Foreword to Decolonial Subversions 2020
Editorial - Cross-cultural Engagements in Decolonial Times: Subverting Euro-centric Structures, Epistemologies and Ontologies
Plan S and the ‘opening up’ of scientific knowledge: A critical commentary
Abstract
Plan S is a an initiative that aims at ‘opening up’ access to scientific
knowledge by ensuring immediate and cost-free (for the reader) access to scientific knowledge under
specified Open Access (OA) principles. While the initiative is guided by evidently good intentions
to overcome current obstacles that restrict the quick publication, dissemination and reproduction of
scientific research, it is not only informed primarily by a natural sciences perspective, neglecting
the humanities and social sciences, but also it does not appear to consider or address the more
profound structural inequalities in knowledge production across the world. The essay aims to
problematise some of these less often pronounced asymmetries in an effort to shift the attention of
OA advocates to more urgent issues and to evidence the necessity for more subversive remedial
strategies.
Keywords: Plan S, Open Access Publishing, global knowledge production,
Euro-American
A Plan S és a tudományos tudás „hozzáférhetővé tétele”: kritikai kommentár
Absztrakt
A Plan S nevű kezdeményezés azt ígéri, hogy segít „hozzáférhetővé tenni” a
tudományos tudást azáltal, hogy az olvasók számára azonnali és ingyenes hozzáférés biztosítását
követeli a megfelelő Open Access elvek betartása által. Noha a kezdeményezés kétség kívül
jószándékú, és célja azon jelenlegi publikációs akadályok leküzdésének segítése, melyek hátráltatják
a gyors publikálást, a tudományos ismeretek terjesztését és sokszorosítását, a Plan S sajnálatos
módon elsősorban a természettudományok perspektíváját veszi tekintetbe, figyelmen kívül hagyja a
humán és társadalomtudományok jellegzetességeit, és egyáltalán nem foglalkozik egy sokkal alapvetőbb
strukturális kérdéssel, tudniillik a tudástermelésben jelenlévő globális egyenlőtlenségekkel. Jelen
esszé elsősorban ez utóbbi, általában kevéssé hangsúlyozott aszimmetriákkal foglalkozik annak
érdekében, hogy az Open Accessre irányuló szinte kizárólagos figyelem helyett néhány sokkal
sürgetőbb, kapcsolódó problémát is megfogalmazzunk és felhívjuk a figyelmet arra, hogy a globális
tudástermelési folyamatok megreformálása érdekében sokkal alapvetőbb változásokat tartalmazó
stratégiákra lenne szükség.
Kulcsszavak: Plan S, Open Access publikáció, globális tudástermelés,
episztemikus egyenlőtlenségek, Euro-Amerikai sztenderdek, Angol nyelv
Cognates of ubuntu: Humanity/personhood in the Swahili philosophy of utu
Abstract
This article interrogates the humanistic foundations of African philosophy,
as expressed in the philosophy of ubuntu for instance. It does this through a study of the
Swahili discourse on utu (humanity, humankind, personhood). To do this, the article explores
the semantics of the Swahili language and its idioms and sayings and goes on to examine how these
are reflected in several genres of Swahili poetry, prose fiction, but also theoretical discussions
among experts in radio broadcasts, internet blogs or in interviews reproduced in literature on
Swahili philosophy. The article isolates several distinct understandings of utu: next to the
"cultural" concept, developed both affirmatively and polemically across a range of genres from
traditional metric poetry to popular literature and blogs, there are specific readings of the
concept in ujamaa novels, in existentialist literature, and in experimental prose fiction.
The article observes that one important vector of these understandings is religion; they offer
divergent answers to the question of how far utu is derived from religious faith. This concern with
religion is practically absent both from the discussions on ubuntu in southern African
cultures and from the variations on humanistic philosophy in West Africa. Having raised the question
of what makes "African humanism" different from from the conceptualizations of humanity in other
regions and from other historical forms of humanism in the world, the article suggests that it is
the lack of interest in the non-human world to which humanistic philosophy would respond and the
absence of a "natural philosophy" as a counterpart of life focalized through humanity and theorized
in human-centred terms, that characterizes the many mutations of humanism in Africa.
Keywords: ubuntu, humanism, humanity, utu, Swahili philosophy, Swahili
literature
Linguistic Human Rights and Multilingual Education: Report from an Indian University
Abstract
This paper will report on the designing and teaching of Masters-level courses
on multilingual education and linguistic human rights. These courses are being offered at a private,
not-for-profit Indian university which has an explicit social justice agenda. The deliberately
diverse student body offers unique opportunities to explore multilingualism in the classroom and in
society: a July 2019 class of 46 students had between them 35 language-names! The essay first sets
out the somewhat unusual background of the University. It then gives an overview of some aspects of
the University’s diversity. Thereafter, we describe a few of our courses on multilingualism, their
objectives, and some pedagogic strategies. The university aims to create reflective practitioners
for the social sector – especially in education, development and public policy. There is therefore a
discursive coherence between the various courses in the Masters programmes. Students are
particularly receptive to arguments about discrimination, exclusion, equity, rights, and policies.
However, while class, caste, gender and region are familiar axes of exclusion, there is much less
awareness among students of the intersectionality of language as reflecting, constituting, and
reproducing privilege, discrimination and exclusion. The courses on multilingual education and
linguistic human rights thus build on the strengths that the programmes and the students already
have. The courses then seek to go beyond, inviting students to critique existing linguistic
inequalities, and devise an innovative curriculum and pedagogy. The essay ends by sketching two
initiatives of the University that will help to develop critical perspectives on India’s
multilingualism, and design educational and policy interventions which strengthen mother-tongue
based multilingualism and contribute to the building of a just, equitable, sustainable and humane
society. This paper reviews the experience of teaching these courses, and suggests some possible
future directions.
Keywords: multilingual education, linguistic human rights, social
justice, education, curriculum, pedagogy
Lingvaj homaj rajtoj kaj multlingva edukado: raporto de barata universitato
Resumo
Tiu ĉi eseo raportos pri la desegnado kaj instruado de magistra-nivelaj
kursoj pri multlingva edukado kaj lingvaj homaj rajtoj. Oni ofertas la kursojn en privata,
neprofitcela barata universitato kiu havas eksplicitan celon je socia justeco. La planite diversa
studentaro donas unikan ŝancon esplori la multlingvismon en la klasĉambro kaj en la socio: en julio
2019 ekzemple, en klaso de 46 studentoj estis listo de 35 lingvonomoj! La eseo unue prezentos la iom
nekutiman fonon de la universitato. Poste ĝi donos superrigardon de kelkaj aspektoj de la diverseco
de la universitato. Post tio, ni priskribos kelkajn el niaj kursoj pri la multlingvismo, ĝiaj celoj,
kaj ĝiaj pedagogiaj strategioj. La universitato celas prepari pensemajn laborantojn por la socia
sektoro – aparte en la edukado, la socia evoluo, kaj la publika strategiaro. Pro tiu perspektivo,
troviĝas cela kohereco inter la diversaj kursoj en la magistraj programoj. La studentoj estas aparte
sentemaj pri argumentoj pri diskriminacio, ekskludado, egaleco, rajtoj, kaj strategiaro. Tamen, dum
socia klaso, kasto, sekso, kaj regiono estas konataj aksoj de la ekskludado, ekzistas multe malpli
da scio inter la studentoj pri la transkategoria naturo de la lingvo, kiel io kio respegulas,
formas, kaj reproduktas privilegion, diskriminacion kaj ekskludadon. Tiel, la kursoj pri multlingva
edukado kaj lingvaj homaj rajtoj uzas la komprenojn kiujn la programoj kaj la studentoj jam posedas.
Plue, la kursoj instigas la studentojn kritike pensi pri ekzistantaj lingvaj neegalecoj, kaj verki
novtipajn studprogramojn kaj pedagogion. La eseo finiĝas per skizoj de du iniciatoj de la
universitato kiuj helpos formi kritikajn perspektivojn pri la barata multlingvismo, kaj dezajni
edukajn kaj strategiarajn intervenojn kiuj fortigos gepatralingve bazitan multlingvismon kaj
kontribuos al la kreado de pli justa, egaleca, daŭripova kaj homeca socio. La eseo resumas la
sperton instrui tiujn ĉi kursojn, kaj sugestas kelkajn vojojn por la estonteco.
Ŝlosilvortoj: multlingva edukado, lingvaj homaj rajtoj, socia justeco,
edukado, studprogramo, pedagogio.
Subalternity and Subjectivity in Sairat
Abstract
This article positions the depictions of caste in mainstream Indian cinema as
cultural histories reflecting the discourse on caste relations and social inequality prevalent in
contemporary India. Drawing from postcolonial theory that analyses the politics of representation, I
situate how cultural representations of caste are shaped by colonial and postcolonial modes of
governance and feudal landownership in India. I extend frameworks grounded in postcolonial theory to
study empirical media phenomena which have relevance for future interdisciplinary studies. In that
sense, this article attempts to decolonise representations of subaltern subjectivity by taking the
case study of Sairat (Wild), a commercially successful film made in Marathi, a widely spoken
regional language in western India. The article considers the treatment of themes of social
difference related to caste in cinema and culture, that also foregrounds the need for studies of
critical spectatorship of representations in mainstream Indian cinema.
Keywords: politics of representation, regional cinema, India,
marginalised communities, subversion in mainstream cinema
An exploration of agency within Maroon ecological praxis: Unearthing the histories of Maroon ecology in Jamaica and Brazil from 1630 to 1780
Abstract
The intricate histories of Maroon ecology contain complex, layered histories
of agency that shaped and redefined Maroon experiences. Rather than relying on one-sided colonial
narratives of Maroon spatiality and ecological praxis that confine these experiences to the
institution of slavery and defence against enslavement, this research goes deeper to explore agency
through the ecological relations in the Maroon sites of Jamaica and Brazil from 1630 to 1780. By
examining existing literature on Maroon experiences, this work seeks to re-imagine these relations
by recognising Maroon ecology both in context and as a legitimate part of history. It also seeks to
develop a framework that offers deeper insight into Maroon ecology, mainly through understanding the
inextricable link between the environment and Maroon experiences.
Keywords: Maroon, agency, ecology, hinterland, coloniality,
colonialism
A Manifesto for Decolonial Subversions
Abstract
While decolonisation has in recent years become increasingly popular in
everyday and academic discourses, it has thus far failed to deliver the radical ruptures and
revolutionary transformations of the world-order envisioned by anticolonial practitioners and
intellectuals. In great part, this is because exploitative politico-economic relations reminiscent
of imperialism are upheld under the guise of globalisation, free-market and development. This
Decolonial Manifesto is a call for action to dismantle current power structures and bring about
fairer and decentred processes of producing, legitimising and distributing knowledge over and above
challenging western hegemony in general. While a series of pragmatic points of action directly aim
to overcome the deep-rooted issues pervading academic publishing (including rotational editorship,
open access publishing, multilingual written, audio and visual contributions among others), these
are to be collocated within larger narratives challenging race- and class-informed marginalisations,
capitalist and neoliberal market-structures, unethical patriarchal setups, ableist discourses and
the relentless destruction of planet Earth. Such a project is necessarily open-ended, collaborative
and disruptive, and promises subversive and enriching spaces for change.
Keywords: decolonisation, publishing, knowledge production, regimes of
truth, subversion