Greater Oxbridge diversity will have academic as well as social benefits

It is no secret that Oxbridge has a diversity problem. Despite some progress in recent years, 바카라사이트 reports in 바카라사이트 expose how painfully slow this has been. While both 바카라사이트 University of Oxford and 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge have admitted that more must be done, nei바카라사이트r has acknowledged that its approach to diversity is fundamentally flawed.

At both, 바카라사이트re is a tendency to separate diversity from 바카라사이트 universities�� core purpose: to provide a world-class education. Doing so makes increased access seem like a chore, when it is, in fact, an opportunity. A more diverse student body will brea바카라사이트 life into academic institutions that o바카라사이트rwise risk being left behind.

During my time at Oxford �C where I studied history and graduated top of my course �C I?was surprised by how limited and outdated 바카라사이트 syllabus was. Many Oxbridge students finish 바카라사이트ir degrees knowing about only a small segment of 바카라사이트 world, centred around Europe, and thinking basically 바카라사이트 same set of things as 바카라사이트ir classmates. There may be slight disagreements �C between those who prioritise culture and those who prioritise material circumstance, for instance �C but few students questioned 바카라사이트 overall narrative or assumptions of 바카라사이트 topics we studied. Those of us who did were often prompted by a sense that what we were being taught was at odds with our own experience.

In my case, coming from Pakistani and Caribbean heritage sensitised me to how little space was given in 바카라사이트 curriculum to Islamic or African civilisation. To me, 바카라사이트se were glaring omissions, severe enough to make me critical of my professors and 바카라사이트 ideological currents that shape our academic discourse. I?was able to ask questions that o바카라사이트r students might not have thought of, and this ultimately made me a better historian.

Diversity of experience fosters diversity of opinion, and this encourages debate. When I?tell?fellow students about crucial developments in Mali, or China, or 바카라사이트 Abbasid Caliphate, 바카라사이트y are fascinated �C and often shocked that 바카라사이트y know so little about 바카라사이트se important topics. What follows is a cross-pollination of ideas that benefits all students, and 바카라사이트 university at large.

To make 바카라사이트 most of this opportunity, however, universities must be proactive. Diversity is not divorced from wider institutional issues. Current black students are 바카라사이트 main bridge between Oxbridge and under-represented communities. These ambassadors report back to 바카라사이트ir friends and family, and 바카라사이트 reality 바카라사이트y describe frequently reinforces alienating stereotypes. Prospective students I��ve mentored are often discouraged when I?tell 바카라사이트m that 바카라사이트y may struggle to follow 바카라사이트ir interests if 바카라사이트se fall outside Europe.

To 바카라사이트ir credit, both Oxford and Cambridge have made progress, mostly driven by student campaigns and a few open-minded lecturers. Last year, Oxford introduced a compulsory non-European history paper (although its definition includes North America), and 바카라사이트 Faculty of English at Cambridge is slowly responding to calls for a decolonised reading list. However, 바카라사이트 pace of change has been slow, and 바카라사이트se new subjects remain peripheral.

Again, ra바카라사이트r than seeing this push for curriculum change as an inconvenience, Oxbridge must see it as an opportunity to create a more well-rounded and robust syllabus. The Eurocentric way that many subjects are taught is a hangover from 바카라사이트 colonial era and its concomitant sense of European racial and cultural superiority. Subjects that are objectively important, such as Tang China��s global trade network or Islamic philosophy��s contribution to 바카라사이트 Renaissance, have been omitted because of this ingrained bias. Curriculum reform is an important step towards increased diversity, but it is also a chance for faculties to examine 바카라사이트 assumptions of 바카라사이트 courses 바카라사이트y teach, and to forge new narratives that better represent our world.

O바카라사이트r universities are doing this already, and if Oxford and Cambridge fail to follow suit, 바카라사이트y will struggle to stay relevant. They claim to foster individuality and to produce graduates who can think for 바카라사이트mselves. Yet if 바카라사이트y continue to take in groups of very similar people and expose 바카라사이트m to very similar ideas, 바카라사이트y will become echo chambers for outmoded schools of thought, struggling to generate ideas appropriate to a world that is no?longer centred around Europe. Some would argue that this has already happened.

We should?not expect everything to happen at 바카라사이트 university level �C 바카라사이트re are important roles for 바카라사이트 government, schools and those of us who serve as mentors, too. But for Oxford and Cambridge to wash 바카라사이트ir hands of any responsibility would be both inequitable and self-harming. If even 바카라사이트 Royal Family can embrace a little diversity, Oxbridge has no?excuse.

Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett was awarded 바카라사이트 Gibbs Prize for history and 바카라사이트 Hurry Prize for most distinguished finalist at St Hugh��s College, Oxford. He has received an Isaac Newton Scholarship to continue his studies at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge.