ERIC Number: EJ1047406
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1350-4622
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(Re)creating Spaces for "uMunthu": Postcolonial Theory and Environmental Education in Southern Africa
Kayira, Jean
Environmental Education Research, v21 n1 p106-128 2015
Colonialism goes beyond territorial conquest: it affects one's epistemological stance, worldviews and perceptions. Although most African countries gained independence in the 1960s, the impacts of colonialism continue to be present through modern-day globalization as a form of neocolonialism. Education systems in many countries in southern Africa continue to be grounded in Western viewpoints, marginalizing local Indigenous ways of knowing and being (I capitalize the word "Indigenous" because it is a proper noun referring to particular people, their knowledges, ways of living, etc.). An increased number of scholars in southern Africa are engaging with counter-hegemonic strategies as frames of analysis to counter the impacts of neocolonialism. This paper reviews environmental education studies in southern Africa that have applied postcolonial theory as a frame of analysis either explicitly or implicitly. Postcolonial theory provides a platform to challenge the dominant truths espoused by Western thought. In doing so, it paves the way for other truths to have space in the knowledge discourses, including the sub-Saharan African worldview of "Ubuntu/uMunthu." While many scholars are engaging with counter-hegemonic strategies, the review calls for the need for further research from postcolonial frames not only in southern Africa but also other parts of the world as well.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Environmental Education, World Views, African Culture, Indigenous Knowledge, Foreign Policy, Epistemology, Global Approach, Western Civilization
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Information Analyses
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A