Socrates, Plato and Aristotle are widely regarded as the founders of philosophy and have inspired generations of great thinkers. But they must now make way for fresh voices, according to a new educational toolkit that describes the study of these and other famous philosophers as “armchair theory“, he writes Times Nicola Woolcock of London.
The first ‘decolonised’ philosophy toolkit, created by UK academics for use in secondary schools and universities, is designed to reduce the influence of dead white philosophers and expand the curriculum.
It aims to diversify the teaching of philosophy by incorporating diverse perspectives from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.
The toolkit was compiled by four undergraduate students and four professors of philosophy at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London.
Among the many new thinkers included in the toolbox are Nishida Kitaro, the most influential Japanese philosopher of the 20th century who challenged Eurocentrism, and Uma Narayan, an Indian-American feminist academic. The proposed curriculum also includes the works of Ghanaian philosopher Kwazi Wiredu and Nigerian “gender theorist” Professor Nkiru Nzegwu.
Currently, most students follow a “colonial” curriculum that requires the study of Plato, Hume, Bertrand Russell, Locke, Descartes and Wittgenstein, the toolkit said in a release. This curriculum “focuses primarily on normative Western philosophers who offer deep reflections on their own experience- he says, adding:Much of the epistemological discourse also includes “armchair theory”;”.
The proposed decolonized curriculum still includes Plato, but also includes Confucius and works such as Knowledge Born in Struggle, Conceptualizing Epistemological Oppression, On Being White: Sovereignty among African Cattle”.
The toolkit further states that in order to fully decolonize the classroom, teachers must understand their role “racist systems” and stop acting like teachers.
“Without this mental insight, it is impossible to even find the root of the problem, let alone begin to address it.”, the publication says. “In the decolonized classroom, the teacher must learn to learn from students’ perspectives and knowledge systems and unlearn their own colonially mediated assumptions and background knowledge.”.
And he adds:To unlearn is to stop always wanting to correct, teach and enlighten. Instead, the teacher must be willing to relinquish his exclusively authoritarian role and become a facilitator and participant in good learning.”.
The teachers”they must reduce control over what is studied and how” continues the post, which also criticizes “white sensitivity” where minority students are uncomfortable with controversial reactions when white people are offended.
Privileged groups want to accumulate educational materials and knowledge to maintain social differences, he says, and trying to make students fit for work “simplified capitalist concept”.
According to the toolkit, exams, written tests and reports exemplify Western colonial ideology and students from neurotypical or diverse cultural backgrounds, writes Nicola Woolcock in the Times. He suggests reinforcing them with new forms of assessment, such as blogs, podcasts, case studies or informational posters.
“Examining learning outcomes through reflective learning reports or academic blogs, reports, documentaries, case studies, interviews, podcasts, multimedia presentations, graphics or even creative portfolios with elements of poetry are examples of ‘alternative’ assessment.» is supported in the post.
Students will be able to create their own questions rather than seeing assessment as an obstacle, and that raises the bar even further, he argues. SOAS faculty themselves have adopted reflection pieces, recorded presentations, charts, posters and blog posts as forms of assessment.
The toolkit will be available on the SOAS website as an online platform to allow student access. SOAS says it is committed to decolonising its own courses and modules from 2017.
Dr. Paul Gilanti, one of the co-authors of the toolkit, said:My philosophical education overlooked the wealth of wisdom from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and indigenous communities. It was only later in my academic career that I came to realize that the learning environment that shaped my education was not designed to foster critical thinking. Teaching was aimed at obeying and reproducing an already agreed upon philosophical tradition that we have no intention of challenging.”.