Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Conference to explore race and higher education
The half-day panel discussion event, which will take place on Tuesday 10 May at Leeds Beckett’s Rose Bowl building, will bring together researchers from across the UK to consider the scope for developing more inclusive structures regarding the participation of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) individuals within higher education (HE). The discussion will examine how research can continue to be generated and used to dismantle racism in higher education and wider society.
The event, Race and Higher Education: Dismantling Racial Inequality in Higher Education-Panel Discussion, will also address racial inequality within HE and other racialised contexts within education. Academics on the panel will provide short 10 minute talking points on an issue of race within education or society, to encourage audience engagement and discussion.
The event, which is free to attend and open to all, is being hosted in conjunction with the Race, Equality and Diversity Forum, the Centre for Sport Coaching and Physical Education, the Centre for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and the Centre for Learning and Teaching at Leeds Beckett.
Event organiser Dr Jason Arday, Senior Lecturer in PE and Sociology at Leeds Beckett, explained: “This event will provide a fantastic opportunity to discuss issues concerning race within education, and shed some light on the inequalities which continue to be faced by BME groups. We are at a critical juncture regarding racial discourse within HE as more and more cases of exclusion and marginalisation faced by BME individuals within HE become verbalised. This forum provides a great platform for these issues to be discussed. The event also aligns with research undertaken in the Centre for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within the School of Sport at Leeds Beckett and provides an opportunity for us to advance the discourse around race equality and diversity in alignment with the Centre’s objectives.”
The panel will be made up of leading academics on racial discourse in education and society and will be chaired by Dr Aarti Ratna and Dr Arday from Leeds Beckett.
Panellists will include: Adam Elliott-Cooper, University of Oxford; Azeezat Johnson, University of Sheffield; Emma Newman, St Mary's University; Nadena Doharty, Keele University; Professor Ann Phoenix and Professor Gus John from the Institute of Education, UCL; Professor David Gillborn, University of Birmingham; Professor Kalwant Bhopal, University of Southampton; Professor Kevin Hylton, Leeds Beckett University; Professor Uvanney Maylor, University of Bedfordshire and Remi Joseph-Salisbury, University of Leeds.
Dr Arday is a Trustee of the Runnymede Trust and Co-Chair of the Runnymede Academic Forum. His work is primarily focused around Race, Education and Social Justice.