Aidan is an award-winning Senior Lecturer with the University of South Australia, currently on secondment to Adelaide University as academic lead for the Indigenisation of Curriculum and First Nations Common Core projects. He also holds academic status with Charles Darwin University. His research spans higher education, cultural studies, and political philosophy, focusing on decolonial approaches that challenge hegemonic social relations. As an Arrernte descendant, Aidan co-created UniSA’s Aboriginal Curriculum and Pedagogy process, bringing lived experience to this work. Aidan also supervises PhD students whose work aims for fundamental social transformation. My values – compassion, justice, genuine equity, and radical social change – guide my advocacy for co-designed thinking that disrupts capitalist realism. My work takes place on the unceded Country of the Kaurna Miyurna, where I remain a respectful guest.
Professional position
Currently I serve as a Senior Lecturer with Adelaide University on secondment from the University of South Australia. Here my role comprises academic leadership responsibilities for the Indigenisation of Curriculum and First Nations Common Core projects. Additionally, I hold academic status with Charles Darwin University supervising postgraduate students in humanities and education.
Research focus
My scholarly work centres on decolonial and anti-capitalist theory and practice that challenges hegemonic social relations in higher education. Much of my research examines how universities can move beyond corporate models to become sites of radical transformation through Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge systems, student activism, and Marxist-informed institutional change.
Thematically I am interested in the intersection of activism and academia, exploring how practice can be woven through institutional structures, while maintaining critical distance from (replicating) colonial power structures. This work necessarily engages with questions of power, privilege, and the possibilities for genuine equity within existing systems.
Current projects
Active scholarly and activist projects include:
- Mind Reader – an anti-capitalist dispatch project exploring contemporary political and social moments.
- Curriculum Indigenisation leadership at Adelaide University – developing systematic approaches to decolonisation and challenging colonial power structures.
- PhD supervision – focused on research that aims for fundamental social transformation, supporting emerging scholars in developing critical and decolonial methodologies
- Scholarly publications and presentations – addressing the intersection of cultural studies, education, Critical Indigenous Studies, and political philosophy
Methodological approach
My work attempts to critically dissect colonial/capitalist power structures, challenging the positioning of subaltern knowledges and cultures. By challenging dominant western ways of knowing and holding space for counter-hegemonic methodologies, subaltern thinkers, and critical educational transformation, my approach aims to leverage reflection to stay aware of the tensions of working within colonial capitalist institutions without succumbing to reproduction or complacency.
My approach emphasises co-design, ensuring that subaltern voices and perspectives are not singularly “included,” rather, repositioning them as foundational to the development of transformative education. My hope is that my work can challenge comfortable assumptions about neutrality, objectivity, and the supposed separation between activism and scholarship.
Values
My professional and personal practice is guided by four foundational values: compassion, recognising our interconnectedness and shared humanity; justice, working toward systemic change that addresses root causes of inequality; genuine equity, going beyond superficial inclusion toward structural transformation; and radical social change, acknowledging that meaningful progress requires fundamental shifts in how we organise society.
Concluding remark
My hope is that my work may be measured against a yardstick for ongoing commitment to transformative education that challenges colonial/capitalist hegemony. Through scholarship, teaching, and activism, I seek to contribute to the development of educational approaches that serve justice rather than reproduction of inequalities. I acknowledge that this journey requires humility and recognise that this work extends far beyond any individual career or person, but do not accept this as an excuse preventing movement toward collective liberation.
Website: aidan.cornelius-bell.com
Email: [email protected]
Academic Profile: University of South Australia
Research Areas: Cultural Studies, Decolonial Theory, Marxism, Higher Education