Grand Challenges lecture series ILAS 2017-2018 | Page 8

GRAND CHALLENGES
LECTURE SERIES
THE ‘BETRAYAL OF WHITE
PUPILS’ (AND OTHER LIES
WE’RE TOLD ABOUT RACE
AND EDUCATION) OUT OF THE WRECKAGE:
A NEW POLITICS FOR AN AGE
OF CRISIS
PROFESSOR DAVID GILLBORN 4 MAY 2018 | WESTMINSTER THEATRE
CHANCELLOR’S BUILDING | 6.00PM-7.00PM
FREE ADMISSION | REFRESHMENTS AVAILABLE
GEORGE MONBIOT
21 MARCH 2018 | KEELE HALL | THE SALVIN ROOM
6.00PM-7.00PM FREE ADMISSION
REFRESHMENTS AVAILABLE
In April 2016 the front page of the Daily Mail, Britain’s
most politically influential newspaper, was dominated
by the headline ‘Betrayal of White Pupils’. The story is
part of a long running campaign, waged across the
mass media and mainstream politics, that presents
White people as race victims, ignored by the ‘elite’
and treated as second-class citizens in the face of
multiculturalism and political correctness.
In education, this lie has been perpetrated by both main
political parties and has led to education policy that not
only ignores racist inequality, but actively reinforces
and worsens the situation. Whilst migration and social
integration are frequently cited as our major concerns,
the greater challenge here is whether and how we can
move the White majority from its position of assumed
dominance and superiority.
Professor David Gillborn is Director of the Centre for
Research in Race & Education (CRRE) at the University
of Birmingham and Professor of Critical Race Studies.
His research on racism in educational policy and practice
and, in particular, his championing the growth of Critical
Race Theory (CRT) internationally has earned him notable
honours. David is a Fellow of the Academy of Social
Sciences and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Recent
publications are ‘The Colour of Class’ (co-authored with
Nicola Rollock, Stephen J. Ball and Carol Vincent, 2015)
and ‘Foundations of Critical Race Theory in Education’ (co-
edited with Edward Taylor and Gloria Ladson-Billings, 2016).
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racism is a deeply-rooted
characteristic of education
in England
A toxic ideology rules the world – of extreme competition
and individualism. It misrepresents human nature,
destroying hope and common purpose. Only a positive
vision can replace it, a new story that re-engages people
in politics and lights a path to a better world.
George Monbiot explains how new findings in psychology,
neuroscience and evolutionary biology cast human nature
in a radically different light: as the supreme altruists and
cooperators. He shows how we can build on these findings
to create a new politics: a ‘politics of belonging’. Both
democracy and economic life can be radically reorganized
from the bottom up, enabling us to take back control and
overthrow the forces that have thwarted our ambitions for
a better society. His new and thrilling vision provides the
hope and clarity required to change the world.
take back control and
overthrow the forces
that have thwarted
our ambitions
George Monbiot writes a weekly column for the Guardian
and is the author of a number of books, including How Did
We Get Into This Mess?; Heat: How to Stop the Planet
Burning; The Age of Consent: A Manifesto for a New World
Order; Captive State: The Corporate Takeover of Britain;
and Feral: Rewilding the Land, Sea and Human Life. His
most recent project is an a lbum, written with the musician
Ewan McLennan, called Breaking the Spell of Loneliness.
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