The meanings of decolonization: a view from Mozambique

Abstract

This article seeks, from a multidisciplinary perspective, to discuss the meanings of decolonization, based upon the analysis of the knowledge production system present in Mozambique, using as a methodological reference the epistemologies of the South advanced by Boaventura de Sousa Santos. The article discusses the epistemic dimension of modern colonialism, showing how the prevailing image of the African continent, part of the global South, it is still a reflection of representations forged by an Eurocentric knowledge, aimed at reinforcing the permanence of Northern perspectives about the South. As the article discusses, to decolonize knowledge requires a critical review of core concepts - such as space and time - hegemonically defined by modern rationality, a power-knowledge structure that legitimizes the expansion of modern Western civilization in the world. Ontologically speaking, decolonization involves the renegotiation of the definitions of self and of the senses, combining democratization with decolonization. This epistemic challenge of the epistemic privilege of the global North, opens up the world to other knowledge, stories and struggles, told by multiple voices.