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Expert hub makes matters of race its focus

Specialists from a range of academic disciplines have launched a cross-University hub for research and teaching on race and ethnicity.

Academics across the humanities and social sciences will explore the vital role that ideas of race and practices of racism play in social, political and economic life across the globe.

The RACE.ED hub will highlight the work of experts at Edinburgh and also showcase the insights of academics from around the world.

Edinburgh scholars will engage with contemporary debates in key areas such as public policy, policing, healthcare, employment and education.

Fresh takes

They will also offer fresh perspectives on the lasting impact of colonialism worldwide and the varied responses to it by anti-colonial movements.

Scholars will also seek to shed light on topics including migration, displacement, gender and sexual based violence, genocide and post-conflict development.

Anti-black racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia and nationalism will be explored.

RACE.ED will promote a programme of activities in the coming months and the new hub will launch an inter-disciplinary course on Race and Decolonial Studies next year.

Research projects

Projects involving RACE.ED researchers include an analysis of Scotland’s approach to race equality since devolution.

Historical research includes a study of the suppression of African-oriented religions in the Caribbean and a project focused on the leading anti-slavery campaigner Frederick Douglass.

Researchers are part of global network dedicated to providing reparations for the enslavement and genocide of peoples of African descent.

Current concerns

The RACE.ED website also hosts a series of blogs addressing topics of current interest.

The latest piece focuses on the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities in the UK.

There are also posts about the racialisation of Chinese international students in the US and a reflection on the extent to which biology should matter to a person’s ethnic identity.

Other blogs reflect on the experiences of Caribbean students in 1960s Edinburgh and the University’s pioneering research in race relations in the 1950s.

Matters of race and racism are fundamental to our understanding of contemporary societies. Race.ED will foster a variety of approaches that help to make these more visible.

Professor Nasar MeerProject leader

Related link

Introductory blog