Decolonizing Knowledge draws on intellectual histories of anti-colonial thinkers who developed their ideas of decolonization through practical engagement with struggles for freedom from colonialism. Reading works by J.P.S. Uberoi, Frantz Fanon, Aimé Césaire, C.L.R. James and Andaiye, among others, interdisciplinary activist scholars reflect on the meaning of decolonization that emerged from anti-colonial struggles of the past and its relevance today. Decolonizing Knowledge is an intervention into contemporary debates on decolonizing curricula and universities, arguing that these calls need to be firmly engaged in wider social practices for justice, and that they can learn much from those who wrote on the topic amid the 20th century's many struggles for freedom.
Book launch at the in installation of the Court for Intergenerational Climate Crimes: East India Company on Trial in Ambika P3 Gallery, University of Westminster, 25 April 2025. Photo: Matthias Kispert
Book Launch in the installation of the Court for Intergenerational Climate Crimes: The East India Company on Trial, at Ambika P3 University of Westminster, on 25 April 2025. Photo: Matthias Kispert
“This exciting and thought-provoking collection looks at how colonial knowledge is produced and resisted in locales and by people not always given due consideration in mainstream theory and politics.” ~ Nivi Manchanda, Queen Mary University of London, UK
“In a time when the practice of decoloniality is getting increasingly distracted by superficial propositions, neocolonial appropriations and banal jargon, this edited volume brings in freash air of hope that there is still a possibility to revive the practical intentions with which decolonial movements were born.” ~ Sayan Dey, Bayan College, Oman.
“An essential and timely work, this volume illuminates foundational perspectives on decolonization, offering a “back to the classics” approach that revisits the deeper traditions of Third World anti-colonial and anti-racist thought. Rooting current manifestations of decolonization in the works of Fanon, Cesaire, Mariáteguui, Du Bois, Uberoi, Dutt, Rodney and others, the chapters powerfully challenge the institutional cooptation of the decolonial in academia and reframe it in connection to a broader societal and global project.” ~ Gabriela Veronelli, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Argentina.