Justice-centred storyteller, women’s rights advocate and higher education researcher.
Thank you for visiting my website! Here you read about who I am, contact me with event and collaboration enquiries and listen to my poems.
I am a Christian Black British woman sociologist of education, poet, all-round creative and wearer of many hats. I am a recent graduate of the University of Cambridge, where I completed my PhD in Education. My PhD research project, Of, but not in: A poetic exploration of how Black women students respond to the coloniality of Oxbridge, employed Critical Poetic Inquiry to explore the experiences of Black woman Oxbridge students, past and present.
Storytelling is an art that I utilise in a variety of ways. In my poetry and performances, I employ the art of storytelling to take my readers on an emotional and evocative intellectual journey. Whether through my poetry or sociological research, I take a justice-centred approach to my work.
In addition to my poetic and academic work, I am a Co-director at the Black Women’s Archive.
I hold a PhD in Education from the University of Cambridge, which was completed under the supervision of Dr Tyler Denmead. I undertook my PhD through the sponsorship of Niyo Group, and my thesis was examined by Professor Jason Arday and Professor Laura Serrant.
I have also worked as a Research Assistant on the Close the Gap Project. Currently, I work as a Senior Research Fellow on the Generation Delta Project at the University of Leeds.
PhD in Education
MSc in International Social Change and Policy
I hold an MSc in International Social Change and Policy (with Merit) from the University of Sheffield. My dissertation explored Coloniality and Social Policy: A Comparative Analysis of UK and Nigerian Human Trafficking Policy.
BSc in Sociology and Education Studies
I have a BSc in Sociology and Education Studies (Upper Second Class). My dissertation focused on Higher Education and Social Class, exploring how class backgrounds influenced experiences of Higher Education. My dissertation achieved First Class grade.
Publications
-
Abstract: This chapter employs poetry and storying to outline the legacies of colonialism evident in elite higher education institutions (HEIs). Situated across the UK and Nigeria, this chapter engages in a comparative institutional analysis of four universities to detail manifestations of the colonial matrix of knowledge formation across the territories of the global North and South. I outline how elite HEIs are historic tools of colonial logic that purport and preserve colonial ideals. I illustrate a break from colonial requirements for knowledge formation through form and content. I utilise creative-arts-based academic practices to demonstrate how thinkers can counter coloniality’s one-dimensional sense of knowledge formation. Highlighting the importance of doing decoloniality I explore why decolonial efforts and projects cannot fit neatly into the frame of academic rigour if they seek to truly achieve their aims.
-
Amofah-Akardom, T. and Folayan, D. (2022). Student blog post: Symposium July 2022, Close the Gap. Available at: https://www.closethegap.ox.ac.uk/article/symposium-1.
Commissioned blog post exploring themes that arose during the Close the Gap research symposium which took place at St Anne’s College, University of Oxford in July 2022.
-
Williams. A., Mayblin L., Birdi B., Carnegie E., Fields D., Gadhia M., Igali F., Kiyumbu W., Ladipo D., Mills C., Pinney M., and Stampnitzky L. (2019). Decolonising the Curriculum in the Faculty of Social Sciences: A report completed by a working group of the Faculty of Social Sciences Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee of The University of Sheffield. University of Sheffield Faculty of Social Sciences.
An internal report for staff and students exploring the best practices and processes involved in decolonising the curriculum within the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Talks and Teaching
I have an extensive range of teaching and public speaking experience. Some examples of which are listed below:
Workshop facilitation: Interwoven Legacies: HEIs and Coloniality, Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield
Guest lecture: Black Britishness in UK HE, Faculty of Education, University of York
Symposium speaker: Performing Black Womanhood, Trinity College, University of Cambridge
Conference presentation: Kaleidoscope 2023, Homerton College, University of Cambridge
Symposium Speaker: Close the Gap, St Anne's College, University of Oxford
I am open to invitations for workshop facilitation, guest lectures, poetry performances and keynote speeches. My availability is limited, but get in touch and I will do my best to accommodate your needs.
Awards and Recognitions
-
I was voted Most Accessible and Inclusive Presentation at the Cambridge Creative Research Conference 2024.
-
Dami was awarded the 2023 communication prize by Girton College, University of Cambridge in recognition of her outstanding public speaking track record.
-
Dami is a 2023/24 Innovate UK Awardee. This has enabled her to pioneer her unique plant-based hair extension innovation in a project embedded in her PhD sponsor company Niyo Group.
Stay up to date with Dami's work.
Stay up to date with Dami's work.
