Debates about decolonisation of the mind and of our curricula reveal the dark shadow cast over the world by the adventurers of the modern era, beginning in 1492. Decolonisation explores questions of justice, injustice and inhumanity that have geographically and intellectually shaped the course of history through overlapping colonial, decolonial and postcolonial eras.
This multidisciplinary collection uses the lenses of history, philosophy, literature and education to examine aspects of colonialism and decolonisation, and their revolutionary and evolutionary manifestations which, contributors argue, occurred simultaneously in the historical and epistemological record. The problems that come into focus have a kaleidoscopic effect on how we come to understand fraught issues, from the ‘invention’ of blacks, to the formulation of the ideology of trusteeship and the obligations to ‘lower civilisations’.
Decolonisation brings together an internationally renowned group of scholars to showcase their search for decolonial strategies within their disciplinary focus, covering ideas such as the different layers at which colonialism operates, strategies for a decolonisation that does not recolonise, and the importance of preserving and publishing in indigenous languages.
This is a much-needed reference book for students and scholars in the field of decolonisation, history, philosophy and pedagogy. The introductory chapter offers a clear and concise primer to this complex subject, covering colonialism, imperialism, decoloniality, and the various actors involved.
David Boucher is Professor of Political Philosophy and International Relations, and Director of the Collingwood and British Idealism Centre at Cardiff University. He is also Distinguished Visiting Professor, Department of Political Science at the University of Johannesburg.
Ayesha Omar is Senior Lecturer in political theory in the Department of Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and Research Associate at SOAS (University of London).
Christopher Allsobrook is the Director of the Centre for Leadership Ethics in Africa at the University of Fort Hare.
Camilla Boisen is a historian of political thought and Senior Lecturer in the Writing Program at New York University, Abu Dhabi.
Ndumiso Dladla teaches jurisprudence in the Department of Jurisprudence, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria.
Sule Emmanuel Egya is Professor of African Literature and Cultural Studies and the Director of the Centre for Arts and Indigenous Studies at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Nigeria.
Michael Elliott is a lecturer at King’s College, London, and research associate of the NRF/British Academy Chair in Political Theory at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Steven Friedman is Research Professor in the Humanities Faculty at the University of Johannesburg.
Amber Murrey is Associate Professor of Political Geography at the University of Oxford.
Paul Patton is Hongyi Chair Professor of Philosophy at Wuhan University.
Chris Saunders is Emeritus Professor at the University of Cape Town.
Ian S. Spears is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Guelph in Ontario.
