Universities Reflect on Colonial Legacies in Post-Empire Era

New academic partnership examines how higher education navigated decolonization and the transition to post-colonial societies.

Published on Mar. 6, 2026

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A new academic partnership between the Universities of Birmingham in the UK and Leiden in the Netherlands, called Universities and Society at the End of Empire and Beyond (UniSoc), is examining the role of universities in the transition from colonial to post-colonial and multicultural societies over the past century. The initiative will explore how institutions of higher education navigated the decolonization process, both in former metropoles and colonies, and how they helped shape the post-colonial order.

Why it matters

The field of decolonization studies has been dynamic in recent decades, but the specific role of universities in this process has been underexplored. UniSoc aims to uncover how these institutions of higher learning adapted to the changing geopolitical landscape, trained new elites, produced knowledge, and grappled with issues of race, migration, and societal change in the wake of empire.

The details

UniSoc will kick off with a workshop in Birmingham on June 23-24, 2026, for which paper proposals are invited. The initiative will also lead to a special journal issue on 'Shaping the Post-Empire? Universities and Decolonisation'. Potential research areas include the training of colonial elites, the production of knowledge during decolonization, the role of universities in post-colonial societies, and the evolution of curricula, student experiences, and university collections.

  • The first UniSoc event will be a workshop in Birmingham on June 23-24, 2026.
  • The initiative will lead to a special journal issue with a provisional title of 'Shaping the Post-Empire? Universities and Decolonisation'.

The players

Universities of Birmingham

A university in the UK that is partnering with Leiden University on the UniSoc initiative to examine the role of higher education in the transition from colonial to post-colonial societies.

University of Leiden

A university in the Netherlands that is partnering with the University of Birmingham on the UniSoc initiative to examine the role of higher education in the transition from colonial to post-colonial societies.

Priyamvada Gopal

A professor at the University of Cambridge who will be giving a keynote speech at the UniSoc workshop in Birmingham.

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What’s next

The first event of this new research programme will be a workshop in Birmingham on 23 and 24 June 2026, for which paper proposals are invited.

The takeaway

This initiative highlights how universities, as key institutions of the colonial era, have grappled with their legacies and played a role in the transition to post-colonial societies, shaping knowledge production, curricula, and public discourse around issues of race, migration, and national identity.