Interweaving communities and universities: current epistemological challenges

• Main Author: Zayda Sierra Gerald Fallon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad Autónoma Indígena de México 2013-07-01
• Series: Ra Ximhai
• Subjects: Sociocultural paradigms; Higher education policy; Community engagement; Ethnic and rural populations; Decolonial perspectives.
• Online Access: http://uaim.mx/webraximhai/Ej-27articulosPDF/8-ZaydaSierra.pdf

The purpose of this conceptual paper is to problematize and engage the readers in a discussion about the dominant trend in higher education around the world, and particularly in Latin America, in reproducing the status quo; making invisible alternative perspectives and insights that could reshape and empower research on notions of community development and sustainability with new imaginings that question the cultural-political-economic space defined by Euro centered notion of modernity. We will share the specific conceptual challenges we are facing while developing an international researchproject between rural community-based organizations, NGOs, and Colombian and Canadian universities, addressing issues of sustainability and education within Colombian Afro-descendent, Campesino and Indigenous contexts from a decolonial perspective.