The faculty of education recently launched a free anti-racism course, developed by Dr. Bathseba Opini, an assistant professor at the faculty of educational studies.
The course, called Historical, Systemic and Intersectional Anti-racism: From Awareness to Action, consists of seven modules that cover the history of racism, and its forms, as well as education on white supremacy and anti-racism.
Opini called the course “long overdue.”
“What I really want people to get from the course, number one, is really to understand the history, the past and the contemporary that shapes our future,” she said. “We know that education is actually what brought us to this mess and we can use education to clean up that mess.”
Oppression is rooted “within our everyday societal practices, the structures we are operating in, working in, and studying in...” Opini said. She hopes that this course can instigate a critical conversation regarding systemic and intersectional racism.
“My goal was really to show how those forms of oppression are connected, intertwined and shaped by us and foremost, the idea of coloniality and colonialism,” she said.
Despite its aim towards educators and teaching candidates, Opini encouraged everyone who can take this course to take it. This is part of the reason why the seven modules of this course are free of cost.
“When you think about anti-racism, it is a challenging discussion and people shy away from it; the discussions are discomforting ... So, if we really want people to access education, we have to think of creative ways of getting education to the people,” she said.
People can pay US$50 in order to gain a certificate when they complete the course. Additional work is required to obtain the certificate, such as practical assessments, extra readings, activities and reflections.
When discussing these topics of anti-racism, coloniality and colonialism, Opini said she “didn't just develop the course and put it out there,” but consulted with many experts who then reviewed the course.
Overall, Opini said the course was designed with one motivation: the need for it in the faculty and the university. So, as Opini claimed, educators are the people who shape minds and create change; and that change begins with a conversation.
To Opini, this course is “just the beginning” of that conversation.
Click here to register for the course.
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