How do I decenter that?

Introduction

Around the world, there are people eating a similar culinary and intellectual diet. We see this massive diffusion of processed foods, hamburgers, and Coca Cola as analogous to the hegemonic grasp of Western social theories and methods. These are often labeled “global” but they are not. This blind spot can make us take for granted that people around the world ask and answer questions in the same way—that there is something called theory and a package of strategies called methods that we use to build it.

What tools can we create to grapple with our own epistemological and methodological biases? This checklist is meant to be a tool that does just that. It does not take the social conditions and political boundaries within which knowledge is produced for granted, it seeks fluidity, permeability and movement. It also seeks to promote more egalitarian, collaborative, multi-sited knowledge production partnerships that include thinkers, creators, and activists from across the globe.

Checklist to deconstruct and reconstruct:

The checklist will be used to motivate and organize all of the Global DeCentre’s activities. The following considerations can guide anybody who develops student activities, exhibitions, conversations, critical pedagogies, etcetera.

How do I decenter that?

Concept Checklist