https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147609 2026-07-08T02:16:07Z 2026-07-08T02:16:07Z Borg, Carmel Bonello, Charmaine Thapliyal, Nisha https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147664 2026-06-24T10:03:37Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Postcolonial Directions in Education : volume 15 : issue 1 Authors: Borg, Carmel; Bonello, Charmaine; Thapliyal, Nisha Abstract: Internalised hegemonies : how Algerian academics perceive the “scientific-ness” of Arabic, French, and English. A mixed-methods study of linguistic coloniality in postcolonial higher education: Youcef J-T. Zidane; Federici’s and Robinson’s critiques of capitalism : thinking decolonising higher education in Uganda: Samuel Nyende; Buddhist criticism as a tool of decolonization : the evolution of Bhabha’s hybridity theory in contemporary Vietnamese literature: Nguyen Thanh Trung; Narratives of exile and belonging : a comparative ecocritical and postcolonial reading of Abdulrazak Gurnah and Leila Aboulela’s fiction: A. Haseena Bai and Subrahmania pillai; Indigenous knowledge versus Western science : redefining epistemic authority in museums: Maggie Selman

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Zidane, Youcef J-T. https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147657 2026-06-24T10:21:36Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Internalised hegemonies : how Algerian academics perceive the “scientific-ness” of Arabic, French, and English. A mixed-methods study of linguistic coloniality in postcolonial higher education Authors: Zidane, Youcef J-T. Abstract: This paper examines how six decades after political independence; Algerian academics continue to internalise and reproduce colonial hierarchies of linguistic legitimacy within higher education. Drawing on mixed-methods data from 442 researchers across disciplines and three generations, the study reveals a profound paradox: Arabic commands the highest proficiency (mean 4.82/6) yet accounts for only 4% of academic publications, not primarily due to external barriers, however, because researchers themselves have internalised the belief that Arabic is “not a scientific language.” The paper identifies three dimensions of internalised linguistic hierarchy: epistemic disqualification (Arabic seen as incapable of expressing scientific concepts), linguistic self-surveillance (researchers policing their own language choices), and generational transmission (younger academics more fully accepting English dominance). Quantitative analysis shows that even among researchers with equivalent Arabic proficiency, those who internalise negative views publish significantly less in Arabic and report higher rates of manuscript abandonment. Generational analysis reveals that while the post-2000 cohort pragmatically accepts English dominance (58.2% state “English is the language of science”), they simultaneously express the weakest attachments to Arabic as a scientific language (40.4% devalue Arabic’s scientific capacity), suggesting that internalised coloniality is not diminishing, on the other hand merely transferring from French to English. The paper argues that genuine decolonisation of higher education requires not merely replacing French with English; instead, actively deconstructing the internalised beliefs about which languages can legitimately produce knowledge. Findings contribute to understanding how colonial power operates through the production of consent, the internalisation of hegemonic standards by the colonised themselves, and how these standards are reproduced through educational institutions, curriculum, and academic evaluation systems.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Nyende, Samuel https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147661 2026-06-24T09:46:10Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Federici’s and Robinson’s critiques of capitalism : thinking decolonising higher education in Uganda Authors: Nyende, Samuel Abstract: In this paper, I engage with Silvia Federici’s and Cedric J. Robinson’s critiques of capitalism to explore their relevance for thinking about the decolonisation of higher education in Uganda. I argue that understanding the continuing subordination and exploitation experienced by many participants in higher education requires close attention to the broader socio-economic, political, and culturally mediated inequalities within which higher education is embedded. Grounded in a critical analysis of capitalism, the paper identifies the sources, effects, and subjects of exclusion and discrimination, while also illuminating potential avenues for transformation. It demonstrates that, from its inception under colonial rule in Uganda, higher education has been deeply exclusionary and elitist. The paper further places Federici’s and Robinson’s critiques of capitalism in dialogue with one another and connects these insights to the Ugandan higher education context. Ultimately, the paper underscores the necessity of theorising and practising from the standpoint of the exploited and oppressed, valorising multiple epistemic referents, and fostering collective resistance to the elitist and market-driven structures governing access to higher education. In doing so, it calls for renewed political struggle to compel the state to socialise and democratise access to higher education in Uganda.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Thanh Trung, Nguyen https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147643 2026-06-24T07:28:09Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Buddhist criticism as a tool of decolonization : the evolution of Bhabha’s hybridity theory in contemporary Vietnamese literature Authors: Thanh Trung, Nguyen Abstract: This article reimagines Homi Bhabha's hybridity theory through the lens of Buddhist criticism, arguing that Mahāyāna concepts of impermanence, nonself, and nirvana transform postcolonial anxiety into spiritual liberation. Through close readings of Apocalypse Hotel (Ho Anh Thai) and The River (Nguyen Ngoc Tu), the study reveals a transformation from postcolonial anxiety to spiritual liberation. The Third Space becomes a ‘space of impermanence,’ the Hybrid Subject evolves into a ‘non-self-hybrid,’ and Mimicry transforms into ‘radical imitation.’ Using integrative intertextuality, discourse analysis, and deconstructive reading, the article argues that Buddhism not only expands but also decenters Bhabha’s theory, forming an East Asian–inflected model of postcolonial literary criticism.

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