Black Feminist Interventions to Decolonize the Westernized University - (Africana Experience and Critical Leadership Studies) by Assata Zerai

About the Book

Assata Zerai reflects on three decades of scholarship and examines ways in which scholars and professors have begun to move their disciplines from a focus on traditional canons of the modernist era to embrace decolonial sensibilities in research, teaching, and institutional transformation, bringing about change within higher education.

Book Synopsis

Assata Zerai reflects on three decades of scholarship and examines ways in which scholars and professors have begun to move their disciplines from a focus on traditional canons of the modernist era to embrace decolonial sensibilities in research, teaching, and institutional transformation, bringing about change within higher education.

Review Quotes

Adopting a Black transnational decolonial feminism, Assata Zerai adeptly integrates principles of Black feminist thought, African feminism, and decolonial theory to analyze research, teachings, and praxis. In so doing, Black Feminist Interventions to Decolonize the Westernized University: Epistemology, Research Methodology, and Pedagogy draws on reflexive accounts of Zerai's work and from transnational case studies in the social sciences to enable scholarly reflection for decolonial research and institutional transformation. Taking the principles of feminist solidarity, equality, and social justice into account, this book is not only concerned with scholarship for its own sake but also urges scholars in higher education to translate the knowledge they generate to benefit society. Zerai's clarion call for scholar activism in higher education is a much-needed intervention in international higher systems increasingly focused on productivity and profit-making.

This groundbreaking work breathes new life into decolonial theory, applying its principles to reshape research, teaching, and praxis across the social sciences. Drawing from her decades of scholarship, Zerai skillfully bridges academic rigor and lived experience, offering a powerful call to action for educators and scholars to embrace a more inclusive, culturally responsive approach. A must-read for anyone committed to reimagining the future of education and social justice, this book is both timely and transformative.

About the Author

Assata Zerai is professor of sociology at The University of New Mexico, visiting professor at The University of the Witwatersrand, and professor emerita at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.