Ignite: A Decolonial Approach to Higher Education Through Space, Place and Culture

I was eager to read this volume because my understanding of decolonization was largely intuitive based on knowledge that all of North America was colonized, with devastating effect on Indigenous populations. The authors of the chapters brought me to a greater understanding of the role of colonization on the culture and values of higher education institutions across the continent. I have much more to learn.

The authors demonstrate that the history of colonization continues to create barriers, but they also open pathways and possibilities for change. In addition to the content, a particular strength of the book is the purposeful arrangement of the chapters into groups aligned with the TALLS (Toward a Liberated Learning Spirit) model; even the orientation of the TALLS cycle figure encourages the reader to be open to viewing higher education from new perspectives. The model provides a structured pathway for readers but also invites those with specific goals to comfortably step off that path. A particular strength of the book is the editors’ intentional act of decolonization to incorporate each author’s choice of how best to present their written (and graphic) material, which encourages readers to interrogate narrow definitions of scholarship.

Each author brings to light structures, biases, and expectations deeply embedded in North American higher education. Particularly powerful are the chapters that discuss students’ experiences (past and present) in our in-person and virtual classrooms. Each chapter increased (ignited) my excitement to read the next. I am grateful to the authors for the opportunity to learn from them.

Dr. Angela R. Linse

Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence

Pennsylvania State University