The EAA Virtual Activities Committee is glad to announce a new Diversity and Equity event on “Decolonizing the accounting curriculum”, in collaboration with the EAA Education Committee.
Over the past years, “decolonization” has entered the language of universities (Sian, 2019; Subedi, 2013) and calls to decolonize research and teaching have gained traction across the accounting academe. There is also an increasing number of calls to specifically decolonize the accounting curriculum and pedagogy (e.g., Alawattage et al., 2021). However, it is fair to say that efforts to decolonize the accounting curriculum have been also questioned. This is primarily due the lack of knowledge and understanding about the meaning of decolonization, but perhaps more fundamentally, due to a lack of clarity about the purpose of such calls for action.
What is meant by ‘decolonizing’? Why is it important? What are the issues often omitted but must be considered? How do we get started and how do we go about it?
These are some of the broad questions that will be addressed by an engaging and interactive panel of discussants. Join Diane-Laure Arjaliès, Russell Evans, Fernanda Sauerbronn and Joanne Sopt as they delve into this important topic, drawing on their research and teaching experiences. The panel will be moderated by Charles H. Cho and Elisavet Mantzari.
When: March 17, 2021. Time: 3 to 4:30 pm Brussels time
Speakers: Diane-Laure Arjaliès, Russell Evans, Fernanda Sauerbronn and Joanne Sopt
Moderators: Charles H. Cho and Elisavet Mantzari
Registration is now open here
Optional background readings:
Alawattage, C., Arjaliès, D.L., Barrett, M., Bernard, J., de Castro Casa Nova, S.P., Cho, C.H., Cooper, C., Denedo, M. Drujon D’Astros, C., Evans, R., Ejiogu, A., Frieden, L., Ghio, A., McGuigan, N., Luo, Y., Pimentel, E., Powell, L., Navarro Pérez, P.A., Quattrone, P., Romi, A. M., Smyth, S., Sopt, J. and Sorola, M. (2021). Opening Accounting: A Manifesto. Accounting Forum, 45(3), 227-246.
Shahjahan R.A., Estera A.L., Surla K.L., Edwards K.T. (2022). “Decolonizing” Curriculum and Pedagogy: A Comparative Review Across Disciplines and Global Higher Education Contexts. Review of Educational Research, 92(1), 73-113.
Sian, K. P. (2019). Decolonizing the curriculum. In Navigating Institutional Racism in British Universities (pp. 97-118). Springer.
Subedi, B. (2013). Decolonizing the curriculum for global perspectives. Educational Theory, 3(6), 621-638.
Tuck, E. and Yang, K.W. (2012). Decolonization is not a methaphor. Decolonization: indigeneity, education & society, 1(1), 1-40
Speakers:
Diane-Laure Arjaliès is an Associate Professor at the Ivey Business School, Western University (Canada). She aims to push the boundaries of knowledge and practice by investigating how the fashioning of new devices and collective actions can help transform financial markets towards sustainable development. She is currently working on a conservation impact bond to fund ecosystems recovery that includes both Indigenous and Western forms of knowledge.
Russell A. Evans is an Assistant Professor of Accounting from the University of Windsor Odette School of Business in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. He is Indigenous and has roots in both the Temagami First Nation (Bear Island) and Matachewan First Nation communities. His dissertation research focused on the financial accountability relationship between Indigenous communities and their various stakeholders, including between the Anishnaabe and the Government of Canada. He completed his PhD in Behavioural and Social Accounting at the J.R. Smith School of Business at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. His current projects include research projects involving Indigenous governance, consulting work with Indigenous businesses, as well as various initiatives to Indigenize post-secondary education in Canada.
Fernanda Sauerbronn is an associate professor at UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), Brazil, teaches qualitative research and critical research in master’s and doctoral courses, and organization theory at undergraduate courses in accounting. She is an economist from UFRJ and holds a Ph.D. in Administration from EBAPE-FGV, and a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign with prof. Norman Denzin. She develops agency, governance, and accountability studies in the public-private interface, based on alternative epistemologies and methodologies. Her recent projects relate to decolonial southern approaches that move beyond traditional methods towards engagement with social transformation. Fernanda is a member of the QRCA Network, AOM-CMS Division, and AARN.
Joanne Sopt is an Assistant Professor at San Francisco State University currently teaching introductory accounting and graduate auditing classes. She earned her M.B.A. at The George Washington University and her Ph.D. in accounting and auditing at ESSEC Business School. She has previously worked as an auditor for EY’s Paris and Miami office. She also served as a small business volunteer in the Ivory Coast. Her research interests revolve around the importance of diversity of perspectives. Her research experience includes being a Visiting Scholar at New Zealand’s Victoria University of Wellington. She has also presented her research at the following accounting conferences: Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Accounting, CSEAR, Alternative Accounts, and the American Accounting Association-Public Interest and Diversity chapter.
