“We Need Knowledge for Life, a University Free of Colonialism”

Abstract

This document reflects on the decolo­nization of knowledge and universities through reflection on the role of confer­ences as spaces of decolonization. The reflection emphasizes the recognition of the place of enunciation of the writer and from there engages in sentipensar about the importance and urgency of working for decolonization beyond conferences and beyond universities. The analysis is based on the idea that decolonization is more than a discourse or a metaphor; it is a project for life with both feet on the ground. Colonialism is today a daily and constant reality that racialized people are faced with more violence, but at the same time from these places of resis­tance, important reflections and actions towards decolonization are emerging. This text also analyzes the role of Indigenous scholars and the criticism of universities as a hegemonic place of the production of knowledge.