Staff, authors, and students criticize the decision to give the co-founder of Black British literature a redundancy note.
Goldsmiths, University of London has come under fire for allegedly being determined to terminate its Black British literature course after selecting its co-founder for redundancy as part of a cost-cutting program.
According to the Guardian, provisional redundancy notices were issued to 97 academic staff across 11 university departments, including Prof. Deirdre Osborne, on Monday.
This follows the university’s May U-turn to keep the program for two years in response to backlash from writers and students, including Booker Prize-winning author Bernardine Evaristo.
According to Catherine Rottenberg, an executive committee member of Goldsmiths University and College Union (GUCU), “What is clear to me is that the media pressure worked initially to get them to at least commit to not closing the program.”
A Goldsmiths representative stated that the university is fully committed to continuing to provide its MA programs, including the Black British Literature MA and queer history MA.
“Difficult decisions must be made by universities around the UK to deal with unprecedented financial challenges. This is a painful time for us all as we take steps to stabilize our finances. We consulted staff and unions to over plans but unfortunately this did not produce workable solutions that would have prevented or decrease the number of redundancies,” the representative added.
Prominent authors and students have criticized the recent decision, expressing their concerns about the future of Black British literature in academia generally and how the program will continue without its co-founder.
Margaret Busby, the publisher and editor, expressed her shock after learning that the university was making Osborne redundant, even though the university had previously assured her that the course would be maintained.
Busby, Britain’s first Black female publisher, stated, “The MA Black British Literature should not be treated as a second-class citizen.” “If there is a true long-term commitment to maintain and developing the course, why would one suddenly remove Prof. Deirde Obsorne, who is already in place with these capabilities?”
“We’re talking about the life of a nation’s literature, Toni Morrison said to me in 1988. We’re not taking about patronage or affirmative action.”
Poet Patience Agbabi expressed amazement at the decision, stating that the university is “shooting itself in the foot.” She added, “The level and range of information possessed by these individuals is amazing. It appears to be the extremely peculiar action for a university to fire highly accomplished senior lecturers.”
Author Mendez urged the institution to commit to finding new strategies to entice students. They added that the finest representation of Black British work in high school and A-level is tokenistic. Feeling empowered to study our history, thought process, and literacy arts is crucial for everyone.
Paterson Joseph, an actor, author, and chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, questioned why a course in Black British literature, the only one of its kind worldwide, would be discontinued.
“The emotional thing that hits me is why is it so forgettable and negligible. Why does Goldsmiths and other universities not find it necessary to continue to examine this work?”
Denise Rawls, a student entering her second year in the program this autumn, stated that she does not see how the course can continue without Osborne. Osborne and Prof. Joan Annim-Addo co-founded the first program in 2015.
“The Unique subject is being eliminated in all but the name by removing our professor, a woman, who practically authored the books on Black British literature and who we all trust and claiming that the Black British storytelling and academic study are unnecessary,” Rawls added.
