On Linguistic Epistemicides and Colonization: Looking at Subtractive Education for Bilingual/ Bicultural Children
Purpose
The purpose of this review of João Parakeva’s work (2011) is to analyse his specific contributions that
illuminate the need to deterritorialize the received field in curriculum studies and in teacher education in
order to properly address the roots of oppression that underlie the subtractive forms of education that are
imposed on bilingual/bicultural students worldwide. This review uses research methods that resort to
analytical, interpretive and critical procedures to advance knowledge in curriculum studies, such as
objective hermeneutics (Titscher, Meyer, Wodak, & Vetter, 2000).
Summary of key content
Reviewing Paraskeva’s work (2011), his key contributions include the following: (1) the concept of
“curriculum epistemicides” that arises from the hegemony of epistemologies derived from Western-
European dominated, US- and Canadian-based curriculum studies field that exclude all forms of existing
knowledge and social realities beyond a Western-Eurocentric cosmovision (Skutnabb-Kangas, 1988); (2)
the concept of ‘epistemic colonization’ helps to unveil the pervasive hegemony of the English language in
shaping thought and forms of knowledge that are accepted as scientific and valid thus contributing to
global linguistic genocide (Skutnabb-Kangas, 2009) which is mirrored by the imperialism of other
Western colonial languages.
Locating the book in a broader field
This work makes significant contributions to critical multicultural education (May & Sleeter, 2010),
bicultural education (Darder, 2012), and bilingual/ multilingual education (for global justice) (Skutnabb-
Kangas, 2009). This literature review focuses on selected key-concepts and themes that traverse the work
of Paraskeva (2011, 2016) and will highlight how Paraskeva’s work complements, informs, and contests
these resources in advancing an agenda for transformative and emancipatory education for students,
especially bicultural and bilingual students in public schooling contexts.
The book’s contributions
Paraskeva’s work (2011) adds nuance and poignancy in understanding the prevalence of the forms of
structural oppression, a combination of colonialism, neoliberalism, racism, and socioeconomic inequality,
that work upon and within the education of bilingual/ bicultural children, not only in the US, but in
Europe as well.
References
Darder, A. (2012). Culture and power in the classroom. Educational foundations for the schooling of
bicultural students. New York: Routledge.
May, S. & Sleeter, C. (2010). Introduction. Critical multiculturalism: Theory and praxis. In S. May & C.
Sleeter (Eds.), Critical multiculturalism: Theory and praxis (pp. 1-16). New York: Routledge.
Paraskeva, J. (2011). Conflicts in curriculum theory: Challenging hegemonic epistemologies. New York,
NY: Palgrave MacMillan.
Paraskeva, J. (2016). Curriculum epistemicide: Toward an itinerant curriculum theory. New York, NY:
Routledge.
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (1988). Multilingualism and the education of minority children. In T. Skutnabb-
Kangas & J. Cummins (eds.), Minority education: From shame to struggle (pp. 9-44). Clevedon,
Ph: Multilingual Matters.
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2009). Multilingual education for global justice: Issues, approaches, opportunities.
In T. Skutnabb-Kangas, R. Phillipson, A. K. Mohanty, & M. Panda (Eds.), Social justice through
multilingual education (pp. 36-62). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Titscher, S., Meyer, M., Wodak, R., & Vetter, E. (2000). Methods of text and discourse analysis. London:
Sage.The author would like to thank the Luso-American Foundation for Development for the
grant awarded for supporting her participation at the AERA 2017 conference. The work is
funded by CIEd – Research Centre on Education, UID/CED/1661/2013 and
UID/CED/01661/2016, Institute of Education, University of Minho, Portugal, through
national funds of FCT/MCTES-PT.Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimentoinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
