Latina/o Religion, Culture, and Society Unit
Decolonial Pedagogy and Praxis
- 90-Minute Session
In this session, the LRCS unit convenes rigorous and critical discussions on the theoretical and practical dimensions of decolonial pedagogy, a transformative framework designed to confront and dismantle the enduring legacies of coloniality embedded within education. Decolonial pedagogy challenges the deeply entrenched Eurocentric paradigms that dominate knowledge production, teaching, and learning, advocating for a reimagined educational praxis that prioritizes justice, inclusivity, and liberation.
Drawing from the rich and resilient histories of resistance within Latina/o communities, this session explores how decolonial practices can foster educational spaces that are not only liberating but also grounded in cultural competency and solidarity. These elements are essential for reimagining rigor beyond Eurocentric frameworks, embedding it within practices that embrace diversity, relational accountability, and the lived realities of learners. Ultimately, this session invites participants to critically examine how decolonial pedagogy can transform classrooms into sites of empowerment, resistance, and collective healing.
Panelists should address one or more of the following questions:
- How can decolonial pedagogy foster freedom in the classroom and beyond?
- In what ways can decolonial pedagogy challenge the legacies of colonial violence and oppression?
- How does the act of self-narration contribute to decolonial practices, particularly for Latina/o communities?
- How can decolonial theory and critical pedagogy be employed to redefine rigor in ways that prioritize inclusivity and relational accountability?
- How can we incorporate pedagogies that recognize cultural competency and lived experiences as valuable epistemological sources in the classroom?
We invite submissions that discuss one of the following topics:
- The use of decolonial pedagogy to address issues of race, gender, sexuality, poverty, ecology and religion.
- The role of the body, emotion, and spirituality in decolonial teaching and learning.
- Critiques of the university as an institution and the construction of Latina/o Studies as a discipline.
- Decolonial praxis within and outside the classroom.
- The decolonization of curriculum and the inclusion of diverse voices and perspectives.
- The deconstruction of traditional power dynamics in the classroom and the creation of a more democratic and inclusive learning environment.
- The use of decolonial pedagogy to empower marginalized communities and promote social justice.
- The challenges and possibilities of implementing decolonial pedagogies in a variety of educational settings.
This Unit examines, through systematic study and reflection, the social locations, religious beliefs, and practices of the rich and diverse multicultural backgrounds of Latinas/os in the United States and Canada. The Unit recognizes that this is an interdisciplinary enterprise in view of the cultural and religious roots and sources of Latinos/as, including heritages from Europe, indigenous nations of the Americas, Africa, and Asia. The traditions emerging out of the mixture of these cultures throughout the Americas continue to undergo further development and innovation in the North American context, producing the distinct phenomena of Latino/a theologies and religions. It is this rich and deep religious/theological-cultural-social-political complex that is the focus of this Unit.