This paper takes as its starting point bell hooks’s claim that the classroom is the ‘most radical space of possibility in the academy’ (1994). As such, interrogating epistemology and experiences of learning, are critical to the delivery, but also the production, of knowledge; these themes have been central to the recent campaigns to liberate the curriculum amongst student activists in the UK. Inspired by the Rhodes Must Fall campaign in South Africa, students have increasingly called attention to the lack of racial diversity amongst academic staff, the Euro-centric nature of the curricula and the marginalisation of specific groups within the classroom. These three themes are distinct yet inter-related and this paper reflects upon how they can be tackled in relation to gender and politics courses. Drawing upon my work decolonising two gender modules I teach at Goldsmiths University of London, and my wider role leading the Liberating the Politics and IR degree within my department, this paper seeks to reflect on the process so far in order to evaluate progress, explore the various challenges, and to identify future opportunities for the co-production of knowledge.
