The course aims to explore how race and racism have been understood, constructed, and theorised in the modern period, and to examine the ways in which education systems and institutions have functioned as sites of exclusion, discrimination, and conflict, as well as spaces for reform, resistance, civil rights movements, and efforts toward equality.

Through engagement with a range of theoretical frameworks, students will develop a broad understanding of key strands of scholarship that investigate race, racism, and their wider social, political, and historical determinants. Drawing on examples from multiple global contexts, the course uses diverse perspectives to analyse the social and moral consequences of events, policies, and practices shaped by education and influenced by broader historical, political, and socioeconomic dynamics.

The course also considers how racism has developed and operated in different societies across both the Global North and the Global South, drawing on local histories and international research. It examines how historical understandings of race, racial difference and cultural identity have interacted with education in ways that reproduce discrimination, prejudice and inequity. It also explores how education can create possibilities for equality, cultural survival, linguistic and cultural preservation, and the recognition and flourishing of diverse identities and values.

This is a taught course, normally based on one lecture and one seminar each week that draws on expertise around race and racism. The course is supported by a carefully selected range of online resources, selected readings, and self-assessment exercises.

None 

MSc in Educational Studies

MEd Educational Studies

MSc in AI in Education

This course is assessed through two summative assessments - a written reflection and action plan (20%) and a written essay (80%).

This course aims to examine how race and racism shape educational systems, policies, and everyday practices across global contexts. It explores both historical and contemporary debates surrounding inequality, power, and social justice in education. The course seeks to develop students' critical understanding of how structural and institutional racism affects learners and communities worldwide to equip them with the analytical tools needed to identify, evaluate, and challenge inequities within educational settings. Through reflective and ethically informed inquiry, the course encourages students to consider how education can contribute to more equitable, inclusive, and socially just societies.

Students will be encouraged to engage with diverse theories and viewpoints, fostering critical thinking, research skills, effective communication, and a global outlook, with opportunities to apply these in class discussions and assessments.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Identify key examples of systemic racism within institutional, educational or social settings in global contexts.

2. Apply relevant theoretical frameworks, such as Critical Race Theory, intersectionality, postcolonialism and decolonial thought to manifestations of race and racism.

3. Analyse how intersections between race and other social categories, such as gender, class, disability and migration, shape experiences and outcomes within education and society.

4. Critically interrogate the relationship between racism and the production of coloniality, synthesising relevant theoretical perspectives to demonstrate critical awareness of the concept of decolonising the mind.

5. Formulate coherent arguments about how education can function both as a site of inequality and as a potential catalyst for social transformation.