The book's main argument is that global social injustice is by and large epistemological injustice. It maintains that there can be no global social justice without global cognitive justice.
Cognitive Justice in a Global World: Prudent Knowledges for a Decent Life is an edited collection that springs from the now dormant debates known as 'The Science Wars,' which questioned the nature of scientific theories. Learning from the debates about the plurality of truths and opinions, editor Boaventura de Sousa Santos has realized an opportunity for strengthening the relations between the natural and social sciences with more epistemological affinities and for opening up new transnational dialogues between scientists and other producers of knowledge. This book analyses in detail some of the topics that amount to a set of problematic relations between science and ethics; between objectivity and neutrality; between the sociological and theoretical condition of production and the limits of scientific rigor; between public faith in science and the economic powers that determine scientific priorities; and between science and other kinds of knowledge existing in society. Maintaining that global social injustice is by and large epistemological injustice and that there can be no global social justice without global cognitive justice, Cognitive Justice in a Global World is an important collection for higher-level students and researchers in the social sciences, philosophy of science, and intellectual history.
In The End of the Cognitive Empire Boaventura de Sousa Santos further develops his concept of the "epistemologies of the South," in which he outlines a theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical framework for challenging the dominance of Eurocentric thought. As a collection of knowledges born of and anchored in the experiences of marginalized peoples who actively resist capitalism, colonialism, and patriarchy, epistemologies of the South represent those forms of knowledge that are generally discredited, erased, and ignored by dominant cultures of the global North. Noting the declining efficacy of established social and political solutions to combat inequality and discrimination, Santos suggests that global justice can only come about through an epistemological shift that guarantees cognitive justice. Such a shift would create new, alternative strategies for political mobilization and activism and give oppressed social groups the means through which to represent the world as their own and in their own terms.
This book presents the case that liberal constitutionalism in the global South is a legacy of colonialism and is inappropriate as a means of securing effective peace in regions that have been subject to recurrent conflict. The work demonstrates the failure of liberal constitutionalism in guaranteeing peace in the postcolonial global South. It develops an alternative, more compelling constitutionalism for peacebuilding in conflicted regions. This is based on constitutionalism that recognises plurality as a major feature in the global South. Drawing on events in Nigeria, it develops a constitutional model, based on Cognitive Justice, which could deliver peace by addressing historic, conceptual, legal, institutional and structural issues that have created social inequality and injustice. The study also incorporates insights from the development of plurinational constitutions in South America. The book will be an invaluable resource for researchers, academics and policy-makers with an interest in constitutional legal theory, peacebuilding and postcolonial studies
Voicing the Silences of Social and Cognitive Justice: Dartmouth Dialogues represents another transformative dialogue that results from a political project that was designed to prepare critical, transformative leaders, policy makers, and analysts in South Coast Massachusetts. In this volume, a diverse group of scholars debates crucial issues within and beyond our field, in an effort to help develop a multiplicity of analyses dissecting the challenges facing a strong epistemologically just theory and pedagogy of society. The volume explores why it has been historically difficult to produce a hegemonic critical theory and pedagogy of society. The volume also examines how social justice has been de-politicized from the cultural politics of everyday life through teacher-proof curricula that ‘forces’ a segregated uniformity; examines the multi-dimensional nature of language within relationships of power and discourses of reproduction, production, and resistance; unpacks how democracy has been challenged by an eugenic educational system; dissects the impact of corporate models of education on learning processes; examines how the use of zero tolerance policies in the U.S.’s public schools has led to the criminalization of non-violent acts within the nation’s public schools, thereby creating oppressed student populations; unveils how alternative proficiency assessment is not a good measure of student progress; and dissects the rationale behind standardized testing and its corresponding profits, suggesting other motives for high-stakes testing mandates. “In these challenging times, João Paraskeva and Elizabeth Janson’s book lifted me up with its sharp theoretical and historical critique of education from elementary schools through doctoral programs. Every chapter provided original critiques of the dominant neoliberal approach to organizing schools and society and provided ideas for how to challenge anti-intellectualism and neoliberalism. As a long time teacher of every level and subject, I appreciated the empirical research and detailed narrative descriptions of programs and classes. I know I will keep the book nearby as I reread chapters helping me to both expand my theoretical critique and critical practice. A must read for all educators really committed with critical transformative leadership.” – David Hursh, Warner Graduate School of Education, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, author of, most recently, The End of Public Schools: The Corporate Reform Agenda to Privatize Education
This book explores the concept of 'cognitive injustice': the failure to recognise the different ways of knowing by which people across the globe run their lives and provide meaning to their existence. Boaventura de Sousa Santos shows why global social justice is not possible without global cognitive justice. Santos argues that Western domination has profoundly marginalised knowledge and wisdom that had been in existence in the global South. She contends that today it is imperative to recover and valorize the epistemological diversity of the world. Epistemologies of the South outlines a new kind of bottom-up cosmopolitanism, in which conviviality, solidarity and life triumph against the logic of market-ridden greed and individualism.
At each particular historical moment, the university appears as a heavy and rigid structure resisting changes, whereas, throughout time, it has actually undergone profound transformation. Often such changes have been drastic and almost always provoked by factors external to the university, be they of a religious, political or economic nature. This book explores the nature and dynamics of the transformation that the university is undergoing today. It argues that some of the projects of reform currently under way are so radical that the question of the future of the university may well turn into the question of whether the university has a future. A specific feature of this inquiry is the realisation that questioning the future of the university involves questioning its past as well.
A comprehensive guide to service-learning for social justice written by an international panel of experts The Wiley International Handbook of Service-Learning for Social Justice offers a review of recent trends in social justice that have been, until recently, marginalized in the field of service-learning. The authors offer a guide for establishing and nurturing social justice in a variety of service-learning programs, and show that incorporating the principles of social justice in service-learning can empower communities to resist and disrupt oppressive power structures, and work for solidarity with host and partner communities. With contributions from an international panel of experts, the Handbook contains a critique of the field’s roots in charity; a review of the problematization of Whitenormativity, paired with the bolstering of diverse voices and perspectives; and information on the embrace of emotional elements including tension, ambiguity, and discomfort. This important resource: Considers the role of the community in service-learning and other community‐engaged models of education and practice Explores the necessity of disruption and dissonance in service-learning Discusses a number of targeted issues that often arise in service-learning contexts Offers a practical guide to establishing and nurturing social justice at the heart of an international service-learning program Written for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, scholars, and educators, The Wiley International Handbook of Service-Learning for Social Justice highlights social justice as a conflict‐ridden struggle against inequality, xenophobia, and oppression, and offers practical suggestions for incorporating service-learning programs in various arenas.
The Hizmet Movement and Peacebuilding assesses the peacebuilding implications and societal impact of the Hizmet Movement, characterized as a pacifist and inclusive expression of Islam. With a range of both supporters and critics, the studies of the Hizmet Movement presented in these cases provide a counter to negative stereotypes with examples of positive educational institutions rooted in Islamic values. The book includes contributions from scholars and practitioners around the world that critically explore the intersection of the movement and peacebuilding in countries such as Northern Iraq, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines.
Contemporary events which have catastrophic global ramifications such as the current economic crisis or on-going conflicts across the globe are not only mediated by super-fast digital communication and information networks, but also conditioned by the presence of rapidly advancing technologies. From social network sites like YouTube and Facebook to global satellite news channels like Al Jazeera or the BBC World Service, digital forms of culture have multiplied in recent years, creating global conduits and connections which shape our lives in many ways. Bringing together an interdisciplinary group of scholars, this book addresses how new technologies have impacted discussions of identity, place and nation, and how they are shifting the parameters of postcolonial thought. Each chapter reflects on current research in its respective field, and presents new directions on the interconnection between new technologies and the postcolonial in a contemporary context. Offering a major intervention in debates around global networks, this thought-provoking collection highlights innovative research on new technologies, and its impact on a ‘postcolonial’ world. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Postcolonial Writing.