Can one’s professional or academic discipline become more inclusive, creative and ethical. Is there “no discipline that is immune from this task of decolonization".
It seems all the more essential considering the bogus ideological “culture war” attacks made by right-wing pundits like yesterday’s “debate” at the University of Pittsburgh on rendering transgenderism illegal(sic). That event was sponsored by College Republicans with external right-wing money and advocated anti-constitutional measures affecting basic human rights.
Hundreds of people swarmed the University of Pittsburgh campus Tuesday night to protest an event featuring anti-trans, right-wing pundit Michael Knowles, as well as gay libertarian journalist Brad Polumbo. The two squared off over "transgenderism," (a term rejected by the LGBTQ+ community and allies) and whether it should be regulated by law. The crowd made it known that the speakers and the "debate" were unwelcome, shouting "shut it down" and "trans lives matter" in unison, as well as lighting an effigy of Knowles on fire. www.pghcitypaper.com/...
Intersectional rights attacks come from groups that favor empire and racism. For example, colonial-era laws that ban homosexuality continue to exist in former British territories including parts of Africa and Oceania.
Decolonization is about "cultural, psychological, and economic freedom" for Indigenous people with the goal of achieving Indigenous sovereignty — the right and ability of Indigenous people to practice self-determination over their land, cultures, and political and economic systems.
'Decolonising the curriculum' has been the keynote theme at a many seminars, conferences, and workshops both within individual disciplines and across them. At times, references to 'decolonising' seems so capacious as to stand in for any form of critical engagement with race and representation…
Decolonization is a goal and process of liberation from the harms wrought by the colonial system (Monchalin, 2015). It involves undoing colonial ideologies contained in "intellectual, psychological, and physical forms and it won't happen by magic, happenstance, or friendly agreement" (Asadullah, 2021)
Decolonizing sociology, therefore, precisely follows this logic of how the world of empires fundamentally shaped the logic and practices of the discipline. Sociology was institutionalized as a discipline - in the late 19th century - at a time where around 95% of the world was under colonial occupation (or was an empire itself).
an upcoming conference on decolonizing one discipline:
Name: Decolonizing Economics Summit: The 4th Annual Post-Capitalism Conference
Dates: Thursday April 20 – Saturday April 22
Location: Virtual (with an in-person Earth Day Celebration on April 22nd in McKinleyville, CA)