Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement and the climate change crisis have thrown into sharp relief the vast global inequities faced by black, cultural minority and Indigenous peoples and created even greater urgency around the need to decolonise doctoral education. In this chapter, I explore how we might begin decolonising doctoral education by drawing upon Boaventura de Sousa Santos’ concept of the ‘sociologies of emergence’. The sociologies of emergences are ideas, philosophies and practices that are centred upon what de Sousa Santos calls the ‘epistemologies of the South’. These are Indigenous, Southern and transcultural knowledge systems that need to be officially recognised by universities. These sociologies of emergence are presently part of the Hidden Curriculum of doctoral education, particularly for Indigenous and transcultural doctoral scholars. Doctoral education, as a key site of knowledge production, offers an opportunity to reclaim, revive and extend these Indigenous, Southern and transcultural knowledges and make better use of these hidden reservoirs of knowledge and agency. In this chapter, I will share some practical examples from Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Bolivia and other locations about how these sociologies of emergence build agency and researcher independence, especially among First Nations and transcultural doctoral scholars.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bob, U., Munien, S., Gumede, A., & Gounden, R. (2021). Postgraduate training and supervision and post the COVID-19 crisis in South Africa. In T. Mgutshini, K. Oparinde, & V. Govender (Eds.), COVID-19: interdisciplinary explorations of impacts on higher education (pp. 131–145). African Sun Media.
De Sousa Santos, B. (2014). Epistemologies of the South: Justice against epistemicide. Paradigm Publishers.
De Sousa Santos, B. (2018). The end of the cognitive empire: the coming of age of epistemologies of the south. Duke University Press.
Devos, A., & Somerville, M. (2012). What constitutes doctoral knowledge? Australian Universities Review, 54(1), 47–54.
Elliot, D., Bengtsen, S., Guccione, K., & Kobayashi, S. (2020). The hidden curriculum in doctoral education. Palgrave Macmillan.
Engels-Schwarzpaul, A., & Peters, M. (Eds.). (2013). Of other thoughts: Non-traditional ways to the doctorate. Sense Publishers.
Ford, L. (2012). Reflecting on doctoral candidature experiences as an Indigenous Australian. In C. Denholm & T. Evans (Eds.), Doctorates downunder (pp. 145–152). ACER Press.
Grant, B., & McKinley, E. (2011). Colouring the pedagogy of doctoral supervision: Considering supervisor, student and knowledge through the lens of indigeneity. Innovations in Education and Teaching International., 48(4), 365–374.
Manathunga, C. (2020). Decolonising higher education: Creating space for Southern sociologies of emergence. SoTL In the South, 4(1), 4–25.
Manathunga, C., Bunda, T., Singh, M., Qi, J., & Community, T. A. (2020). Indigenising the higher degree research space: Ampere tyerrtye-areye apurte-irrentye akngerre. Tyerrty-arey-ae antartaremele mwarre anetyeke (A place where people come together and look after each other). In K. Trimmer, D. Hoven, & P. Keskitalo (Eds.), Indigenous postgraduate education: Intercultural perspectives (pp. 89–104). IAP.
Mandela ‘Preface’ in Stengel, R. 2009. Mandela’s Way: Fifteen Lessons on Life, Love, and Courage.
Nepe, T. (1991). E hao nei e tenei reanga te toi huarewa tupuna: Kaupapa Māori, an educational intervention system. Unpublished MA Thesis, Education Department, University of Auckland, Australia.
Qi, J. (2015). Knowledge hierarchies in transnational education: staging dissensus. Routledge.
Raekstad, P., & Gradin, S. (2020). Prefigurative politics. Polity Press.
Sheehan, N. (2011). Indigenous knowledge and respectful design: An evidence-based approach. Design Issues, 27(4), 68–80.
Smith, L. T., & Reid, P. (2000). Māori research development: Kaupapa Māori principles and practices—A literature review. Te Puni Kokiri.
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge my colleagues **g Qi, Maria Raciti, Michael Singh, Tracey Bunda, Kathryn Gilbey, Dr Aunty Hope O’Chin, Dr Aunty Sue Stanton and Dr Aunty Judi Wickes for teaching me so much about decolonisation. I would also like to acknowledge Barbara Grant and Avril Bell for inspiring conversations during the writing of this piece that helped sharpen my thinking.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Manathunga, C. (2023). Decolonising Doctoral Education: Sociology of Emergences?. In: Elliot, D.L., Bengtsen, S.S.E., Guccione, K. (eds) Develo** Researcher Independence Through the Hidden Curriculum. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42875-3_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42875-3_17
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-42874-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-42875-3
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)