Decolonising against a backdrop of colonial amnesia: barriers, challenges, and finding a way forward

This paper, originally delivered as a keynote at De Montfort University, interrogates the persistence of colonial amnesia within educational, institutional, and cultural contexts in the UK. Through an autoethnographic lens, it explores both structural and embodied barriers to meaningful decolonisation, drawing attention to the epistemic violence of historical erasure alongside the deeply personal labour of self-decolonisation. Combining conceptual critique with situated narrative, the paper presents three autoethnographic vignettes that examine naming, diasporic dissonance, and joy as a mode of refusal. It argues for a dual praxis that foregrounds structural transformation while simultaneously centring introspective reclamation. The analysis ultimately underscores the need for healing, justice, and historical redress within ongoing struggles for equity and recognition.