Reviving the Spirit by Making the Case for Decolonial Curricula

Abstract

This chapter explores the need for decolonial curricula to disrupt the hegemonic and colonial narratives of state curricula. It examines how hegemonic Western knowledge systems were birthed by Cartesian separations, and how these have seeped into Western education, enabling schooling to become a tool for colonial violence. It underlines a need for anti-colonial, decolonial and Indigenous frameworks in curricula, to disrupt the state colonial narratives. This chapter subsequently presents examples of what decolonial curricula can look like. These new decolonial curricula are designed to work in conjunction with state curricula as building blocks in the average classroom and to resolve Cartesian separations. The hope embedded in such blueprints of decolonial curricula is to foster pervasive love, consent, reciprocity and intent throughout the learning process for students and teachers alike in a bid to honour the diversity inherent in humanity.