Announcements

Call for Papers

Issue 1 : Decolonising university collections? Challenges, stakes and perspectives

The first issue of Unimusea – Research and Practices on University Collections will focus on current reflections and practices related to the decolonisation of university collections: provenance research, colonial legacies, institutional transformations, collaborations with originating communities, and new forms of museography and research.

This issue is associated with the study days “Decolonising University Collections? Challenges, Stakes and Perspectives”, organised by Musée L – the University Museum of UCLouvain – on 8–9 October 2026 in Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium). The event will be held in a hybrid format (on-site and online). Authors whose contributions are selected will be invited to take part.

The issue is part of a broader set of scientific, political and museological debates on the role of universities in the production, transmission, and critical reassessment of knowledge shaped within colonial contexts.
A detailed state of the art and theoretical background are provided below.

Submission Guidelines

Authors are invited to submit an abstract of their contribution.

Format requirements:

Length: 1,500 characters including spaces
Content: provisional title, research question, case study or collections examined, methodological approach
Accepted languages: English, French, Dutch, German (other languages may be considered upon request)
File format: Word (.docx) or PDF
Submissions by email to: unimusea-museel@uclouvain.be

Timeline:

Abstract submission deadline: 25 January 2026
Notification of acceptance: early February 2026
Full paper submission (max. 25,000 characters including spaces): 30 April 2026
Study days in Louvain-la-Neuve: 8–9 October 2026
Publication of the issue: late 2026

State of the Art

In recent years, several academic publications, conferences and civil society initiatives have highlighted the importance of engaging with the colonial legacies embedded within universities of the former European empires.
In Belgium, several universities have established internal working groups on this issue. UCLouvain, for instance, published in 2021 a final report from its “Colonial Past” working group. The Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) also addressed this question through a mixed discussion group bringing together academic staff and student associations from the Congolese diaspora. The Koloniaal Verleden en Koloniaal Erfgoed commission at KU Leuven (September–December 2020) has similarly contributed to developing these reflections within the Flemish academic context.
All these reports underline the involvement of Belgian universities in the colonial enterprise. Moreover, an inter-university working group on the colonial past and decolonisation within Belgian universities was jointly mandated by the university councils VLIR/CRef.

Elsewhere in Europe, many universities and inter-university consortia have undertaken research on their collections and their colonial histories. At the European level, we may mention the working group of the UNIVERSEUM association and the Horizon Europe project COLUMN, both examining the colonial heritage of universities in Europe and beyond.

We should also acknowledge the contributions of the International Committee for University Museums and Collections (UMAC) and the International Committee for Museology (ICOFOM) within the International Council of Museums (ICOM). For example, UMAC Journal published a special issue entitled Beyond Provenance Research: Restitution and Return from University Museums (eds. Steph C. Scholten, Andrew Simpson, Gina Hammond), and ICOFOM Study Series released in 2024 Decolonizing Academic Disciplines and Collections (eds. Rainer Brömer, Susanne Rodemeier).

In formerly colonised countries, many universities—often founded by colonial powers—preserve collections with complex histories that require further study and contextualisation.
This call is therefore not limited to Europe and its former colonies but extends to other regions of the world, as well as to contemporary forms of colonisation.

More recently, the conference Études de provenances des collections de sciences naturelles et humaines. Muséologie et histoire pour le temps présent, organised by the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris, emphasised the disciplinary plurality of current research on decolonisation. We invite a broad and interdisciplinary reflection, taking university collections in their widest sense and welcoming approaches from all fields. Particular attention will also be given to so-called “mixed collections” (Bondaz, Dias & Jarassé, 2016, Collectionner par-delà nature et culture, Gradhiva, 23), which cross disciplinary boundaries historically shaped by epistemic divisions.

This call for papers is structured around two main thematic axes.

Axis 1 — What Does It Mean to Decolonise University Collections?

The need to critically examine the history of collections in relation to colonialism is shared by museums and other heritage institutions.
Here, we aim to question the specificities of university collections, which are closely linked to the definition and transmission of knowledge. These collections are material testimonies of the colonial past and its enduring effects in the present.

Is it possible and/or meaningful to decolonise museums or university collections? How can such a process be initiated? How can institutions train staff, rethink management, conservation and documentation practices, and strengthen relations with the concerned communities? What acquisition and deaccession policies are appropriate? What is the legal and ethical status of university collections acquired in colonial contexts?

Historicising and reassessing these collections often involves provenance research, which has become a key mission for heritage institutions over the past decade. In rethinking collections with colonial histories, what role does provenance research play? What are the origins and acquisition modalities of university collections in particular? Which research methods should be applied? Why are such studies undertaken and to what ends? How can institutions communicate about both the process and its results? How can the university community as a whole be involved?

Axis 2 — What Relationships Do Universities Maintain with Their Colonial Heritage?

University collections and museums represent only one facet of the colonial legacies within universities.
To what extent can they serve as a starting point for interrogating other tangible and intangible forms of colonial heritage embedded within academic institutions? How are university collections with colonial backgrounds used in teaching or research projects? Who engages with them? What relationships exist with the originating communities?

What strategies are adopted by universities seeking to decolonise their curricula, structures and operations?
What is the current state of university collections in former colonies, and how are they being interpreted today?
How can more equitable collaborations be built with civil society organisations and colleagues from universities in the originating communities?