Our Team
Created in 2022, Decolonial Classroom is…
a project about teaching, learning, and research in a decolonial, critical, and intersectional environment. It speaks to two main themes: prisons and conflicts and share students’ creative work with the world.
Dr. Malaka Shwaikh
I am a Palestinian academic from the Gaza Strip, currently based in Scotland where I teach and research prisons as spaces of power, resistance, and peacebuilding. Much of my research has been on the dynamics of prison hunger strikes. In addition to my research commitments, I am a trustee of BRISMES, Firefly, and STEPS. In 2021, I co-founded Freelancers in Gaza with Candace Amani to connect youths in Gaza with clients around the world and provide them with mentorship. In my spare time, I love to spend time hiking in our beautiful Scotland or swimming in the North Sea whenever it is warm enough. And I have recently become interested in yoga and meditation. I find purpose in giving back to my community, whether it is through teaching, mentorship, volunteering in organisations that fit my life purposes, or simply taking good care of the people I love and myself to stay able to give back.
Dr. Aisling Crean
I grew up in Dublin, Ireland, and am currently based in Scotland, where I work as a Post-doctoral researcher in the School of English at the University of St Andrews. Once below a time, I worked as an academic philosopher and hold a PhD in Philosophy from the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University. In my spare time, I like cycling and going for walks with friends on West Sands or in the Scottish Highlands, and in giving back in various ways to the many different communities that I am part of. As I write, I am looking forward to spring.