New Publication: “Coloniality and Racial (In)Justice in the University: Counting for Nothing?” edited by Sunera Thobani



Congratulations to Dr. Sunera Thobani who edited the newly released Coloniality and Racial (In)Justice in the University: Counting for Nothing? (University of Toronto Press)!

Coloniality and Racial (In)Justice in the University examines the disruption and remaking of the university at a moment in history when white supremacist politics have erupted across North America, as have anti-racist and anti-colonial movements. Situating the university at the heart of these momentous developments, this collection debunks the popular claim that the university is well on its way to overcoming its histories of racial exclusion.

Written by faculty and students located at various levels within the institutional hierarchy, this book demonstrates how the shadows of settler colonialism and racial division are reiterated in “newer” neoliberal practices. Drawing on critical race and Indigenous theory, the chapters challenge Eurocentric knowledge, institutional whiteness, and structural discrimination that are the bedrock of the institution.

The authors also analyze their own experiences to show how Indigenous dispossession, racial violence, administrative prejudice, and imperialist militarization shape classroom interactions within the university.

About Dr. Sunera Thobani

Dr. Sunera Thobani is a Professor in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia. Her scholarship is located at the intersection of the Social Sciences and Humanities. She studies and works on critical race, postcolonial, transnational and feminist theory; intersectionality, social movements and critical social theory; colonialism, indigeneity and racial violence; globalization, citizenship and migration; South Asian women’s, gender and sexuality studies; representations of Islam and Muslims in South Asian and Western media; and Muslim Women, Islamophobia and the war on terror.

The geographical areas of her research include Canada, the US, South Asia and the South Asian diaspora.

Her academic work is informed by a commitment to the scholarship of engagement and by her activism in the anti-racist, feminist and anti-war movements.