Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

 

• The School is part of an institution that has its roots in efforts to challenge inequality in east London. In addressing our current responsibilities, we are both proud of this heritage and critical of where it has fallen short, aware that institutions of higher education in the UK have often been sites for the production and embedding of different hierarchies. We recognise the continued responsibility of Queen Mary to address new and enduring forms of inequality.

 

• The School approaches EDI work as a process of collaborative and critical reflection, targeted action and continual reassessment. We recognise that, in order to tackle barriers to access or inequalities in the classroom or workplace, the School must continually engage with and learn from its staff and students. This priority is reflected in the many different pathways to feedback and representative mechanisms that inform the management of the School. 

 

• The School believes that the study of history provides a vital toolkit for thinking about the operations of inequality in broader society and on a global scale. History can also help us to understand the various ways people have worked together to demand and create more equal societies. The School contends that attention to diverse perspectives - from multiple locations and speaking to a variety of experiences - is crucial to the craft of history and essential for effective historical argument and practice.

 

• The School strives to demonstrate the above-mentioned principles in our curriculum design as well as in our research streams. These efforts are facilitated by a vibrant culture of discussion and collaboration amongst staff concerning their teaching and research, embodied in forums like our once-per-semester ‘Reflective Practice’ session, hosted by the EDI Committee. They are informed also by close work with student representatives at all levels and with elected officers of the undergraduate History Society.

 

• The School endeavours to support public historical discussion around questions of equality, diversity and inclusion, led by staff and students. We affirm the responsibility of historians to contribute to wider discourse around inequality, discrimination, and social justice across academic disciplines and outside the university.

 

Our commitment to EDI at QMUL goes beyond School staff and students and recognises the essential work done to keep our campus a lively, accessible and safe place – from porters to cleaners, caterers to gardeners, and more. Our EDI Committee works with senior leadership in the School and Faculty as well as with student representatives from the History Society and Student Union to support university-wide efforts to establish conditions in which all its employees can flourish