Knowledges That Destroy

This book is an exploration of the politics and practices of knowledge at a time of hardening positions across the political spectrum.

At its core, the book examines how education - as an idea, an institution, a set of practices and relationships, a policyscape - is implicated in the ways various groups and coalitions jostle for power and influence. The book draws upon original research within minoritized communities in the UK, US and Australia and discusses the many opportunities and challenges thrown up by such co-constructive work. This points towards truly co-produced knowledges and practices that work in the interest of social justice. The book takes a decisive step forward from simplistic understandings of "curriculum decolonization" and develops a rich account based on a comprehensive analysis of the politics of knowledge rooted in a theory of social justice. In so doing, the book looks forward to a possible epistemological future where the binary between Western and non-Western knowledge has weakened.

Introduction: The Legacies and Politics of Knowledge in Education
1. The Thumbprint Of Colonialist Knowledge: From Culture Wars to Climate Change
2. Wishful Knowledge and the Politics of Untruth
3. The "Cosmetics" of Education
4. Decolonization and Social Justice: From Theory to Practice
5. Educational Communities for Social Justice
Conclusion: Destructive Futures
References
Index