Dr Aidan Cornelius-Bell

social scientist · decolonial curriculum/policy designer · activist

I'm Aidan, a sociologist and decolonial educator working to transform how institutions think and act. My approach is relational and systems-based. I build frameworks that help colleagues unlearn colonial habits, form accountable relationships with Aboriginal communities, and redesign curricula so that Indigenous knowledges are not an afterthought. Through this work I try to move institutions from symbolic inclusion toward structural change.

my values

humanityhumilityrespectreciprocitycompassionjusticeradicalismpeople over things more

My practice draws on my background in cultural studies, activism, and my Arrernte and displaced working-class heritage. I work alongside students, friends, colleagues, communities and Elders, to create spaces where learning becomes an act of collective repair. Whether through curriculum design, research, or governance, my aim is to bridge theory and practice in ways that make equity tangible and transformation sustainable.

I work across education, policy, design, and care. I teach and research social transformation and build digital tools for learning and wellbeing. My academic work draws on Gramscian social science and decolonial theory to help institutions and people question the 'inevitable'. I also design software for those navigating chronic illness and therapy, and develop open access tools for research and higher education. Most of what I do is collaborative and unfinished. I work toward small acts of repair stitched together with others trying to make systems fairer.