Oxford University hires staff to investigate college's colonialism and British Empire links

St John's College has posted a job advert on its website for a researcher to work on a project called St John's and the Colonial Past
St John's College has posted a job advert on its website for a researcher to work on a project called St John's and the Colonial Past

An Oxford college is to investigate its connections to colonialism and the British Empire in the wake of the university's Rhodes Must Fall movement.

St John's College has posted a job advert on its website for a researcher to work on a project called St John's and the Colonial Past.

The college said there were "compelling intellectual and ethical reasons for institutions of higher education to face up to the role they played in the British Empire.”

Any findings will lead to “responses” from the university, the job advert added.

It comes after the Rhodes Must Fall movement in 2015 saw students demand the removal of a statue of the colonialist Cecil Rhodes from Oriel College.

The campaign prompted a number of universities to remove links to Britain’s colonial past.

In 2016, Jesus College at Cambridge University took down a bronze cockerel statue which had been looted during a British colonial expedition to Nigeria in the 19th century, after students asked for it to be repatriated.

The Bronze cockerel at Jesus College, Cambridge
The Bronze cockerel at Jesus College, Cambridge

Later that year Queen Mary University of London quietly removed a foundation stone laid by King Leopold II amid student complaints that he was a “genocidal colonialist”.

In the US, Harvard Law School replaced its official crest, because of its links to an 18th-century slave owner, following five months of demonstrations and sit-ins by students.

Last year Sam Gyimah, the former universities minister warned universities against 'decolonising' curricula to avoid 'unfashionable' subjects.

St John’s College said the new researcher will be tasked with exploring "connections between the college and colonialism, uncovering benefactions to St John's and the alumni who served in the empire".

The successful applicant will be paid between £32,236-£39,609 per annum.

The advert reads: "This project will explore connections between the college and colonialism, uncovering benefactions to St John's and the alumni who served in the empire.

"It will also investigate the monuments, objects, pictures, buildings that evoke the colonial past.

"This is a pioneering project; one we hope will set the standard for future work in other institutions."

Professor William Whyte, who is leading the project, said colleges needed to be “open” about their colonial links.

“It’s about understanding our history, and making sure we have nothing to hide,” he said.

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