Russell group universities are altering their courses to be more welcoming to transgender and non-binary students, a report has claimed.
The report found that Britain's top universities are attempting to embed “queer perspectives” into courses.
The move comes as institutions try to “decolonise the curriculum”, which involves adding more ethnically diverse writers to courses.
In one example cited in The Daily Mail's audit, Warwick University has a “Queering University Programme,” promoting “queer pedagogies and perspectives".
The move comes as institutions are trying to “decolonise the curriculum”
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Meanwhile, Exeter University is offering a “trans inclusion booklet” written by students for academics urging them to “include trans people in the curriculum".
UCL’s Barlett architecture school produced a research paper in 2023 titled “Queering the Bartlett Curriculum”, claiming a “queer curriculum” was “particularly relevant in the built environment fields”.
Leeds University’s medical school similarly published research advocating “queering the curriculum” too, asking: “Why is your medical curriculum straight?”
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The research suggests medical students learn about “diverse family structures” and “non-traditional pregnancy and birth”.
SOAS, University of London, said in 2022 staff guidance that they should make efforts to “embed trans, non-binary and intersex awareness into their curriculum”.
In 2021, York University’s English department also put emphasis on “queering the curriculum”, including studying “LGBTQ+ writers from across history”.
However campaigners recently said that adding transgender theory to course content could result in the “subversion of reality”.
Stephanie Davies-Arai of the campaign group Transgender Trend told The Daily Mail: “This shows that queer theory - which claims that objective biological reality is a social construction - has become a virus that is damaging education and freedom of inquiry.”
“The aim of queer theory is the destabilisation and subversion of reality.”
“The reality of being male or female is described as something which must be stamped out, along with the rights of female students, such as female toilets.”
Stephanie Davies-Arai said: “The aim of queer theory is the destabilisation and subversion of reality”
PA
A UCL spokesman said: “We have policies and protections in place for LGBTQ+ staff and students and are continually listening to our community.”
An Exeter spokesman said the booklet is currently under review but gives “practical advice” about inclusivity and is “not designed to prescribe teaching practice.”
A SOAS spokesman also said staff are “encouraged to include the stories and voices of the LGBTQ+ community across their teaching” but it is “at the discretion of academics.”
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