CMY3709
Assignment 1
Semester 1
Due 18 March 2026
, Decolonised Research and Considerations for Applying Decolonised Indigenous
Research
Introduction
For many years, research in the social sciences has been shaped largely by Eurocentric
worldviews. These approaches were often presented as universal and objective, yet
they frequently ignored or marginalised indigenous knowledge systems, especially in
colonised societies such as South Africa. Colonialism and apartheid disrupted African
languages, cultures, spiritual systems and community structures. Knowledge produced
about African communities was often extracted, interpreted through Western
frameworks and used without meaningful benefit to those communities (Smith, 2012).
Decolonised research emerges as a response to this history. It challenges the
dominance of Western epistemologies and seeks to centre indigenous ways of knowing,
being and doing. In the South African context, decolonised research aligns with broader
calls for epistemic justice and curriculum transformation in higher education (Ndlovu-
Gatsheni, 2018). It is not merely about adding African examples to Western theories. It
is about fundamentally rethinking who produces knowledge, whose knowledge counts
and how that knowledge is used.
Assignment 1
Semester 1
Due 18 March 2026
, Decolonised Research and Considerations for Applying Decolonised Indigenous
Research
Introduction
For many years, research in the social sciences has been shaped largely by Eurocentric
worldviews. These approaches were often presented as universal and objective, yet
they frequently ignored or marginalised indigenous knowledge systems, especially in
colonised societies such as South Africa. Colonialism and apartheid disrupted African
languages, cultures, spiritual systems and community structures. Knowledge produced
about African communities was often extracted, interpreted through Western
frameworks and used without meaningful benefit to those communities (Smith, 2012).
Decolonised research emerges as a response to this history. It challenges the
dominance of Western epistemologies and seeks to centre indigenous ways of knowing,
being and doing. In the South African context, decolonised research aligns with broader
calls for epistemic justice and curriculum transformation in higher education (Ndlovu-
Gatsheni, 2018). It is not merely about adding African examples to Western theories. It
is about fundamentally rethinking who produces knowledge, whose knowledge counts
and how that knowledge is used.
