COM2614
Assignment 3 PORTFOLIO Semester 1 2025
Unique #:
Due Date:22 May 2025
Detailed solutions, explanations, workings
and references.
+27 81 278 3372
, INTRODUCTION
This portfolio is a collection of my learning journey through the COM2614 module,
which focused on decolonising communication studies. It includes my weekly
reflexive journal entries, discussion forum activities, and a final semester synthesis.
Throughout this module, I was encouraged to think critically about how power,
history, and culture influence communication. The journal allowed me to reflect on
my own identity, cultural background, and the ways I have understood
communication up until now. I explored how colonial ideas still shape knowledge and
media practices, and I engaged with alternative perspectives from the Global South.
This process challenged many of my assumptions and helped me grow personally
and academically. The activities in this portfolio helped me connect theory to real-
world issues, while the synthesis allowed me to track my development over time.
This portfolio represents not only what I have learned but how I have changed as a
communicator and thinker.
PART A: REFLEXIVE JOURNAL ENTRY 1
Topic: Decolonising the Museum (TED Talk: “Museum in Progress: Decolonizing
Museums”)
Date: [Insert current date]
A. Initial Reactions
After watching the TED Talk on decolonising museums, I felt both challenged and
inspired. The speaker brought attention to how museums, which are often seen as
neutral spaces of learning, are actually shaped by colonial histories and power
structures. It made me realise that many objects on display were taken from
colonised countries and communities without consent, and this reality has been
hidden under the idea of "preservation." I had never really questioned the origins of
artefacts in museums before, and now I see how the storytelling within those spaces
often centres Western perspectives.
Varsity Cube 2025 +27 81 278 3372
, What challenged my thinking most was the idea that simply adding a diverse exhibit
is not enough—it’s about who controls the narrative. This connected to my own
experience growing up in a country where African heritage was often seen as less
valuable than Western culture. This video made me reflect on how communication is
not only about words but also about the systems and spaces where stories are told.
B. Critical Analysis
This talk challenges Western communication paradigms by exposing how museums
communicate history from a colonial viewpoint. Traditional museum practices often
focus on categorising and displaying artefacts as "discoveries," ignoring the colonial
violence behind how many of those objects were acquired. It reinforces the idea that
knowledge is held and shared only by those in power—usually from the Global
North.
The speaker offered an alternative perspective where museums become sites of
justice and accountability. This aligns with decolonial thinking, which values
knowledge created by and for the communities being represented. The idea that
museums can become places for healing and relationship-building, rather than just
storage spaces, was powerful.
Colonial history plays a key role here. Many museums were established during
colonial times and served to glorify the empire’s achievements. These histories
continue to shape how knowledge is presented and whose voices are heard. For
instance, artefacts from Africa are displayed in European museums with little or no
connection to the cultures they came from.
The assumptions being questioned here include the belief that museums are
objective and neutral, and that Western ways of preserving and presenting
knowledge are the only valid ones. The TED Talk pushes back against these ideas,
showing that knowledge can be co-created with communities, not just taken from
them. It encourages a shift from ownership to responsibility, which is central to
decolonial approaches.
Varsity Cube 2025 +27 81 278 3372
Assignment 3 PORTFOLIO Semester 1 2025
Unique #:
Due Date:22 May 2025
Detailed solutions, explanations, workings
and references.
+27 81 278 3372
, INTRODUCTION
This portfolio is a collection of my learning journey through the COM2614 module,
which focused on decolonising communication studies. It includes my weekly
reflexive journal entries, discussion forum activities, and a final semester synthesis.
Throughout this module, I was encouraged to think critically about how power,
history, and culture influence communication. The journal allowed me to reflect on
my own identity, cultural background, and the ways I have understood
communication up until now. I explored how colonial ideas still shape knowledge and
media practices, and I engaged with alternative perspectives from the Global South.
This process challenged many of my assumptions and helped me grow personally
and academically. The activities in this portfolio helped me connect theory to real-
world issues, while the synthesis allowed me to track my development over time.
This portfolio represents not only what I have learned but how I have changed as a
communicator and thinker.
PART A: REFLEXIVE JOURNAL ENTRY 1
Topic: Decolonising the Museum (TED Talk: “Museum in Progress: Decolonizing
Museums”)
Date: [Insert current date]
A. Initial Reactions
After watching the TED Talk on decolonising museums, I felt both challenged and
inspired. The speaker brought attention to how museums, which are often seen as
neutral spaces of learning, are actually shaped by colonial histories and power
structures. It made me realise that many objects on display were taken from
colonised countries and communities without consent, and this reality has been
hidden under the idea of "preservation." I had never really questioned the origins of
artefacts in museums before, and now I see how the storytelling within those spaces
often centres Western perspectives.
Varsity Cube 2025 +27 81 278 3372
, What challenged my thinking most was the idea that simply adding a diverse exhibit
is not enough—it’s about who controls the narrative. This connected to my own
experience growing up in a country where African heritage was often seen as less
valuable than Western culture. This video made me reflect on how communication is
not only about words but also about the systems and spaces where stories are told.
B. Critical Analysis
This talk challenges Western communication paradigms by exposing how museums
communicate history from a colonial viewpoint. Traditional museum practices often
focus on categorising and displaying artefacts as "discoveries," ignoring the colonial
violence behind how many of those objects were acquired. It reinforces the idea that
knowledge is held and shared only by those in power—usually from the Global
North.
The speaker offered an alternative perspective where museums become sites of
justice and accountability. This aligns with decolonial thinking, which values
knowledge created by and for the communities being represented. The idea that
museums can become places for healing and relationship-building, rather than just
storage spaces, was powerful.
Colonial history plays a key role here. Many museums were established during
colonial times and served to glorify the empire’s achievements. These histories
continue to shape how knowledge is presented and whose voices are heard. For
instance, artefacts from Africa are displayed in European museums with little or no
connection to the cultures they came from.
The assumptions being questioned here include the belief that museums are
objective and neutral, and that Western ways of preserving and presenting
knowledge are the only valid ones. The TED Talk pushes back against these ideas,
showing that knowledge can be co-created with communities, not just taken from
them. It encourages a shift from ownership to responsibility, which is central to
decolonial approaches.
Varsity Cube 2025 +27 81 278 3372
