Professor Marcelo Parreira do Amaral: Postcolonialism and Globalization: a view from Comparative and International Education
Time
6.6.2022 at 12.15 - 13.45
Open lecture by Professor Marcelo Parreira do Amaral: Postcolonialism and Globalization: a view from Comparative and International Education
Abstract
Whilst located in a contested intellectual territory, postcolonialism has been instrumental in pointing to the need to re-think enduring structures and narratives of colonization. This invites us to question hegemonic concepts impacting education research more generally. Globalization, conceived as temporally accelerated and spatially shrunken social relations encompassing the world due to global economic, cultural and communication structures, is one such concept that might profit from a postcolonial perspective. Although theories of globalization often aim to uncover and examine (unequal) power relations, they also partially make them invisible since many times they are themselves part of these very colonial cultural and discursive practices. The presentation starts by situating the debate within a contested ‘geopolitics of knowledge’ (Mignolo); it then briefly discusses key ideas in postcolonialism that support a critical re-thinking of globalization phenomena, before it looks into globalization research in Comparative and International Education in order to earmark issues for further elaboration. The keynote closes with a discussion of criticism of postcolonialism and an outlook to pressing questions that need attention.
Marcelo Parreira do Amaral is Professor of International and Comparative Education at the University of Münster and Visiting Professor at the Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education (CELE) at the University of Turku. Professor Parreira do Amaral is a renowned scholar in Comparative and International Education. His research interests include Education Policy Studies, Comparative Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Life Course. Parreira do Amaral has collaborated to and coordinated several national and international research projects, including the EU-funded project ‘Policies Supporting Young People in their Life Course. A Comparative Perspective of Lifelong Learning and Inclusion in Education and Work in Europe’ (see: www.young-adulllt.eu). His recent publications include ‘Geopolitical Transformations in Higher Education’ (Springer, 2022), Lifelong Learning Policies for Young Adults in Europe. Navigating between Knowledge and Economy (Policy Press, 2020); Researching the Global Education Industry – Commodification, the Market and Business Involvement (Cham et al.: Palgrave Macmillan); Governance of Educational Trajectories in Europe: Pathways, Policy and Practice (Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., 2016) as well as Shaping the Futures of Young Europeans: education governance in eight European countries (Oxford: Symposium Books 2015).
Abstract
Whilst located in a contested intellectual territory, postcolonialism has been instrumental in pointing to the need to re-think enduring structures and narratives of colonization. This invites us to question hegemonic concepts impacting education research more generally. Globalization, conceived as temporally accelerated and spatially shrunken social relations encompassing the world due to global economic, cultural and communication structures, is one such concept that might profit from a postcolonial perspective. Although theories of globalization often aim to uncover and examine (unequal) power relations, they also partially make them invisible since many times they are themselves part of these very colonial cultural and discursive practices. The presentation starts by situating the debate within a contested ‘geopolitics of knowledge’ (Mignolo); it then briefly discusses key ideas in postcolonialism that support a critical re-thinking of globalization phenomena, before it looks into globalization research in Comparative and International Education in order to earmark issues for further elaboration. The keynote closes with a discussion of criticism of postcolonialism and an outlook to pressing questions that need attention.
Marcelo Parreira do Amaral is Professor of International and Comparative Education at the University of Münster and Visiting Professor at the Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education (CELE) at the University of Turku. Professor Parreira do Amaral is a renowned scholar in Comparative and International Education. His research interests include Education Policy Studies, Comparative Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Life Course. Parreira do Amaral has collaborated to and coordinated several national and international research projects, including the EU-funded project ‘Policies Supporting Young People in their Life Course. A Comparative Perspective of Lifelong Learning and Inclusion in Education and Work in Europe’ (see: www.young-adulllt.eu). His recent publications include ‘Geopolitical Transformations in Higher Education’ (Springer, 2022), Lifelong Learning Policies for Young Adults in Europe. Navigating between Knowledge and Economy (Policy Press, 2020); Researching the Global Education Industry – Commodification, the Market and Business Involvement (Cham et al.: Palgrave Macmillan); Governance of Educational Trajectories in Europe: Pathways, Policy and Practice (Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., 2016) as well as Shaping the Futures of Young Europeans: education governance in eight European countries (Oxford: Symposium Books 2015).