Written by Dr Luke Bhatia, Lecturer in International Politics

At the 2025 Scholarship showcase event I was given the opportunity to speak to staff from across SoSS about my experiences of co-creation as a critical pedagogical practice. My intention was to use the session to give a practical guide to how I went about co-creating my module, Decolonising Human Rights, with students, as well as some of the challenges I encountered and the critical reflections that have been incorporated into future iterations of the module. This is an overview of some of the key things to think about:

The ”Set-Up”

Getting “buy in” from students is vital when delivering a module in this way and it is important to set aside enough time to foster this engagement. I spent the first lecture and tutorials setting out the module’s “manifesto,” and discussing critical pedagogy as a liberatory practice. A module such as this gives us time and space to think through important aspects of Global Politics in a collaborative way. This is an approach that produces a rupture with more orthodox pedagogies with a view to looking forwards to a more hopeful future. Co-creation allows for students to take ownership of their learning and surrendering some of the power that I have as the course convenor, whilst scary, was a thrilling way to be reminded of how thoughtful and articulate our students are. I discussed the work of bell hooks, a true inspiration for this project, and the idea that the classroom is a place of radical possibilities.

Reflection, Evaluation, and Incorporation

Regular reflection and evaluation are a critical part of co-creation, and again, time and space must be made to do this properly. In week 5, I held mid-term guided reflection and evaluation sessions, asking questions about the content being discussed, structure of the lectures/tutorials, style of delivery, and teaching practices. I felt that the feedback I received was a manifestation of the engagement that students had with the module. The rich information that I received from the mid-term evaluation was then incorporated into the second half of the semester. Examples of the things that I adapted included: mixing up the structure of how the lectures were delivered, and increased use of case studies to illuminate the material. During the final week, we again had reflection and feedback sessions. Here, I discussed the notion of intergenerational solidarity with students and how they could affect how the module would be delivered to future cohorts. Finally, I held a paid focus group where some students attended and provided in-depth feedback about various aspects of the module.

Some things to think about

Don’t be too ambitious! I co-created one full topic and two sub-topics (three weeks) of the module. Whilst I thought this was too little (!), it was a lot of work and was challenging to co-create entire lectures and reading lists with students for topics that I had not taught before. That said, the topics co-created allowed me to learn a lot, alongside the students, in a way that felt truly collaborative. In the next iteration of the course, I will only co-create one full topic and emphasise the notion of intergenerational solidarity. The main topic from this year, Human Rights and Peacekeeping, will remain on the module next year, as will the topic we co-create next year in the year after, and so on.

Due to the nature of the approach, adopting co-creation as a critical, community-led pedagogy, it can be uncomfortable and anxiety inducing for students (and the convenor). There are some students, fortunately a small minority, that much prefer the traditional didactic style of teaching. I have tried to address this in the marketing material for the module and in the introductory sessions, explaining what a co-created module using a critical pedagogy will look like, and that there is no shame if this is not an approach that you feel comfortable with and want to undertake.

Of course, particularly in the third year, students’ grades are important to them. When adopting a critical approach to teaching and nontraditional teaching practices, it important to provide as much support and guidance for assessments as possible. There is never enough guidance! Again, providing adequate time and space within the module structure to allow students to discuss their assessments is crucial and can counterbalance any discomfort that some students may be experiencing.

Timing is key. Students expressed that the energy and excitement generated in the first week of the module was diminished somewhat by having the co-creation sessions take up the entirety of week two. As the co-created topics in this module are in the second half of the semester, next year I will be holding the co-creation sessions in week 5. This will allow students to engage with and experience the decolonial aspect of the module directly in week 2, allowing the enthusiasm generated in the introductory session to flow through the rest of the module. The co-creation sessions are also lively and passionate, providing a second, mid-term boost.

On reflection…

Running a module that focuses on decolonising the orthodox human rights narrative, in a collaborative way with students, is an academically rigorous approach that is challenging and offers new ways of thinking for both the students and myself.
Having a dynamic course that is constantly evolving alongside our diverse student body is exciting and genuinely rewarding.
This was echoed in the feedback from students:

“Feel valued in terms of our own cultural knowledge. (Like what a decolonisation of Human Rights should aim for… We feel, in this course, we are actually putting into practise what is sometimes only talked about).”

“One of our favourite things is we are encouraged to participate from our own lived/ personal experiences. Think that it has been delivered/integrated into the course in a way we are really responding to”

“Led me to critically engage with the discourse of human rights, departing from the prevalent learning style at university, wherein people only work towards essay, engaging with certain lectures that is relevant to the assignment.”