Work

Bringing intersectionality and (De)Coloniality into dialogue: Theoretical insights and political pathways for decolonizing higher education

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This conceptual article engages with the ‘decolonial turn’ in higher education and argues for a decolonial-intersectional framework that integrates decoloniality and intersectionality to address the interconnected oppressions of race, gender, class, and other axes of marginalization. Drawing on foundational scholarship in decolonial thought and intersectionality theory, this framework critiques the coloniality of power and knowledge, while advocating for transformative practices that affirm diverse epistemologies and lived experiences of marginalized communities in higher education. By conceptualizing intersectionality as inherently decolonial and decolonization as an intersectional process, the framework highlights how colonial legacies and intersecting oppressions co-constitute inequities in academia. The article theorizes the potential of this approach to foster epistemic resistance, reimagining universities as spaces that interrogate and dismantle colonial structures and Eurocentric biases. This potential is shown through illustrative examples and recommendations, emphasizing the value of a decolonial-intersectional lens in advancing equitable, just, and decolonized academic practices and research agendas.

Source: Social Sciences & Humanities Open

DOI: 10.1016/j.ssaho.2025.101772

Author: Michalinos Zembylas

Institutions: Open University of Cyprus, Nelson Mandela University

Language: English

Topic: Decolonial Thought and Epistemologies

Subfield: Anthropology

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Quality education

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,180