Conference | Workshop

Universities and Society at the End of Empire and Beyond - UniSoc

Date

Tuesday 23 June 2026 - Wednesday 24 June 2026

Address

University of Birmingham, Arts Building, Lecture Room 5

The first event of this new research programme on Universities, Society and Decolonisation brings together perspectives from the Global North and the Global South. We are delighted that Professor Priyamvada Gopal (University of Cambridge) will deliver the keynote address.

UniSoc

Based upon an academic partnership between the Universities of Birmingham in the UK and Leiden in the Netherlands, Universities and Society at the End of Empire and Beyond (UniSoc) uses these two global seats of learning as a starting point to examine the role of universities in the transition from colonial to postcolonial and multicultural societies over the past century.

Both institutions have started to reflect critically on this legacy. Building on these initiatives, and on the emerging scholarship on universities in (post) colonial contexts, UniSoc asks how the remit and modus operandi of European universities evolved in the aftermath of empire, opening a neglected entry-point into the wider question of the interplay between the colonial past and the post-colonial present. 

Programme

See the full programme here .