Du Bois's Decolonial Pragmatism: Teaching Community Psychology Toward Epistemological Liberation

Lomotey-Nakon, Leah

doi:10.1002/ajcp.12289

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…When Black patients and Patients of Colour are supported to "discover, uncover and recover" their sense of humanity in counselling and psychotherapy, they find dignity ([176], p. 496). With decolonial intercultural competency and cultural humility, recognition entails seeing and understanding and strengthening positive connotations associated with positive racialised persons' identity consciousness [177,178]. The effective elimination of structural racism is a moralised imperative within this decolonial intercultural perspective.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspective Chapter: Cultivating Environments of Belonging in Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and the Allied Mental Health Fields

Lazaridou¹,

Heinz²

2022

Effective Elimination of Structural Racism

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Mental health science as a field of research, education and care practices has a fundamental role to play in mitigating the costs of racism for affected communities. The development and the implementation of solutions, such as gaining perspective, encouraging mentorship and finding empowerment, can only meaningfully occur through the involvement of lived experience expertise. Notably, as a first step, the inclusion of such expertise at a structural level would require the cultivation of environments of belonging in psychiatry, clinical psychology and the allied mental health fields for students racialised as Black and Of Colour. Black Lives Matter, as a specific political movement, articulates a critique of how certain subjectivities and identities belong more naturally in spaces of knowledge and power such as universities. This chapter reflects on belonging as a ‘feeling of mattering’ and a contemporary politics. It is argued that the possibility to facilitate the effective elimination of structural racism in mental health science requires the cultivation of environments of belonging at an institutional level causing greater inclusivity and enjoyment for Black students and students Of Colour in ‘liberated learning spaces’. A clear, actionable path to create environments of belonging to help resolve structural racism is outlined.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspective Chapter: Cultivating Environments of Belonging in Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and the Allied Mental Health Fields

Lazaridou¹,

Heinz²

2022

Effective Elimination of Structural Racism

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“…W.E.B. Du Bois, who is often considered a philosophical pragmatist (Lomotey‐Nakon, ; Taylor, ), likewise argued that social action must seek to dislodge the intersubjective bases of racial construction, Eurocentrism, and white supremacy. If we intend to act on and test the premises in the previous paragraphs, then, we do have some prominent forerunners.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultrasociality and Intersubjectivity

Christens

2019

American J of Comm Psychol

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Multidisciplinary studies of evolution are pointing toward an intersubjective understanding of human cognition, belief, and behavior. Contrary to classical views of reason and knowledge, human mental capacity should not be thought of as an individually based tool for independent judgment and logical problem‐solving. Instead, key aspects of learning and cognition were likely shaped to facilitate our species’ greatest relative advantage from the standpoint of natural selection: large‐scale collaboration. Much of what appears to be faulty reasoning or inaccurate belief when viewed at the level of individuals makes more sense when considered in terms of intersubjectivity and group‐level processes. Yet, distributed cognition also has shortcomings. Among these is, paradoxically, the propensity toward individualistic understandings of human thinking and behavior. Moreover, our intersubjective thought processes tend to be biased in favor of our in‐groups and maintaining existing systems. Taken together, these premises correspond with some of the theoretical underpinnings of community research and social action. Yet, they challenge or complicate others. Further consideration of humans’ intersubjective cognition and learning may yield improved results in a variety of practices, including education and efforts to catalyze social and systemic changes.

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“…He rejected the dominant approach of social science that was used to justify racial capitalism and oppression (Morris, 2015: 135). His work was rooted in ‘epistemic disobedience’ that challenged the dominant practices of social research (Lomotey-Nakon, 2018: 365). Social science followed a naturalist philosophy that aimed to mirror the natural sciences with a view that they were similar enough to be studied in the same way (Bevir and Kedar, 2008) and this included a rejection of engagement with normative foundations.…”

Section: Scholarship and Social Injustice: Insights From Web Du Boismentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning and organising for social transformation: Lessons from WEB Du Bois and Jane Addams

Silver

2022

Methodological Innovations

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This article examines the potential for critical theories to contribute towards social transformation through a process of popular education that supports learning and organising. Theory can create a platform of understanding across different communities that are resisting social injustice. This can enhance opportunities for translocal learning to catalyse social transformation at scale. Too often, however, academic theories remain disconnected from contemporary struggles for social justice – and as a result their contribution to social transformation is diminished. Therefore, we must reconsider how critical theories develop. Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition that builds theory through social action. It can guide a methodological infrastructure through which to best develop practice-led theory. I will explain how a critical pragmatist approach, anchored in participatory research, is more likely to generate theories that are both resonant to conditions of injustice and relevant for social transformation. The methodological innovations of early 20th century scholars WEB Du Bois and Jane Addams illustrate the key dimensions necessary for a critical pragmatist approach. Du Bois’ contestation of structural problems and Addams’ commitment to participatory experimentalism can inform an effective approach to these issues. In so doing, the article outlines key foundations for a philosophy of social inquiry to support learning and organising about social transformation. The ideas presented in this paper also contribute to debates about how to re-imagine the civic purpose of the academy.

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Du Bois's Decolonial Pragmatism: Teaching Community Psychology Toward Epistemological Liberation

Cited by 8 publications

References 19 publications

Perspective Chapter: Cultivating Environments of Belonging in Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and the Allied Mental Health Fields

Perspective Chapter: Cultivating Environments of Belonging in Psychiatry, Clinical Psychology and the Allied Mental Health Fields

Ultrasociality and Intersubjectivity

Learning and organising for social transformation: Lessons from WEB Du Bois and Jane Addams

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