Is Colonizing the Spirit Possible?
Brown Bag Seminar with Dr. Njoki Wane
Time:
Wednesday, November 21 - 12:30 - 1:30 PM
Location: OISE, Room 12-252
There is no universal definition for spirituality since it implies a relationship with what people variously refer to as the life force, God, Creator, the higher self or purpose, or the Great Mystery. What is essential, however, is how one defines their own spirituality or spiritual practices. The context of spirituality differs from individual to individual and from group to group.
For many people, it encompasses a sense of wholeness, healing, and the interconnectedness of all things. In this presentation, I reflect on different notions of spirituality. In particular, I look back to the time I became aware of my spirituality as an academic; also, when I started to reflect on whether my spirit was really colonized or it had become dormant during my colonial education and lifestyle.
I situate the presentation on the following questions: How did the spirit get colonized if at all? At what point did the spirit give in the colonial pressure? How can the spirit be decolonized or awaken if needs be? How can spirituality be a decolonizing tool? Why do we need to reconnect the intellect with the spirit? Are these new debates or a resurgence of old debates that are more acceptable now in our everyday conversation in our colonial institutions than they were a number of decades ago? How would you define teaching pedagogy that is spiritually driven? How can we create an inclusive space using spiritual lens?
In this presentation, I draw from the African American spirituals, in particular their practices from 1930s to 1960s to show how the spirit become subsumed in everyday experiences through either activism, resistance or emotional sustainability. In addition, I will show how the spirit became a tool of resistance, social injustice and economic empowerment. I situate my presentation on African spirituals and African Indigenous theoretical frameworks.
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