Towards a Theory of Decolonizing Citizenship

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the (im)possibilities of thinking about a decolonizing citizenship. Specifically, we work through a theorization of citizenship and decolonial theory as a means of considering the difficulties of talking about citizenship, a concept tied to nation-statehood and European liberal tradition, amidst a larger conversation about attending to decolonizing educational praxis. In working through this, we argue that, ultimately, the two are largely incommensurate without rethinking what citizenship is taken up to mean, what its purpose is and largely what it entails including, primarily, pluriversality or the multiple conceptions of being and knowing that characterizes life in a shared context.