‘White-centricity’ of popular music investigated in £1.5m academic study

Prof. Dennis Hayes, director of Academics for Academic Freedom, said telegraph: “Journalists will be delighted to know that there will be an endless supply of stories about the subjects universities say they want to ‘decolonize’ and money spent on ‘white’ studies in every possible subject.”

“The reason for this is institutional groupthink in universities. Universities have adopted the need for decolonization and the victim hierarchy of intersectional theory as essential to sustaining their inclusive values. This groupthink is a threat to academic freedom. It silences almost all opposition because academics fear being accused of racism if they speak out against being told what to think.

“But the only solution is for academics to speak up and do the time-consuming work on university committees and at university meetings where they can challenge institutional groupthink.

“Academics For Academic Freedom (AFAF) affiliates know that once a lone academic speaks out, they will soon discover they are not alone.”

Joanna Marchong, the Taxpayers’ Alliance director of investigative campaigns, said: “Taxpayers are fed up with research councils that march to the beat of their own drum and ignore all concerns about value for money.

“Time and time again, these institutions force hard-pressed households to pay millions for teachers to rewrite history and achieve minimum goals in return.

“The next government must clamp down on research councils to ensure that only worthwhile projects get the green light and that any research funded will be of value to taxpayers.”

A UKRI spokesperson said: “UKRI invests in a diverse portfolio of research and innovation. Funding decisions on the research projects we support are made through a rigorous peer review process by relevant independent experts from academia and business.

“UKRI’s Future Leaders Fellowships provide long-term support to enable fellows to break down barriers, tackle ambitious programs and multidisciplinary questions, and build new areas of research and innovation and partnerships. Fellowships are open to applicants from a wide range of career paths, from all disciplines, based in business, universities and other research organisations. The aim of the scheme is to develop the next wave of world-class research and innovation leaders.”

Fay Hield, professor of music at the University of Sheffield, said: “The term decolonization is often misinterpreted. Our research highlights the various under-recognized communities that helped establish cultural life in England. Folk music is an ever-evolving genre that has taken influences from a diverse range of people over the centuries. It is part of Britain’s cultural heritage and should be celebrated. Our goal is to break down the barriers for people to get involved in popular music. Opening up the genre to different audiences will help sustain the nation’s popular music for decades to come.”