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“EXCELLENCE THROUGH KNOWLEDGE” P A G E 97 Humanizing the Technological Curriculum: Overcoming Internal Colonisation The importanceof thehumanitieshasbeenwell documented; however, in today’s technologically-driven society its relevance is increasingly being questioned. This paper focuses on the role of the humanities in education as an integral part of the curriculum at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Jamaica). It suggests that educating a whole human being depends on integrating the humanities across the curriculum rather than simply adding it on to the curriculum. The authors argue that although UTech, Jamaica has recognized the need for the Humanities and has responded by expanding its curriculum to include liberal studies courses, there still exist structures and practices that result in internal colonization. The paper closes by recommending ways in which UTech, Jamaica can move towards a more meaningfully integrated curriculum, thus decolonizing the Humanities. A fundamental feature of the University of Technology, Jamaica’s Strategic Plan 2000-2004 is a commitment to “fostering a culture that provides for the intellectual, moral, ethical and emotional needs of our students” (p.11). It also highlights the importance of “developing and sustaining the interconnectedness between technology and culture” (p.12). Guided by this philosophy, the Department of Liberal Studies (DOLS), the unit responsible for the design and delivery of Humanities courses, set out to “enable graduates to better apply their technical expertise, and to understand themselves, their environment and their society” (DOLS Mission Statement). Inherent in these statements is a commitment to humanizing the technological curriculum. However, UTech, Jamaica, and specifically DOLS, cannot be said to have adequately fulfilled this goal. Drawingon the theoryof internal colonization toanalyze the challenges associated with humanizing a technological curriculum, this paper argues that decolonization is one means of repositioning DOLS in order to produce a technically competent and humane graduate. The first part of the paper begins by providing a brief overview of the literature that supports Humanities education. It then describes in the second part how the Humanities are understood and positioned at UTech, Jamaica. The third part of the paper focuses on the constructs underlying internal colonization to explainwhy DOLS hasmet with only moderate success. The paper concludes by positing decolonization as a powerful concept for understanding how to overcome political, structural and practical constraints that are impacting on the process of humanizing the curriculum at UTech, Jamaica. Sheila Coulson and Mairette Newman Faculty of Education & Liberal Studies Sheila Coulson
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