We are writing to complain about the recent publication of the article “The case for colonialism” by Bruce Gilley in the journal Third World Quarterly (“Pro-colonialism paper outcry prompts author to ‘request withdrawal’”, www.timeshighereducation.com, 22 September). While we do not believe that the article should have been published in any academic journal, our complaint is in terms of the venue of publication and the editorial process behind its publication, and thus questions of academic rigour, accountability and transparency, as well as the content of the article itself.
While we find the argument and many of the claims made in the article unconvincing and offensive, we are particularly surprised to see such content published in this particular journal, without any real engagement on the part of the author with the critique of colonialism he rejects, or on the part of the journal with some form of introductory framing.
Although the journal’s aims and scope state that it is “not averse to publishing provocative and exploratory articles”, the article’s argument in favour of colonialism contradicts the origins of the journal “as an intellectual venue for anti-colonial thought, to build ideas against colonialism”, and its reputation as the “home of the Third World Prize, the Edward Said Prize; the home, in other words, of values against this essay” (as editorial board member Vijay Prashad has stated). Arguments against publishing this particular article in this particular journal are therefore not arguments for censorship or against academic freedom, as the author has tended to argue previously. Rather, there is both a problem of venue and scientific integrity, and such arguments should be submitted elsewhere, and submitted to a process of peer review.
It seems clear that the article shouldn’t have got through the process of peer review, and therefore shouldn’t have been published, certainly not in this particular academic journal.
We are signatories to the change.org petitions, and as well as seeking the paper’s retraction, we are calling for the editor/s involved to apologise for further brutalising those who have suffered under colonialism. We also ask, for the sake of accountability and transparency, for the editor/s responsible for the publication of this article to justify their decision to publish, to explain the process followed in reaching that decision, and to stand down from their editorial position/s. We believe that such actions are necessary to recompense for the offence that the article has and will cause, and to ensure that such historical revisionism for what is a crime against humanity not go unchecked.
Nadia Atia, Queen Mary University of London
Rahma Bavelaar, University of Amsterdam
Jumana Bayeh, Macquarie University, Sydney Australia
Christiaan De Beukelaer, University of Melbourne
Lisa Blackman, Goldsmiths, University of London
Véronique Bontemps, CNRS, Paris
Leyla Dakhli, CNRS, Centre Marc Bloch, Berlin
Simon Dawes, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
Sonia Dayan-Herzbrun, Université Paris Diderot-Paris 7
Des Freedman, Goldsmiths, University of London
Claire Gallien, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3
Nadia Hakim-Fernández, researcher at the Future Making Space, Aarhus University
Ahreum Han, discipline of exercise and sport science, the University of Sydney
Virginie Iché, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3
Umar Suleiman Jahun, School of Media, Film and Music, University of Sussex
Nicolas Jaoul, CNRS, Paris
Theodore Koulouris, University of Brighton
Lila Lamrani, Centre Jean Pépin
Souad Lamrani, Paris-Sorbonne University
Debora Lanzeni, Research Fellow, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
Sara Marino, Bournemouth University
Angelo Martins Jr, Goldsmiths, University of London
Tom Mills, Aston University
Nelly Mok, Université Paul Valéry Montpellier 3
Aurélien Mondon, University of Bath
Aris Mousoutzanis, Principal Lecturer in Film and Screen Studies, University of Brighton
Souvik Mukherjee, Presidency University, Kolkata
Patricia Prieto-Blanco, Lecturer, School of Media, University of Brighton, UK
Nabila Ramdani, Journalist & Academic
Andreas Rauh Ortega, University of Leeds
Chris Roberts, University of Roehampton, London
Reuben Ross, Doctoral Candidate, Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Claire Savina, Research Associate University of Oxford
Maria Sakellari, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow, School of Media, University of Brighton
Andrea Schmidt, Willamette University
Elisa Serafinelli, University of Sheffield
Jon Solomon, Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3
Jacquie Tinkler, Charles Sturt University
Gavan Titley, National University of Ireland, Maynooth
Send to
Letters should be sent to: THE.Letters@tesglobal.com
Letters for publication in Times Higher Education should arrive by 9am Monday.
View terms and conditions.