Center-Staging Decolonial and Southern Thinking for Hopeful Epistemic-Existentially Sustainable Futures

Abstract

The essay presented in this paper constitutes a reflection based on my explorations of transcending siloed academic areas from Southern or Decolonial frameworks generally and on my reading of the 572-page, 2023 volume Decolonizing The Mind. A guide to decolonial theory and practice by Sandew Hira published by Amrit Publishers more specifically. Aligning with emerging discussions regarding the need to trouble the colonially framed ways of mainstream academia and academic writing itself, I – like an increasing number of scholars, including Sandew Hira – attempt to present these reflections in what may appear as unconventional writing. This paper is organized in six sections that talk to the human condition across the territories of the contemporary planet based on situating and historicizing its narrative as a response to emerging decolonial waves that have so far marked academic settings differently across the global North and the global South, including my open-ended reading of Sandew Hira’s 2023 volume. In lieu of a standard summary, this reflective paper functions as an expanded teaser to the volumes rich and troubling offerings.