The Unsettling Nature Of Decolonisation

Like any movement designed to bring radical change, decolonisation itself is vulnerable to colonisation.

One interpretation is the white-wellness, westernised version of decolonisation that paints it as an individual journey of liberation and personal happiness. There are also attempts to apply decolonisation frameworks to existing systems such as health and education, without recognition that these exist within a larger system inextricably linked to colonialism. Even the application to social justice can be problematic when not grounded in the core aims of decolonisation. The concept is being co-opted and decolonial scholars have a lot to say about it. In the naming and proposed content of my newsletter, I am cognisant that my work could too easily reinforce the status quo. So let’s talk about it.