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Equity & Social Justice Advisory Group Resources: Decolonization of Knowledge

Last Updated: May 5, 2025 1:13 PM

Introduction

"Decolonization of knowledge (also epistemic or epistemological decolonization) is a concept advanced in decolonial scholarship[note 1][note 2] that critiques the perceived universality of what the decolonial scholars refer to as the hegemonic Western knowledge system.[3] It seeks to construct and legitimize other knowledge systems by exploring alternative epistemologies, ontologies and methodologies.[3] It is also an intellectual project that aims to “disinfect” academic activities that are believed to have little connection with the objective pursuit of knowledge and truth. The presumption is that if curricula, theories, and knowledge are colonized, it means they have been partly influenced by political, economic, social and cultural considerations.[4] The decolonial knowledge perspective covers a wide variety of subjects including epistemology, natural sciences, science history, and other fundamental categories in social science.[5]"

Wikipedia contributors, “Decolonization of Knowledge,” Wikipedia, April 21, 2024, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decolonization_of_knowledge.

Decolonizing Collections

Books about Decolonization in Libraries and Academia

Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples book cover

Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples

This essential volume explores the ways in which imperialism is embedded in disciplines of knowledge, and argues that the decolonization of research methods will help reclaim control over indigenous ways of knowing and being. This eagerly awaited second edition includes substantial revisions, with important additions on new indigenous literature and the role of research in indigenous struggles for social justice, bringing this best-selling book up to date.

Smith, L. T. (2012). Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples (Second edition.). Bloomsbury Academic & Professional.

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