Curriculum Decolonization and Internationalization: A Critical Perspective from South Africa

This conceptual paper presents a decolonial critique of Eurocentric epistemic hegemony in South Africa and its impact on the curriculum. We argue that the propagation of knowledge from the Global North as 'universal' through conceptually vague framings of curriculum internationalization is contributing to the maintenance of Eurocentric hegemony. We explore how to think otherwise about the world, knowledge and curriculum, framing this around a critical understanding of historical and contemporary politics, geopolitics and coloniality of knowledge. This includes an interrogation of historical workings of power and domination, hegemonic and ideological assumptions, and how all this continues to shape knowledge and curriculum. We offer a set of critical questions that can assist academics and curriculum developers in assessing what is amplified and what is silenced in the curriculum. This can contribute to a genuine engagement with diverse global perspectives and promotion of epistemic plurality in higher education.