The Meaning of Decolonised Knowledge: Critique and Construction

The public is invited to

The Meaning of Decolonised Knowledge: Critique and Construction
by Syed Farid Alatas

National University of Singapore | University of Malaya

Part of the KRITIKA KULTURA LECTURE SERIES

To register, visit go.ateneo.edu/KKLectureAlatas. 

Kritika Kultura, in collaboration with the Literary and Cultural Studies Program and PLUME, invites you to a lecture titled “The Meaning of Decolonised Knowledge: Critique and Construction,” to be delivered by Syed Farid Alatas of the National University of Singapore and University of Malaya. The event will take place on 3 November 2025, 5:00–7:00 PM, at CTC 413, Ateneo de Manila University.

This lecture examines the diverse strands of postcolonial and decolonial thought, distinguishing between their critical and constructive dimensions to clarify what it means to decolonize knowledge and life beyond discourse. Drawing examples from different countries, it maps how varied forms of colonialism have generated distinct modes of critique and reconstruction within global intellectual traditions.

Admission is free and open to the public. Please bring a valid ID for campus access. 

ABSTRACT
What has come to be known as postcolonialism, decolonial thought, and other varieties of anti-Eurocentric and anti-Orientalist thought constitute a vast and diverse body of writings across a variety of disciplines and genres. They mean many things that ought not to be conflated with each other. Indeed, it is useful to make valid distinctions in order to appreciate the meaning of the decolonization of knowledge. In this presentation, I distinguish between the critical and constructive dimensions of decolonization. The critical dimension itself can be seen to consist of a number of varieties that correspond to the types of colonialism, while construction is constituted by two broad types. This presentation also defines decolonization in terms of its function, that is, the decolonization of our lives beyond the discursive.

To illustrate these varieties and dimensions, I draw on examples from 16th-century Spanish America, 17th-century India, 19th-century Indonesia and the Philippines, and contemporary Malaysia and Singapore, from among both the colonized and the colonizers.

BIONOTE
Syed Farid Alatas is Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the National University of Singapore and Visiting Professor at the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of Malaya. His areas of interest are social theory, religion and reform, intra- and inter-religious dialogue, and the study of the problems of colonial and Eurocentric knowledge.

ABOUT KRITIKA KULTURA
Kritika Kultura is acknowledged by a host of Asian and Asian American Studies libraries and scholarly networks and indexed in the MLA International Bibliography, Arts and Humanities Citation Index (Clarivate), Scopus, EBSCO, the Directory of Open Access Journals, and the International Consortium of Critical Theory Programs (ICCTP). Read KK issues and learn about submission guidelines and events at https://archium.ateneo.edu/kk or email the editors at kk@ateneo.edu.