Decolonial Feminist Care: Devising and Scripting of the Embodied Experience of Black Women Academics in Higher Education

The paper presents reflections from four black women academics on their process of creating theatricalised performances about their experiences in higher education. These women are part of the research group Feminist Decoloniality as Care (FemDAC). The performances were presented at various academic conferences by the four women. The making of the performance drew on letter-writing reflections prompted by questions centred on the experiences of black women academics in higher education. The audiences and performers engaged in post-performance discussions about issues and ideas pertinent to them. The process involved addressing issues of academic woundedness and exploring how black women can embody the structural injustices of the academy. What happens when black women academics see patriarchy and white supremacist tendencies in themselves? How do we facilitate decolonial care when the theatre process digs into our wounds? How does the performance give insight into the fractured relationship between black women and their fellow academics? This paper describes a decolonial approach to evoking care practices within the academy, especially drawing on the discourse of the arts for social change. The theatrical performance reflected the deep discomfort of black women academics in caring for and healing themselves amid ongoing academic woundedness.