The Coloniality of Curriculum and the Silencing of Critical Literacies

• In Event: The Politics of Citation in Curriculum Studies

Abstract

If we consider the sociopolitical context in which reactionary curricular discourses and policies are articulated, we observe that the latter unfold within a particular landscape in which attacks against historically oppressed groups correspond to increasing social resistance by said groups. This paper specifically seeks to shed light on the context in which critical literacies are being silenced, explicate the relevance of critically reading, analyzing, and interpreting this context, and discuss ways in which educators can critically engage particular topics with their students.

As policymakers continue to pass restrictions on any aspect of education that they feel may cause certain students to feel discomfort, these reactionary discourses not only promote colonized ways of thinking but also have a negative impact on teachers, students, and education as a whole. By controlling the educational sphere, the one in power is able to tear down and destroy principles and ideals of Others and indoctrinate their own views and belief systems, thus ensuring their control of knowledge. In order for these acts of violence to subside, there must be a “decolonization of the mind” (Wu & Geo-Jaja, p. 2016, p. 7) that necessarily needs to be accompanied by unsettling the coloniality of curriculum. This paper argues that decolonial theory can be applied to literacy studies in an effort to decenter Eurocentric perspective in public education settings. By decentering the dominant curriculum, students will finally have access to counter-discourses and alternative knowledges that “reverse the hierarchy…of being, knowledge and power” (Streck & Adams, 2012, p. 248). If policymakers seek to colonize the curriculum, it is up to us- anyone who chooses to stand against oppression- to dismantle the coloniality of curriculum to provide students with a quality literacy education. In order for this occurrence to take place, those who wish to protect all children must do more than just provide differing views occasionally but to incorporate other cultures, knowledge, histories, and perspectives intentionally throughout the curriculum.

Author

• Erin R. Boiles, Texas Tech University