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Why are there few people of color in library and information science (LIS)? This haunting question frames the context for critical reflection, and based on an application of critical race theory, inspires a thematic deconstruction "one brick at a time" to dismantle entrenched, white-centered power structures in American LIS educational programs. The power differentials that racism creates, and its underlying structures, need to be intentionally/systematically dismantled via deconstructing the following six foundational units (i.e., bricks): Decolonize privileged cultural inheritance of Anglo/Eurocentricity; dethrone highest situatedness of positivist/postpositivist paradigms; destabilize predominant "theory-building" without information actions; dismantle white privilege in the hiring "your own"; contest white faculty privilege demanding "equal" treatment without earned credentials; demand culpability for white (mis)appropriations of minority race/ethnicity-related content. Lessons are globally relevant since American racism is a legacy of an Anglo/Eurocentric colonialist/imperialist order shaping historical and contemporary neoliberal political, social, cultural, and economic intersections around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of neoliberalism affecting the higher education sector, critical research in marketing and management remains dominated by Western Eurocentric theories. As a result, non-Western researchers are expected to socialise with the Western theoretical discourse to succeed and progress in Western academia. In this paper, we reflected on our personal experiences as early career researchers from Southeast Asia who have studied and are currently working in the UK as we navigate around the structural expectations, challenges, and strategies in pursuing our research. We merged our voices with those of other doctoral students from non-Western backgrounds in the discipline to present some coping mechanisms that researchers like us adopt to avoid failure in academia. We argue that the conformity to Western academia and its hidden struggles produce risk-averse junior researchers; thus, limiting creativity, diversity, and potential growth in the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Māori adults are over-represented in self-reported hearing loss statistics in Aotearoa, yet they are currently underserved in hearing healthcare services that were designed using one-size-fits-all Eurocentric ideologies and models of health and disability. Unassisted hearing loss has been linked to increased rates of depression, social isolation, communication issues, early retirement, and cognitive decline, as well as a decreased ability to engage with cultural practices. An area that requires further research is the exploration of Māori adults’ perspectives and experiences of hearing healthcare. This article uses a Kaupapa Māori lens to bring forward Māori narratives and expands on previous research of a te reo Māori hearing screening test. The article shares findings from interviews with Māori adults, exploring both their perspectives and lived experiences of ear and hearing healthcare and te reo hearing assessments. It highlights the barriers that exist for Māori when accessing hearing healthcare in Te Waipounamu (The South Island of Aotearoa) and the desire to see transformative change in the hearing healthcare landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractWithin academic discourses of postcolonial theory, much has been written on whether and how Marxism can be drawn on to understand the ‘postcolonial world’ and, in this regard, what the relations between Eurocentrism and Marxism are. In practice, Marxism remains a core analytical framework for many emancipatory movements from the Global South, as is the case for Egyptian organisation of Revolutionary Socialists, whose popularity grew during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. The following paper is based on anthropological research with Egyptian Revolutionary Socialists in exile and the political underground. It showcases that many academic postcolonial debates sideline the agency of Marxist social actors from the Global South, their theoretical and practical endeavours, and their own modes of knowledge production. It is through the agency of Revolutionary Socialist social actors that Marxism travels from below, is translated, (re)read, debated, and materialises itself in given contexts. I highlight how Egyptian Revolutionary Socialists utilise Marxism as a living theory in their contemporary political practice and argue that their practice in exile as fellow travellers can be understood as a reconfiguration of the concept of travelling theory into travelling theory from below. Herein the centrality of social actors’ practice in grasping theory manifests itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article interrogates the sweeping notion of ‘Persianate Sufism’ and its intersection with language, religion, and ethnicity in the context of Iran. It begins by tracing the origin of the Persianate World, a term first coined by Marshall Hodgson, and demonstrates how Iranian scholars and historians have exploited this concept to forge a Persian-centric reading of religious texts across Iran and beyond. We argue that the Persianate World echoes a Eurocentric and Orientalist model of knowledge that produces a skewed and exoticized representation of non-Persian histories and memories, thus overlooking their distinctive cultural presence, heritages, and contributions. Our research underlines Sufism as a vibrant and diverse spiritual tradition that transcends linguistic and cultural boundaries, embodying a rich array of dynamic expressions. Finally, our study invites a critical revision of the broad generalizations and cultural domination that the concept of the Persianate World entails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European conservation-restoration training programmes offer curricula that tend to be rooted in Eurocentrism. Over the last decades, conservation scholars have called for a re-interpretation of the sector, based on a need to acknowledge and respond to global social developments, including the call for decolonisation—calls that would naturally change training programmes. In Australia and Canada, for example, training programmes long ago embarked on a path of reforming their curricula and including non-Eurocentric ways of conserving. On the other hand, higher education programmes in conservation in Europe have only recently begun to discuss alternatives to their current curricula. To address this concern, this article focusses on approaches aimed at 'decolonising the curriculum' as a means for European conservation training programmes to achieve greater alignment with current social developments. Such approaches may serve as a strategic device for formulating recommendations geared to triggering curricula transformations and bringing them into line with major social issues in our contemporary world, as well as to provide a broader and more diverse epistemic foundation for the professional efforts of future conservation experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite revolutions, ongoing student protests, and long-standing transformational efforts, African higher education remains steeped in a colonial model, with current structures, approaches, and purposes paralleling Western universities. The doctorate, the highest level of formal education one can attain, reflects this commitment to Western domination, relying upon European conceptions of knowledge to shape the entire research process. Thus, knowledge construction in higher education, and particularly in the African doctorate, has remained fixed to Eurocentrism. This conceptual article presents a critical race theory model to transform the African doctorate towards a social justice orientation, arguing for investments in race-conscious, Black affirming approaches that recognise doctoral researcher positionalities and African languages as ways to disrupt socio-political and racialised contexts. This transformation requires re-alignment of the entire research endeavour through an Ubuntu lens, with doctoral recipients engaging in training and support that embody antiracist, decolonial, and African Indigenous-affirming approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper addresses the stated need for art educators to develop inquiries into the history of non-Western, non-Anglophone art education systems. In response, we look at data taken from the history of Israeli art education and the development of Israeli art curricula in order to offer a historical sketch of the development of school art curricula in Israel. We frame our sketch using the perspectives of multiculturalism and critical theory. In the course of our discussion we reference scholarship from North America and Europe. However, our focus is primarily on shifts in Israeli policy in the direction of acknowledging greater diversity and multiculturalism. We trace these themes, starting with pre-state Israel and concluding with contemporary Israeli concerns with equity and social justice. We note parallel concerns with the same social issues in scholarship from North America and Europe. The main purpose of this comparison is to bring attention to the "blind spots" and "black holes" in Israeli visual arts syllabi where both Arab and Jewish Eastern culture and esthetics have been overlooked. We note parallels between these omissions in the Israeli visual arts curricula and attempts to correct similar lacunae in North American visual arts education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that fashion curation in Latin America must be redesigned in order to disseminate the complex histories of fashion in the region, which are inherently tinted with forms of systemic oppression that stem from European invasions and colonialism. It begins with two recent case studies from Colombia before moving onto a brief overview of the development of fashion curation in Latin America, which highlights the dominance of Eurocentric views of fashion in exhibitions throughout the region. To move beyond these limited narratives, the article ends by offering some initial ideas to redirect future curatorial practices and strategies based on contemporary and critical approaches that engage with decolonial scholarship around fashion in Latin America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban scholars have long engaged with the role of culture in cities. Tracing this debate, this article outlines the evolutions of culture as an object of study in inquiries on the urban and wishes to trouble two persisting trends in this literature. The first is a geographical and theoretical Eurocentric vision of culture, often framing cities beyond the West as exceptions or needing validation through a comparison with a Western case or theoretical model; the second is an economistic vision of culture under neoliberalism, neglecting the political and ideological dimensions of culture. As a step in overcoming these limitations, this article builds around the notion of 're-learning', to re-insert memory, informality and conflicting heritage into the debate on culture in cities. Drawing on an ethnography of the street 'Avenida 26' in Bogotá, Colombia, the article shows that informal cultural practices in the middle of segregation and urban violence can hardly be grasped through the current framing of culture in cities. Yet, they invite an opening up of such a framing to include different ways to cohabit and navigate space through everyday minor engagements. These multifaceted cultural realities urge us to 're-learn' culture in cities anywhere and advance theorisation on culture that takes non-Western urban spaces seriously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Syed Farid Alatas is a Malaysian sociologist who has been highly influential in discussions about decolonising knowledge. He has also continued the legacy of his esteemed father, Syed Hussein Alatas, by furthering 'the School of Autonomous Knowledge' in the Malay Archipelago and beyond. This article presents a wide-ranging, comprehensive and rich dialogue between Farid and Leon Moosavi. In this conversation, pertinent questions are asked: How does Farid's approach to decolonising knowledge differ from other decolonial scholars? What exactly does Farid mean when he talks of 'intellectual imperialism', 'alternative discourses' and 'academic dependency'? This dialogue also explores Farid's extensive engagement with the Islamic/Muslim sphere, including topics such as: Ibn Khaldun, Muslim revivalism, Muslim sectarianism and the Islamisation of knowledge. The discussion also explores some potential critiques of Farid's intellectual contributions with challenging questions: Can Farid's theoretical ideals be applied in 'the real world' or are they confined to an audience of intellectual elites? Is Farid anti-Western? Or, actually, does his work inadvertently fall into the trap of Westerncentrism? This article offers a unique insight into the intellectual biography of one of the most notable social theorists of the current era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction to the Special Issue delves into the intersection of critical discursive approaches and intersectionality in the study of language, gender, and societal inequalities. It traces the evolution of gender and language studies, with a focus on how discursive methodologies have facilitated the examination of the material consequences of discourse, particularly in relation to power, gender, and social structures. The aim of this Special Issue is to foster academic synergy by merging discursive and intersectional frameworks to analyze how socio-cultural categories—such as gender, race, and class, among others—intersect to produce inequalities. Furthermore, the issue incorporates a decolonial perspective, critically engaging with the Eurocentric foundations of existing methodologies and advocating for a more inclusive analysis of global power dynamics. The articles within this issue adopt interdisciplinary approaches, including Critical Discourse Studies and Sociocultural Linguistics, to explore diverse experiences and social structures. By integrating these frameworks, the issue offers a multifaceted understanding of how intersecting identities shape discourse and social power relations, underscoring the importance of critical praxis and self-reflexivity in academic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian—the largest cruise lines today—emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s, advertising their packaged vacations to a growing audience of middle-class Americans interested in encountering cultural difference. This article argues that, beginning in the late 1970s and continuing into the following decade, the cultural representations that these mass-market companies leveraged drew on Eurocentric understandings of Caribbean societies, homogenizing those countries despite attempts to showcase difference. These companies also reimagined global cultures Eurocentrically in onboard themed experiences. As both a product and agent of globalization, the mass-market cruise industry selectively deployed referents in ways that increased the appeal of cruising as escapism while reducing the likelihood of cultural confusion and reassuring passengers of their comfort. Through these processes, companies produced cruise ships as metaspaces while simultaneously expanding the construction of metaspaces to ports as they gained economic and political power in the Caribbean. This process resulted in the erasure of cultural difference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cedric Robinson's increasingly popular and influential work Black Marxism is best understood as a project of post-Marxist critique. Robinson's book, now regarded as a classic, asks a series of important questions of Marxism, but each of its major arguments marks a fundamental departure from the theoretical perspectives of both European and Black Marxists. The book exists in a historical moment of crisis for the left and intellectual retreat from Marxism; Robinson's relationship with Marxism and his place in the political tradition to which he gave a name, the Black Radical Tradition, suggests three main arguments. First, Robinson's critiques of the classical Marxist tradition — focused on its apparent economism and Eurocentrism — are based on a flattening of this tradition and a marked break from Marxist methodology. Second, Robinson's critique does not neatly align with the perspectives of the radical Black intellectuals whom he discusses, and indeed his conclusions are frequently in conflict with them. Third, the emancipatory project of Black Studies and the research programs convened under Robinson's influence will be best served by cautious and critical engagements with Robinson's seminal work. The generative questions that Robinson asks will be better answered through a materialist account of Black history, a syncretic understanding of Black culture, and a nonreductive, revolutionary Marxism providing the guide for political action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to examine the relevance of the term 'cyberterrorism' within African spaces. Although the notion of cyberterrorism as a concept is contested by scholars such as Jason Burke and Marc Sageman, the application of the concept in an African context raises a number of concerns. Firstly, rather than focusing on the semantic and conceptual issues only, more attention should be paid to the material implications of such discourses for people and states on the continent who are on the receiving end of such conceptualisation. Discourses regarding fear are always very complex and shape the way in which reality is perceived, understood and how hegemonic power-relations are formed within certain contexts. Secondly, these discourses reflect a Eurocentric bias, because, as visible in the definition used and accepted by US defence analysts, cyberterrorism would refer to " Unlawful attacks and threats of attack against computers, networks, and the information stored therein when done to intimidate or coerce a government or its people in furtherance of political or social objectives.". These types of discourses are largely state-centric or government-centric, created to operate in spheres where effective governance varies from what is accepted as such on the African continent. While connectivity and globalization are becoming increasingly important for Africa as a whole, it begs the question whether the term is not more appropriate for highly globalized, technologically advanced contexts of the global North. In contrast with countries in the global North, African countries' limited use and penetration of information technology thus underline the need for a critical (re)examination of the discourses relating to cyberterrorism in the African context. What needs to be established is whether cyberthreats, specifically cyberterrorism, pose a real threat on the continent, or whether the concept has become a platitude or blanket term to describe any form of information-based hostility. The paper questions the application of concepts such as cyberthreats, cyberterrorism and cybersecurity in African-centered approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractModern Nigerian poetry in English was dominated in the 1950s and 1960s by the writing of Wole Soyinka, John Pepper Clark, and Christopher Okigbo. The trio, regarded as pioneers and the first generation of Nigerian poets, succeeded largely with their adoption of modernist techniques to convey African material. By the 1970s, their writing came under scrutiny with the call to decolonise African literature and, by extension, Nigerian poetry in English. In this article, I demonstrate how Niyi Osundare demystifies the form and language of Nigerian poetry in English by the creative deployment of oral techniques in selected poems. I argue that Osundare, as a Nigerian second-generation poet, decolonises and democratises modern Nigerian poetry by delinking from his predecessors’ Eurocentric conception of poetry. The article is in five parts. The first part provides an introduction, the second is a background review of the development of Nigerian poetry in English from which the research problem, purpose, and aim are identified. The third part is on the structure of The Word is an Egg. The fourth part analyses the oral poetic techniques employed by Osundare as decolonial creative strategies, and the fifth provides a concluding attestation of the transformative nature of Osundare’s poetic art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a political and pedagogic project, decolonisation involves the deconstruction of dominant Eurocentric forms of knowledge production, and the pluralisation of the knowledge field. But, in the case of a divided Cyprus, such practices and structures take on different meanings, within and beyond different contexts. In this article we link feminisms of resistance to curricular practices as a decolonial pathway to erasure of epistemic and gendered violence. If we are to suggest a collective project of decolonisation of higher education in Cyprus, we initially need to deconstruct conceptual frameworks of social justice through decolonising pedagogic practices. We consider ‘translanguaging decoloniality’ as one such avenue to pedagogic praxis through enabling cultural subversions, storytelling in the curriculum, and re‐framing/re‐telling narratives of the nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crises of the Islamic world revolve around “epistemic colonialism.” So, in order to decolonize the Muslim mind, we must be able to deconstruct the Western episteme, and this involves dissociating ourselves from the Eurocentric knowledge system that gradually became ascendent since the Renaissance through such ideas as progress and modernity. However, this does not mean we need to discontinue dialog with Western thought. Rather it means retrieving and reviving our own intellectual heritage and being able to think with the categories and concepts derived from that heritage. But in light of the postcolonial situation where the intellectual and linguistic connection with one's own tradition is severed, this is a tremendous challenge. What is more, many Muslim intellectuals simply think that Islamic heritage has little relevance to address contemporary challenges. Yet unless Muslims are able to ground their self‐identity in their own intellectual tradition, they will be held captive to the web of epistemic colonialism. They might be comfortable offering their prayers as Muslims, but their mental ambience will be permeated by devastating, Eurocentric ideas. They will hardly be able to overcome their fragmented self‐image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moroccan Jewish writer Ruth Knafo Setton’s novel, The Road to Fez, challenges the Eurocentric silencing of Sephardic female agency. Setton depicts a reverse exile through her main character, Brit, whose return to Morocco subverts the dispossession and uprooting of the Moroccan Sephardim following their forced exile. Central to Setton’s novel is an effort to put emphasis on the Moroccan Judeo-Islamic landscape and mythology. In re-vindicating Moroccan Jewish-Muslim heritage, The Road to Fez further questions the exclusion of Sephardic female voices in Eurocentric readings of Jewishness. Setton presents an alternative Jewish perspective through Moroccan Judeo myths and legends. This article analyzes Setton’s magical realist integration of Moroccan spirituality and superstition into her narrative as an attempt to de-Orientalize the Sephardic female experience. The article argues that Setton incorporates supernatural elements like spell-making and “djnoun” into a realistic setting to express the rich mosaic of Sephardic Moroccan culture and to destabilize pan-Arabist, Zionist and colonial occlusions of Arab Judeo identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal History of Latin American Education / Revista Historia de la Educación Latinoamericana is the property of Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnologica de Colombia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A growing body of work has problematised how global epistemic inequality is reproduced in contemporary university settings and epistemic cultures – thinking through the lens of Eurocentrism and utilising the language of a Global North and South. However, the extent to which a relationship between geopolitical and epistemic inequality is woven into knowledge production within Europe has received less attention. Rising EU funding opportunities have facilitated a corresponding climb in transnational European social science collaborations, in concert with an expansion of empirical locations with which these projects engage. Still, increases in member state participation do not necessarily contribute to a more balanced epistemic landscape for knowledge production. Not all countries are treated equally as cases and often, these patterns of inequality reflect what Maria do Mar Pereira calls the epistemic status of nations: the idea that certain countries and continents are considered more or less likely to produce valuable or exportable scholarly knowledge. In this article, Pereira's theory of epistemic status is extended in its implications to study choices for the selection of countries as cases. We use both quantitative data from the EU CORDIS register and ethnographic data exploring academic and collaborative practices in transnational EU-funded projects. The article addresses the 'where' of collaborative research by focusing on epistemic attributes rather than participatory optics. In doing so, we reflect not only on the structures and strategies of science funding in Europe but also further unsettle discussions around global epistemic inequality within academic theory and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout his correspondence and writings, Leibniz made a number of passing references to the religion of the Mohammadans (Islam) and to several Islamic commentators. Recent literature on these references has placed them in the context of Leibniz's political and historical interests that largely reflect his Eurocentric prejudices. The purpose of this paper is to extract a more detailed and systematic view of Leibniz's knowledge of and interest in the religion, through Leibniz's remarks on Islam in relation to Christian doctrines such as the Trinity and the Incarnation, through the commentary of Maimonides and the Christian Averroists, and through a (partly speculative) comparison of three types of theodicy. The paper concludes that while Leibniz knew very little about Islam's actual doctrines, and that he was subject to the prejudicial views of his time, he understood Islam, as he did Christianity, as largely in conformity with natural (rational) religion. At the same time, his interest in its specific doctrines was primarily instrumental, that is, as correctives to certain abusive practices and misunderstandings persisting within Christianity, which could then explain for him why Islam prevailed in the East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interdisciplinary migration research is currently witnessing an increased interest in the impact of colonialism, decolonization, and expertization on present-day integrationism and racism. Tracing the genealogy of current ways of framing, categorizing, and governing groups viewed as "migrant Others" forms part of a reflexive research agenda that analyses migration as a product of changing constellations and categorizations. The article takes up this interest in the recent (and sometimes less recent) past in migration research. Bringing this interdisciplinary body of work into conversation with historical scholarship, we discuss how migration scholars make use of historical genealogies and we identify three different ways of relating the past to the present in debates about current migration and border regimes: We distinguish between what we term an anthropological "deep history" mode, a "genealogical" mode, and a "contrapuntal" or "disruptive" mode. This article argues for a careful, reflexive use of the past. We contend that both the alterity of past discourses and practices and their persistence and lasting impact can help us better make sense of the present in critical migration research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A global movement toward disaster resilience seeks to reconceptualize societal response to shock. Yet, despite disaster resilience's interdisciplinary and collaborative components, some contemporary scholarship argues the praxis may subjugate and harm stakeholders. Seeking clarity regarding the decolonial and critical perspectives contesting Eurocentric disaster resilience, our article employs a thematic analysis to examine how disaster resilience may enshrine systemic problems of inequity and subjugation. Our findings offer new ideas to challenge dominant understanding of disaster resilience, creating a typology of overlapping characteristics and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article surveys the scholarship surrounding the history of African political thought, which is a growing interdisciplinary area of study. The study of the history of political thought has a long tradition but has tended to be Eurocentric, with limited reference to the Global South. Recent decades have seen moves to correct this, with more research being given over to African political thought, both ancient and modern. This article explores the plethora of discussions, which are happening in the field, including how the subject is defined, the impact of theories of decolonisation and the relationship between African thought and ideas from elsewhere in the world. In doing this it, also notes where there is scope for further research to be done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais is the property of Centro de Estudos Sociais and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this article I explore the potential of practical reflexivity of handling categories applied by social researchers, drawing on my ongoing doctoral project in which I employ a qualitative ethnographic approach. By integrating various ways of perceiving reflexivity, including migration studies, research on intimate relationships, and feminist theory, I demonstrate ways to view research settings as encounters that enable dialogue and an atmosphere of listening. Two categories, Afghan and marriage, which emerged as significantly multifaceted in my doctoral project serve as examples for this exploration of practical reflexivity. I illustrate the impact of individuals' perception of being seen as Afghan in a broader societal and political context, and I show the opportunity to reflect on the category of marriage during interview settings using dialogue with interlocutors. By establishing practical ways to incorporate reflexivity, I contribute to the growing research field of intimate relationships in a migration context, where a critical stance towards categories is infrequently employed. This also contributes to the field of applied reflexivity in migration studies. I argue that an unreflexive use of categories may lead to the reproduction of discriminatory practices and Eurocentrism, and that scholars, especially when working with marginalized groups, must assume the responsibility of questioning categories often taken for granted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bylye Gody is the property of Cherkas Global University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

AbstractMuslim women are often represented as lacking freedom of choice and agency in literary and media discourses. This supposed lack in native Muslim societies is thought to be redeemed by Western interventions by championing ideals of freedom, equality, and liberty. This assumption is problematic as it is governed by the thought that Muslim women are not “agentic” and need external forces to speak for them. It also prioritises the West as the superior other creating a vast gap between them and the rest. This may be seen as an effect of the Eurocentric or Neo-orientalist school of thought that strives at “othering” Muslims and Islam. These discourses include not only the writings of some eminent Western scholars in line with the Orientalist school of thought but Muslim writers as well. However, contrary to the majoritarian discourse, some writers debunk and subvert these stereotypes linked to Islam, offering an alternative picture of Muslims in a more nuanced way to challenge the didactics of Western superiority. To the latter scholarship belongs Sudanese-British writer Leila Aboulela and second-generation immigrant author of mixed descent Shelina Zahra Janmohamed whose writings offer a more nuanced version of Muslim women’s writing. This article assesses the engagement of freedom and agency in Aboulela’s novel Minaret (2005) and Janmohamed’s chick-lit memoir Love in a Headscarf (2009). Contrary to the prevalent discourses on Islam and Muslims these narratives posit a resistance to conforming to the Western modes of thought and conventions. This article articulates how immigrant Muslim women deny stereotypes regarding them through the choices they make. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the postcolonial critique of Eurocentrism, the epistemological foundations of sociology and the legacies of classical sociologists have certainly become controversial. Postcolonial critiques of sociology's Eurocentrism have denounced the "parochial" nature and limitations of the theoretical contributions left by Marx, Weber, and Durkheim, the reductive and stereotyping orientation of the "primitivist" and/or "orientalist" representations of non-Western peoples that can be identified in their work, and the incomplete and misleading accounts of the Western processes of modernization that we have inherited from them, which fail to fully address and satisfactorily account for the realities of modern Western forms of colonialism and imperialism. However, the nature and consequences of Durkheim's specific sociological Eurocentrism raise opposing views within postcolonialism. This article aims to evaluate the pertinence of the divergent and sometimes contradictory postcolonial appraisals of Durkheim's Eurocentrism by focusing particularly on the controversies generated by his sociological approach to religion. Placing Durkheim's sociological project within both the academic field and the socio-political context in which it took shape, this article highlights the shifting relevance and the implications of his evolving sociological approach to this object of study in his science of morals. Although it is not exempt from inconsistencies and Eurocentric assumptions, Durkheim's sociological approach to religion leaves an invaluable legacy for a non-dualistic sociological understanding of the rituals through which humans (re)create their social identities and their forms of belonging and solidarity. In line with the priorities of some postcolonial agendas, it can fully reveal its explanatory potential in the sociological investigation of modern and contemporary interethnic and racial conflicts and forms of colonialism and neo-colonialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) are characterised by their special relationships with their traditional lands and the natural world, which are essential to their physical and cultural survival, identity, knowledge, and spirituality. They are custodians of the land; however, often made invisible and voiceless in the face of irreversible destruction caused by human-induced planetary change. This Special Issue (SI) is inspired by the stories, worldviews, knowledge systems, and lived experiences of IPLCs worldwide. Based on the compounded impacts of global climate change and other human-induced crises on IPLCs' ancestral lands, contributors to this SI recognise that the world has entered the Anthropocene – the epoch of human-induced planetary change. While human activities are considered geologically recent, they have profoundly impacted the planet. The contributors challenge the discourse of the Anthropocene, not only because it takes humanity as the prime reference point in understanding the world but also because of its reproduction of the onto-epistemological foundations of Eurocentric philosophy, which underpins colonialism and racial capitalism. This SI opens up space for historically marginalised IPLCs' cosmologies, which embody their holistic, spiritually and physically interconnected, interdependent, and reciprocal relationships with land, the natural world, and non-human beings. It expands and pluralises the discourse of the Anthropocene through the concept of posthumanism to recognise alternative knowledge systems that decentre humanity's dominant position in understanding the world. IPLCs' onto-epistemologies align with posthuman or more-than-human ways of knowing, being, and doing, which embody their reciprocal relationships with land, non-human beings, and the natural world that are all deemed as living entities with agency. IPLCs' voices urge us to relearn our ancestral ways of understanding and interacting with the world and reconnect to our holistic relationships with the planet Earth and its beings to ensure the continuity of nature and culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article engages in theoretical reflection on how to transcend the imposition of Eurocentric theories onto Southern and Eastern examples. Specifically, I reflect on the examination of educational issues faced by marginalized migrant communities within Chinese contexts and explore the application of an "Asia as Method" conceptual framework to reimagine education opportunities for migrant children and community mobilization as it pertains to a politics of recognition and redistribution. The politics of location and identity shaped by Chinese society's historical and contemporary power structures highlight both the needs and potential of theoretical conceptualizations from within. The goal is not simply to replace the West/North with the East/South nor is it to generate a wholly new theoretical concept to be applicable to all contexts; instead, the task undertaken in this work is to foster historically grounded relational explanations in order for communities in previously-decentered contexts to become one another's multifaceted reference points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper argues for the inclusion of Indigenous research methodologies in diversity scholarship to (1) adequately account for and value the identity, lived experiences and concerns of Indigenous Peoples and (2) to enrich diversity theorising and scholarship by proposing new ways to think about and conduct research on difference, inclusion and belonging. We further highlight the roles non-Indigenous researchers can play in supporting Indigenous methodologies. Design/methodology/approach: We introduce EDI readers to Indigenous research methodologies through explicating two Indigenous (Maori) methodologies from Aotearoa New Zealand and demonstrating points of convergence and divergence from existing methodologies evident in diversity scholarship. Findings: The application of Eurocentric methodologies, including postcolonial approaches, can inaccurately theorise Indigenous experience through a Western lens compounding the ongoing impacts of colonialism. Conversely, drawing primarily from cultural knowledge and traditions, Indigenous methodologies place considerable value on people and place, relationships and relational accountabilities, each underpinned by an explicit intent to produce research with positive transformative potential for participant communities. Using Kaupapa Maori and Mana Wahine research as examples, we highlight how elements of "resistance" aligns with critical theories, but the "difference" inherent in Indigenous methodologies enables a more authentic engagement with people and place that is critical to understanding issues of significance to Indigenous Peoples. Originality/value: This paper addresses the lack of engagement with Indigenous research methodologies and priorities of Indigenous communities within diversity scholarship. We argue that Indigenous priorities make broader contributions to the diversity agenda by attributing deeper meaning to difference and resistance as enacted through the context specificity of the Indigenous world. We contend Indigenous methodologies illuminate unique perspectives and priorities that can make powerful contributions to broader discussions of equity, inclusion and belonging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the 20th century, somatic and dance-making pioneers have given rise to narratives of body. The dominant voice, however, within somatic literature, has historically emphasised a Eurocentric worldview - the legacy of which has left women of colour underrepresented. This article aims to substantiate female voices of colour by addressing what progress has already been made in the academic sphere. Further, this article puts forth a qualitative study examining eight women of colour and their experiences participating in a somatic movement intervention. The design model for this research involved two six-hour somatic workshops comprised of: Authentic Movement, embodied writing, and embodied presence. Methodology includes: Narrative Inquiry, Autoethnography, Practice-Led Research, and Organic inquiry. Findings were examined through thematic analysis and body-based reflection, themes discovered were: "Communality, Home, Solidarity, Sisterhood", "Ancestry-Ritual Space", and "Womanhood, Healing". This research is a contribution to the emerging non-Eurocentric narrative in somatic movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some cases in the social sciences have been attributed a greater capacity to generate transferrable insights than others. This is evident in the phenomenon now widely diagnosed as Eurocentrism but is not limited to it. When some cases are privileged by convention, others come into view as occasions primarily for 'application' of insights derived from other cases or of insights canonized in conversations organized around the label of 'theory'. This paper seeks to identify opportunities for higher forms of theorizing based on these observations about patterns in existing knowledge-production, focusing particularly on the opportunities that arise for theorizing from a focus on 'neglected cases'. Cases that have been neglected vis-à-vis specific categories help us to examine and challenge assumptions associated with existing concepts; they help us to reveal the range of properties bundled by existing concepts and allow us to develop a more precise vocabulary for the universe of social phenomena, which is the basis for description, explanation and critique. Based on the distinction between 'privileged' cases on the one hand and 'neglected' cases on the other hand, the paper also discusses strategies for the reflective use of privileged cases for theorizing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) as a methodological approach has become ubiquitous across disciplines, particularly in development economics. Building on the existing scholarship critiquing the widespread deployment of RCTs, this paper argues that the lack of a nuanced engagement with the concept of objectivity creates fertile grounds for the technocratization of social science research. The technocratic discourse that shapes the use of RCTs makes them susceptible to two potential dangers: perpetuating politics of partner organizations and Eurocentrism. To illustrate these issues, this paper utilizes a recently published RCT titled 'Randomizing Religion' as a case study. Two important conclusions are drawn by analyzing the case. First, a lack of engagement with the worldviews and assumptions from which causal mechanisms are drawn leads to a normative imposition of a Eurocentric social reality onto the marginalized communities in the Global South. Second, participation in the activities of a partner organization during the conduct of the RCT requires researchers to reflect on the organization's politics and its ramifications for marginalized communities. Finally, this paper contributes to an ongoing conversation about including strong reflexivity in the conduct of research in economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the contradictions within European values and the challenges to social inclusivity, advocating for a broader perspective that recognises diverse historical and cultural contexts. It critiques Eurocentrism and explores alternative views such as Islam, Afrocentrism, and Ubuntu, proposing a more inclusive framework for global human rights and values, as well as research on social-economic development.

This article uses a decolonising geographical approach to critique the limitations of the Eurocentric model of local government democracy in Aotearoa and Tauranga Moana. Thematic analysis of media representations of the Māori ward debate and semi‐structured interviews illuminates how Māori have been marginalised from local government decision‐making. First, I illustrate the way legislation, practices and processes of local government democracy, including referenda, are mechanisms that marginalise Māori and Te Ao Māori. Second, the article highlights that the establishment of Māori wards within the local government structure is the only way to ensure dedicated representation of Māori as elected members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critically examines the idea of global sociology in relationship to the discipline of Sociology. While the discipline initially emerged in Western societies, in the post-1945 era, the field extended its reach to the rest of the world. The intellectual project of global sociology emerged in the 1960s and has been on the agenda of the International Sociological Association since at least 1990. Delving deeper than the mere notion of a sociology that is applied to the world, global sociology requires the re-examination of the role of core sociological concepts and narratives, especially regarding the extent to which these reflect Eurocentric preoccupations. Global modernisation (alongside Global Studies) and Postcolonial Sociology, two of the most widely known research fields claiming global intent, are examined as to whether they provide meaningful blueprints for global sociology. Both offer promising insights but also suffer from important drawbacks. Instead of attempting to unearth new grand narratives that would displace the narrative of Western modernity, though, it might be possible to envision a plurality of such narratives coming from different regions of the globe. Sociology can thus be conceived not as exclusively global but also as local and glocal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the article becomes to highlight a new epistemology of knowledge as the guiding thread of the creative process of the samba school parade in 2019 at Estação Primeira de Mangueira. Historically, knowledge stru ctured from a bias of westernized thinking was intertwined in Brazilian cultural manifestations such as the carnival phenomenon. The narrative that the samba school parades portrayed in their presentation, reinforced the myths and misconceptions that the Eurocentric historiography systematized for many years, relativizing and softening problematic historical episodes, such as the invasion and consequently the colonization, slavery and genocide of the real owners of these lands, the original peoples. In order to rethink and rewrite traditional Brazilian historiography, the decolonial movement emerges as an epistemological rupture in order to highlight the existence and resistance of blacks and indigenous peoples in the past and present. In the parade "Historias para ninar gente grande" at Estaçao Primeira de Mangueira, the decolonial episteme is incorporated into the parade, carrying out a historical reparation towards indigenous peoples, blacks and other social groups who were victims of colonization and coloniality, becoming in this parade the true heroes and protagonists of the history of Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of this paper is the hypotheses and theories purposed at explaining the divergence between Europe and the world, which emerged with global imperialism in the last five hundred years and became evident with the Industrial Revolution. This subject was revived with Kenneth Pomeranz's work The Great Divergence, published in 2000, and continued under the title The Great Divergence. In this paper, major studies on the subject are presented and a general evaluation is made in the conclusion section. Hypotheses on the subject are discussed in this article by classifying them under the headings of natural factors and cultural-institutional factors. It cannot be said that the subject of the Great Divergence, for which hundreds of books and thousands of articles have been produced, has been able to reach a satisfactory explanation. For this, first of all, the disconnection between economic history and economic theory must be eliminated. However, it is also imperative to abandon Eurocentric explanations that have permeated the social sciences. An important problem seen in some of the hypotheses on the subject is that the conditions for falsification are not determined. This situation reduces the scientific value of the relevant studies by eliminating testability. One-dimensional or reductionist explanations do not allow the phenomenon to be understood. Therefore, a satisfactory explanation must take into account natural and cultural factors together. The multitude of factors that led to the Great Divergence have dragged the issue into an inextricable confusion. Therefore, it is necessary to determine a hierarchy or degree of importance among the factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The end of the Second World War and the Allied occupation of Iran came with a relaxation of censorship laws in the country. This in turn permitted the revival of an active Jewish press after a lull of almost two decades. One of the main publications of this period, 'Alam-e Yahud (The Jewish world), frequently translated prose and literary texts for the benefit of its readers, including a great deal of Hebrew poetry. Translations were designed to encourage a global Jewish, literary, and political modernity (on both a Zionist and domestic Iranian plane) and to promote a participation within these projects by the periodical's readers.This essay analyses these literary translations and adaptations, demonstrating Iranian Jewish writers' active engagement with Hebrew literary works, shifting and molding them for their own context and ideals. It begins with an examination of the periodical's wider translation project and its function as a political and cultural bridge during a period of change. It moves on to examine the "foreignness" of authors including Haim Nahman Bialik, and Bialik's normative cachet as an Ashkenazi/European and later Palestine-based writer. The essay proceeds to analyze other Hebrew-language contemporaries as spurs for linguistic and national renewal in both Hebrew and Persian, and concludes by reading original popular and belletristic poetry in Persian by Iranian Jews published in the periodical as a signifier of distinctiveness away from these sometimes-Eurocentric translated models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioarchaeology, as a subdiscipline, has begun confronting its colonial origins and discussing how to incorporate stakeholders and ethically move forward. Here, we frame this discussion within the context of Sudan and Ancient Nubia. We argue that first we must acknowledge the sordid history of the discipline and then actively take steps to dismantle continuing systems of racism, sexism, and western-centered biases. We begin by discussing the history of the excavation, analysis, and treatment of human skeletal remains from early excavations through to current projects. We then turn to an examination of how we can further decolonize bioarchaeology in Sudan. This will certainly involve working closely with local communities and the National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums, as well as a reconsideration of decision-making processes. We are working towards a best care practices document, detailing guidelines for the curation and analysis of human skeletal remains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I historicize decolonial theories within the context of epistemic contestations and knowledge production in Africa. I offer a critical appraisal of decolonization as simulated within Western academic institutions and argue that the current tempo of decolonization movements is by no means an accident of history; it is, in fact, a residual narrative of colonial epistemology. I offer internal critique and discuss the limitations of decolonization as an intellectual strategy, before addressing how Western academics have appropriated the discourse in a manner fitting an intellectual crusade. The decolonial scholar is, at the same time, perpetuating the mandate of colonial epistemology by substituting coloniality with subjective displacement. Finally, I suggest a modest proposal for adopting a new framework that admits the epistemic virtues of decolonization while eschewing its limitations and internal contradictions. My argument is that decolonization studies, as understood in contemporary African philosophy, has remained afflicted with the same disease it seeks to cure by (i) uncritical affiliation with historical generalizations, (ii) failure to recognize that history is no location of innocence and (iii) recolonization of non-Western ontologies through epistemic imperialism and network legitimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, Europe announced the New European Bauhaus (NEB). While the initiative intends to achieve EU sustainability goals, framing it under the name of the Bauhaus brings various challenges and issues to the fore. In this article, we analyze the critiques of the original Bauhaus and the NEB to understand the challenges that the NEB lighthouse project Bauhaus of the Seas Sails (BoSS) inherits by adhering to the Bauhaus vision and name. We unveil the problematic dynamics of Eurocentric modernity's myths of universalism and better living through technology and on the Bauhaus's and NEB's position in global power structures. Instead of assuming a tabula rasa approach and replicating problematic structures unknowingly, we bring these three aspects to BoSS to find questions as orientation points to help steer away from problematic aspects inherited by reanimating the Bauhaus name and its legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, Steven Engler and Mark Q. Gardiner propose a new way of classifying esotericism using a taxonomy borrowed from biology. They define esotericism based on a set of properties that are ranked according to their significance and how they relate to each other. The authors aim to synthesize existing definitions of esotericism into a consensual meta-definition, using scholarly consensus as the criterion for validity. However, the authors' approach reflects a conventional understanding of semantic meaning analysis and perpetuates a Western Eurocentric perspective. They also fail to address the issue of Eurocentrism and overlook recent attempts to move beyond it. [Extracted from the article]