Trauma and Emotion in Decolonising Anthropology

Abstract

Teaching a module entitled ‘Decolonising Anthropology’ means having to approach numerous difficult and challenging subjects with students. It also means having to respond to and reflect on the traumatic responses that these topics bring about in individuals. During classes in this module, on the use of human remains in biological anthropology, students have become overwhelmed by the subject matter and removed themselves from the laboratory. Students have also expressed anxiety and feelings of uncertainty due to the assessment of this module, where we encourage the production of alternative assessment types and learning outcomes as a reaction to traditional essay style submissions. This paper highlights the impact of learning about decolonising the curriculum and challenging traditional pedagogical approaches on undergraduate students studying anthropology. Reflections from students will be discussed, including transformative feelings from overwhelm to having constructive conversations about unsettling and unfamiliar topics, the juxtaposition of conventional academic thoughts against personal emotions and narratives, and how thinking about decolonising anthropology has been an unsettling experience. Personal reflection will be given to how such ‘risky teaching’ (Harrison et al., 2023) can help create more effective teaching and learning within the discipline and help develop a trauma-informed pedagogy for anthropology.

Keywords: Pedagogy; Decolonising; Trauma; Reflective.