Unlearning emotional imperialism in education

Political, Theoretical and Pedagogical Implications

Bibliographic Data

ID2934729
AuthorsM Zembylas (0000-0001-6896-7347, Programme of Educational Studies, Open University of Cyprus, Latsia, Cyprus, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume45
Issue4
Pages569-582
Publication date2024-07-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDiscourse Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0159-6306 • E-ISSN: 1469-3739
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01596306.2024.2360091
OpenAlexW4399294469
LanguageEN
Citations received11
References cited37

This paper emerges from a set of questions about what it means pedagogically to undertake the paradoxical and difficult task of unlearning the emotional experience of imperialism. The analysis discusses the notion of ‘emotional imperialism’ and the various forms in might take; to do so, the author draws on concepts from affect theory (Reddy’s notion of ‘emotional regimes’) and decolonial theory (Fanon’s concept of ‘affective ankylosis’) to shed light on what emotional imperialism might involve in social and political life, including education. The analysis concludes with a discussion of the political, theoretical and pedagogical implications of ‘unlearning emotional imperialism’ in educational settings. It is argued that calls for undoing and unlearning emotional imperialism in education are an inseparable part of new onto-epistemological, affective and political imaginaries that aim to transform colonial violence into nonimperial ways of living in our common world

Epistemology · Pedagogy · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Critical Race Theory in Education · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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