannah_RoseM on Douglass and Decolonising Curriculum. Here's a little thread on the way history teachers in primary schools in Ireland might start this process, within the limits of the curriculum.
1. Avoid the language of discovery- Territories outside of Europe were not 'discovered'- people lived their before and had their own cultures and societies. We can talk instead about colonisation, contact, and conflict.
2. When teaching the French and American Revolution, point students in the direction of the Haitian Revolution, an event of equivalent global importance that involved many Irish enslavers and was admired by some Irish radicals and nationalists.
3. When mentioning Irish migration to the so-called New World, include the fact that this was facilitated by the genocide of the people who originally lived there- Native Americans, Aborigines etc.
4. When teaching Later Modern European history for the LC try as far as possible to communicate to students how much of European power and wealth was bound up in the exploitation of the colonies and howequality in liberal democracies was not extended to women and people of colour
5. Avoid portraying other parts of the colonial world as simply the backdrop for Anglo-Irish or Franco-German disputes. Morocco was not just a venue for the Moroccan crises, South Africa not just a place for struggle between Boers and Britain.
6. Encourage students to do projects on spaces outside of Europe and/or on entanglements between Europe/Ireland and other parts of the colonial world. It shows how these histories are legitimate subjects too. This is what started me on the road to becoming a colonial historian!
7. Encourage students to think of race as a historical category- how has it shaped and been shaped by the experience of colonialism? Here comparisons between histories and legacies of Irish and other colonialism are really useful.
8. Give space for students to challenge the curriculum- take to them about absences, if and why they don't recognise themselves in it, how it has changed and how it should change.
9. Do what you do best- create a space in the classroom where students feel they can talk about complex and uncomfortable pasts and their legacies in the present. And ask those of us with specific expertise to help!
10. If you are in a position of power, try to encourage students of colour to go into education and try to hire teachers of colour where possible. Representation matters. Also, share the burden of this work as widely as possible!
11. Final thing (and teachers are WAY better at this than academics)- try to leave your ego at the door. Be prepared to be called out when you get it wrong, listen, learn to unlearn to relearn. The end result will be worth it!
