S4E1: Decolonising the English curriculum

In this episode of Talking Teaching, the University of Melbourne’s Larissa McLean Davies – an Associate Professor in Languages and Literacy Education – hosts a panel discussion on the importance of reading in our lives, and how to make the teaching of English more inclusive, particularly in terms of decolonising the curriculum.

Presenter: Genevieve Costigan

Guest speakers:

  • Associate Professor Larissa McLean Davies - Languages and Literacy Education, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne
  • Associate Professor Sandra Phillips - Associate Dean (Indigenous Engagement), University of Queensland
  • Seri Renkin OAM - Chair, The Stella Prize
  • Amy Brown - author and teacher

Read the full transcript

The panel

Associate Professor Larissa McLean Davies

Larissa McLean Davies is Associate Professor in Languages and Literacies Education at the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. Larissa’s research is in the teaching of literature and literacy, and she is committed to decolonising, or unsettling, the secondary English curriculum in her scholarship and teaching. She has published widely in journals focussing on English and literature education, curriculum, and teacher education. The monograph from her ARC Discovery Project, Investigating Literary Knowledge in the Making of English Teachers, will be published by Routledge in June 2021.

Associate Professor Sandra Phillips

Associate Professor Sandra Phillips is a member of the Wakka Wakka and Gooreng Gooreng nations of Queensland. She is Associate Dean Indigenous Engagement in the Faculty for Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Queensland. Associate Professor Phillips became an academic after a successful career in publishing. She was awarded the Queensland Writers Centre Johnno Award for services to writing in Queensland and the inaugural Oodgeroo Noonuccal Research Scholarship. She has board positions with the National Institute of Dramatic Art, the Library Board of Queensland, and the not-for-profit group Of One Mind.

Seri RenkinSeri Renkin OAM

Seri Renkin has over 15 years of experience working in the philanthropic sector, building on her decade as a management consultant in the professional services industry. Ms Renkin's passion for social justice has seen her driving innovative social impact at operational and board levels. She chairs The Stella Prize, an organisation that provides a series of strategic initiatives for women and non-binary writers. Stella champions outstanding literature and strives to ensure that women’s writing has a prominent place in Australian culture. Ms Renkin was awarded an OAM in 2019 in acknowledgement of her services to community organisations.

Amy Brown Amy Brown

Amy Brown has taught creative writing at the University of Melbourne (where she gained her PhD) and literature and philosophy at the Mac.Robertson Girls' High School. She has published three poetry collections and a series of four children's novels. Her latest book, Neon Daze – a verse journal of early motherhood – was included in The Saturday Paper's Best Books of 2019.