XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 15-21, 2018)

102

Global Higher Education: Intellectual Colonialism or Academic Freedom?

RC04 Sociology of Education (host committee)

Language: English

The concept of intellectual colonialism has recently attracted much attention.  Initially, it arose on the basis of a rethinking of the educational processes in the former African colonies of Britain, France, etc. and then acquired a new meaning as a new form of colonization without involving the seizure of territories. Further, globalization processes accelerated the development of this phenomenon and expanded its worldwide influence. Today, even such developed countries as Japan are beginning to experience signs of intellectual colonial dependence. The colonial subordination tactics may take various forms. In African countries, since lacking a well-developed national system of education, intellectual colonialism functions through the introduction of education in the language of the former colonizers of this country. Moreover, this imposed education system tends to be limited to the level of secondary vocational education as part of a policy of containment. In Eastern Europe, Russia, which have been historically characterized by highly-developed education systems, the effect of intellectual colonialism is manifested in the destruction of these national systems and their subordination to a unified global system rooted in the culture and principles of particular countries. In countries with a highly-developed economy and stable policy, such as Japan, intellectual colonialism undermines the authority of national education systems through the advancement of world rankings. The session offer to discuss the role of intellectual colonialism in the process of redrawing the map of the world and the enslavement of national higher education systems.