Decolonization, Technology, and Online Research

By Janet Salmons, Ph.D.

---

What is decolonization?

Ewing (2020) explains:

Decolonization is an analytical project to unveil the logic of coloniality and to contribute to a new social order in which many perspectives, cultures, ways of knowing, and worlds coexist (Mignolo, 2011). Research methods are systematic approaches and tools used to establish, replicate, or validate knowledge, and which are oriented toward a Eurocentric rationality that privileges the worldview of white European men (Tuhiwai Smith, 2012), restricting the possible ways of perceiving, thinking about, and interpreting the world. In this way, research methods have been strategically utilized to further colonizing agendas.

Colonialism is often seen as the systematic effort by the European West to exert economic and political control over non-Western lands and people, but it also asserted control over the categories by which systems of knowledge, social norms, cultural values, and social identities could be understood. This colonial approach constructed an epistemic regime characterized by the exclusion of different modes of thinking and ways of living, naturalizing and normalizing unequal social and political relationships. In this context, colonization extends beyond geographical boundaries and is considered primarily in epistemic terms. The definition of decolonization ranges from the claim that it was achieved when previously colonized nation-states achieved political independence, to the idea that decolonization can only be based on material reparations in formerly colonized territories, to its use as a metaphor for various social justice or human rights initiatives, wherever their location. In contrast, decolonizing research methods emphasizes the revaluation and redistribution of epistemic resources.

Decolonizing research methods means rethinking how we look at participants and problems. In the digital world there are even more ways the European West exerts cultural, economic, and political control. At the same time, the digital world allows researchers to conduct studies across the distances. This collection of articled provides examples and food for thought.

---

Open-access articles about online research and efforts toward decolonization

Calzati, Stefano (2022) ‘Data sovereignty’ or ‘Data colonialism’? Exploring the Chinese involvement in Africa’s ICTs: a document review on Kenya, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 40:2, 270-285, DOI: 10.1080/02589001.2022.2027351

Abstract. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have become a crucial sector of China–Africa relations. As scholars have noted, Africa’s 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR) risks transforming into a new ‘scramble’ with foreign actors harnessing Africa’s data. The present article explores this issue at a discursive level, i.e. delving into policies, bilateral agreements, and laws. The focus is specifically on Kenya in that it is one of the most developed ICT markets in Africa and it is here that the Chinese tech giant Huawei began its investments in 1998. Via a document review, the article provides a preliminary discursive assessment of the extent to which Kenyan actors are effectively (dis)empowered with regard to their own 4IR. The analysis shows that both pan-African and bilateral agreements remain at a high level of abstraction: while this is the typical Chinese way of framing discourses on technological innovation, it also leaves room for political manoeuvring and potential forms of data colonialism.

Couldry, Nick & Mejias, Ulises Ali (2023) The decolonial turn in data and technology research: what is at stake and where is it heading?, Information, Communication & Society, 26:4, 786-802, DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2021.1986102

Abstract. This article traces the emergence of a ‘decolonial turn’ in critical technology and data studies that analyzes the transformation of society through data extraction for profit. First, we offer a genealogy of concepts over the last decade from different fields related to this decolonial turn, including work that explores the connection between racism and data. Second, we discuss the commonalities and differences between these approaches and our own proposal, the data colonialism thesis (Couldry & Mejias, 2018, 2019) to clarify how, together, they provide a distinctive take on data and technology. Third, we summarize the most important advantages of the decolonial turn as a transhistorical tool to understand the continuities between colonialism and capitalism. Finally, some wider implications of a decolonial approach to data are explored, and broad theoretical and practical opportunities for resistance are identified.

Heydon, R., Akiwenzie, E., Cooper, E., Ghannoum, H., Havord-Wier, D., Johns, B., MacAlpine, K.-A., McKee, L., Nagle, J., Neeganagwedgin, E., Potts, D. P., Poczobut, S., Coelho, C. R., Stooke, A., Tran, A., & Zhang, Z. (2023). Guidelines for virtual early childhood and family learning: An equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization-informed systematic review of the literature. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X231188466

Abstract. This article presents an equity-informed systematic review of research pertinent to the offering of virtual early childhood education programming to young children and their families. Findings are presented as guidelines which may shape the delivery of future programming within virtual contexts. These findings are organized within three major areas that were identified through the methodology: Building Connections and Fostering Online Relationships; Interactive Virtual Programming, Digital Tools, and Responsiveness; and Digital Technologies, Considerations for Access, Use, Professional Learning, and Safety. Findings highlight that developing inclusive, meaningful, and collaborative programs within virtual spaces is necessary for maximizing the learning opportunities and engagement of all children and families. Developing such services requires the careful negotiation and consideration of a range of worldviews, knowledges, priorities, and interests within unique families and contexts. Practice implications are drawn from the research, opportunities for pedagogical change are identified, and future research needs are provided.

MacDonald, N. I. (2023). Intercultural communication in second-language (L2) learning via social media within the Inuit context: a scoping literature review. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 19(4), 784-793. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801231196147

Abstract. This scoping literature review examines the extent of research in second-language learning through intercultural communication on social media, specifically in Inuit (Indigenous people of the Arctic) communities. The investigation maps out gaps in the literature and explains the need for research in the Inuit context. Forty-seven studies and related resources are examined through a conceptual lens focused on the intersections between intercultural communication, social media, and Indigenous peoples, revealing concentrations on authentic interaction, Indigenous identity, language revitalization, and maintenance. Particular to the Inuit context, the analysis identifies the following gaps: (a) intercultural communication in second-language learning and Inuit; (b) second language learning through social media and Inuit; and (c) intercultural communication in second-language learning via social media and Inuit. None of the studies reviewed describe pedagogical applications for Inuit. This scoping literature review suggests future research and curriculum development that could be implemented in the Inuit context, particularly in Nunavik.

Meighan, P. J. (2021). Decolonizing the digital landscape: the role of technology in Indigenous language revitalization. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 17(3), 397-405. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801211037672

Abstract. Due to colonization and imperialism, Indigenous languages continue to be threatened and endangered. Resources to learn Indigenous languages are often severely limited, such as a lack of trained or proficient teachers. Materials which follow external standards or Western pedagogies may not meet the needs of the local community. One common goal for Indigenous language revitalization initiatives is to promote intergenerational language transmission and use in multiple social domains, such as the home. Could the use of technology assist in Indigenous language revitalization? And what would be its role? This article, emerging from ongoing research, aims to synthesize some key takeaways on the role of digital and online technologies in Indigenous language revitalization over the past three decades since the foundation of the World Wide Web in 1989. The article highlights how Indigenous communities, content creators, scholars and visionaries have contributed to an ongoing decolonization of the digital landscape.

Schoon, Alette, Mabweazara, Hayes Mawindi, Bosch, Tanja & Dugmore, Harry (2020) Decolonising Digital Media Research Methods: Positioning African Digital Experiences as Epistemic Sites of Knowledge Production, African Journalism Studies, 41:4, 1-15, DOI: 10.1080/23743670.2020.1865645

Abstract. This introductory essay argues for a decolonial approach that privileges qualitative methods in ways that position African digital experiences as “epistemic sites” of knowledge production in their own right in digital media scholarship. In proffering this argument, we challenge and confront elements of the global knowledge system, which are driven by an implicit “civilising mission” in which methods and intellectual approaches drawn from the West are seen as sacrosanct, while approaches and concepts emerging from the Global South are deemed to have a lower ontological density in the hierarchical ordering of knowledge. We explore methodological questions that relate to the studies carried in this Special Issue and consider various strategies for aligning digital media scholarship with Southern epistemologies—whether these are found in the “epistemologies of everyday” popular culture or epistemologies emerging through the work of African activists and artists. Equally, we emphasise the value of methods that pay attention to issues of power and economic extraction to understand the very different roles of social media platforms in various African countries. The paper also considers how the precarious and contingent nature of infrastructure and African cities in general demands methods that pay attention to issues of digital materiality and infrastructure. Finally, we discuss Big Data methods and the need for African researchers to establish themselves more firmly in this space.

Reference
Ewing, S., (2020). Decolonizing Research Methods, In P. Atkinson, S. Delamont, A. Cernat, J.W. Sakshaug, & R.A. Williams (Eds.), SAGE Research Methods Foundations. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526421036900255

---

Sage Research Methods Community posts about decolonization