Dr Victoria Odeniyi is a Research Fellow at the Decolonising Arts Institute.
The Decolonial Subversions Special Issue on decolonising the university and the role of linguistic diversity is a multi-/trans-disciplinary, multilingual and multimodal publication with contributions from authors living and working in Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia and South Africa.
Read the introduction to the special issue.
Watch the panel conversation celebrating the Special Issue on ‘Decolonising the University and the Role of Linguistic Diversity’
The authors
Read each author's contribution to the Special Issue.
Àtẹ̀jáde Pàtàkì ti Gbígbaraẹnisílẹ̀ Lọ́wọ́ Amúnisìn jẹ́ àtẹ̀jáde oníṣẹ́púpọ̀, elédèpúpọ̀, àti onípòpúpọ̀ pẹ̀lú ìdarapọ̀ láti ọwọ́ àwọn òǹkọ̀wé tó ń gbé tó sì ń ṣiṣẹ́ ní orílẹ̀-èdè Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia àti South Africa.
Ka Ìtọ́wò sí Àtẹ̀jáde Pàtàkì Yìí
Wo ìjóròrò àpéjọ tí ó ń ṣe ayẹyẹ Àtẹ̀jáde Pàtàkì lóríi ‘Gbígbaraẹnisílẹ̀ Lọ́wọ́ Amúnisìn nínú Yunifásitì àti Ojúṣe Onírúurú Èdè’
Translated by Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún
Khairani Barokka
Khairani Barokka’s translingual poem breaks the straitjacket of academic language and knowledge production. The poem is written in Bahasa Indonesia, Baso Minang, and English, privileging those with a working understanding of all three languages. Barokka pushes us gently, subtly challenging expected norms of language use as dictated by the English-speaking Centre.
Puisi translingual Khairani Barokka menerobos belenggu bahasa akademis dan penciptaan pengetahuan. Puisi yang ditulis dalam Bahasa Indonesia, Baso Minang, dan Bahasa Inggris ini memberi keistimewaan kepada mereka yang memiliki pemahaman akan ketiga bahasa tersebut. Barokka dengan lembut mendorong kita untuk menantang norma-norma penggunaan bahasa yang didiktekan oleh Pusat penutur Bahasa Inggris secara halus.
Translated by Rianti Gautama
Shahina Parvin
Shahina Parvin provides a powerful autobiographical account of her experiences as a Bangladeshi skilled migrant and scholar in Canada. She recounts the pressure to conform to standard Canadian English, as she describes the psychological damage caused by the inferior non-native-speaking identity she was forced to adopt. Parvin points out that her self-blame about her English language deficit occurred within a neoliberal ‘colour blind’ higher education system.
Read my encounters with the English language and my anti-colonial praxis (PDF 13.7MB)
শাহিনা পারভিন কানাডায় একজন দক্ষ বাংলাদেশী অভিবাসী এবং পণ্ডিত হিসাবে তার অভিজ্ঞতার একটি শক্তিশালী আত্মজীবনীমূলক বিবরণ প্রদান করেছেন। কিভাবে স্ট্যান্ডার্ড কানাডিয়ান ইংরেজির সাথে সামঞ্জস্য করতে বাধ্য হয়েছেন এবং এর ফলে একজন নিকৃষ্ট অ-নেটিভ-ভাষী পরিচয়ে সীমাবদ্ধ হয়েছেন এবং এই কারণে সৃষ্ট মানসিক ক্ষতির কথা তিনি বর্ণনা করেছেন।
পারভিন উল্লেখ করেছেন যে তার ইংরেজি ভাষার ঘাটতি সম্পর্কে আত্মগ্লানি একটি নিওলিবারেল, 'বর্ণান্ধ' উচ্চশিক্ষা ব্যবস্থার মধ্যে গড়ে উঠেছে।
Translated by Adrija Ghosh
Maria Sílvia Cintra Martins
Maria Sílvia Cintra Martins explores the challenges inherent in the translation of texts from everyday discourses (chants and myths) into academic discourse genres through their anthropological work with indigenous students at a Brazilian university. Martins contends that the languages and knowledges of indigenous and racialised students need to be embedded within the curriculum in order to decolonise.
Maria Sílvia Cintra Martins explora os desafios inerentes na tradução de textos de discursos quotidianos (cantos e mitos) para tipos de discurso académico, através de seu trabalho antropológico com estudantes indígenas em uma universidade brasileira. Martins propõe que as linguagens e conhecimentos de estudantes indígenas e racializados necessitam de ser integrados no currículo para o objectivo de descolonizar.
Translated by Dr Sérgio Fava
Linda Ritchie
Writing from post-apartheid South Africa, Linda Ritchie engages with the teaching of Shakespeare and the literary canon. The article reports on a decolonial initiative to teach Julius Caesar through a translanguaging lens with the aim of subverting ideas about language, power and coloniality. The article underscores the importance of raising awareness of linguistic and racial representation in historically White institutions.
Nour Elhouda Souleh
Nour Elhouda Souleh contends that creative writing offer forms of resistance which enable speakers and writers to create alternative modes of thinking and being. This contribution invites reflection on Algeria’s colonial heritage and present-day relationship with Europe. For Souleh, linguistic diversity must extend beyond language to include alternative genres of writing to push against epistemic violence in the Western academy.
تؤكد نور الهدى صولح أن الكتابة الإبداعية تقدم أشكالاً من المقاومة التي تمكن المتحدثين والكتّاب من خلق أنماط بديلة من التفكير والوجود. تدعو هذه المساهمة إلى التأمل في تاريخ الاستعمار للجزائر وعلاقتها الحالية بأوروبا. بالنسبة لصولح، يجب أن يتجاوز التنوع اللغوي حدود اللغة ليشمل الأنواع البديلة من الكتابة للتصدي للعنف المعرفي في الأكاديمية الغربية.
Translated by Dr Nour Elhouda Souleh
Romina Istratii and Monika Hirmer
Romina Istratii and Monika Hirmer discuss how Decolonial Subversions engages with decentring approaches to publishing. Their essay includes the choices they have made as they developed an online platform that challenges the privileged status of written English over other languages and modes of communication. A strength of their vision is in recognising the epistemic violence perpetuated by insisting on publication in English.
Romina Istrati e Monika Hirmer discutono come Decolonial Subversions si impegni a promuovere la decentralizzazione dell'approccio all'editoria. Il loro saggio include le scelte fatte da loro nel processo di sviluppo della piattaforma online che mette in discussione lo status privilegiato della lingua inglese rispetto ad altre lingue e ad altre modalità di comunicazione. Un punto di forza della loro prospettiva risiede nel riconoscimento della violenza epistemica che viene perpetuata attraverso l'uso consuetudinario e ricorrente della lingua inglese in ambito editoriale.
Translated by Dr Paola Giorgis
Suresh Canagarajah interviewed by Victoria Odeniyi and Gillian Lazar
Suresh Canagarajah responds to several questions posed by Special Issue Editors, Victoria Odeniyi and Gillian Lazar. Canagarajah suggests that a productive step towards decolonising academic knowledge is to think of all languages as being equally legitimate resources for knowledge making. The piece steers Northern scholars, in particular, towards what can be done - in very practical terms - to diversify academic publishing.
Read strategising decolonial subversion: a dialogue (PDF 13.7MB)
சிறப்பு இதழ் ஆசிரியர்களான விக்டோரியா ஒடேனி மற்றும் ஜில்லியன் லாசர் ஆகியோர் எழுப்பிய பல கேள்விகளுக்கு சுரேஷ் கனகராஜா பதிலளிக்கிறார். கல்வி அறிவை காலனித்துவநீக்கப்படுத்துவதற்கான ஒரு ஆக்கப்பூர்வமான வழியானது அனைத்து மொழிகளும் அறிவு உருவாக்கத்திற்கான சமமான முறையான வளங்களாக கருதுவதாகும் என்று கனகராஜா கூறுகிறார். இந்த உரையாடல் கல்வி வெளியீட்டை பன்முகப்படுத்துவதற்கு - மிகவும் நடைமுறை அடிப்படையில் - என்ன செய்ய முடியும் என்பதை நோக்கி , குறிப்பாக, வடக்கு அறிஞர்களை வழிநடத்துகிறது.
Translated by Thila Varghese