Administration and De/Centering
A key overarching goal of this theme is to encourage university administrators to be accountable for practical action that extends beyond the performative understanding. We invite people involved in various administrative work into questions about why and what decolonization efforts can be, while grounding our workshop in a focus on how decolonial praxis can be enacted within the colonial/izing space of university administration.
As part of our decolonial dialogues project, collectively we foster and collaborate in intentional reflection on decision-making, our role in the reproduction of harm, possibilities, and otherwise within institutions; reflection and discussion about the complexity in the ecology of relations and decisions that expand here and now, that is, intention vs. outcome in institution. To facilitate this dialogue, we were guided by the following relational and reflection model:
The Concept of the Colonial Jacket
This short, 10 minute video is a great place to begin: Andreotti, V. (2016). Shouldering our colonial backpack: A Different Vision of Education.
Activity
What if we introduced ourselves through the invisible administrative labors that we perform in the various institutions (academic, familial, cultural etc) that we inhabit?
Who Am I?
What grounds us within our relational roles of administration?
Who Have I Been?
Who Am I Becoming?
Visual and Reflective Writing & Journaling
Why critical self-reflection? Why journaling & dialogue?
The goal of reflection is to unpack and engage tangible, take-away tools to begin and continue the personal journey and inner work of decolonial praxis. The goal of dialogue is to connect with each other in an embodied form of practice that puts a premium on humanity and relationality.
“embodied reflexivity” → making reflection a method and a practice
Utitofon invites us to reflect on how we can establish a different kind of relationality through restorying our administrative roles.
Reflection Prompts
“What roles do you occupy (have you occupied) that you (or other) consider “administrative”?
This is important because there is a temptation to think about others as being in administrative roles and “us” being outside of it.
What does it look like for someone to write themselves into the narrative that is administration? What kind kind of work are you doing and what does it mean?
How can we narrate/world-build for/by/with ourselves beyond the labels of administration?
In what ways am I irreplaceable? What messages have I received about my role within the institution?
What are your administrative roles? Or what have they been?
What are your practices of nurturing aspects of yourself that exist beyond colonial logics? How do you ground yourself outside of your administrative roles?
What tools are rooted in you to move from harm to healing?
What are the commitments you are making as an administrator (or in your administrative roles)?
Engage more
To read
We Will Not Cancel Us by adrienne maree brown: 1) blog post, 2) full ebook
To listen
Administrative work has weaved itself into many parts of our lives. The Emergent Strategy Podcast has a number of episodes where guests share how they are resisting and working “otherwise” within and outside of institutions: