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This chapter critically examines the enduring effects of colonial epistemologies on African thought systems and the ongoing struggle for conceptual decolonization. Despite political independence, African intellectual traditions remain deeply entangled in Eurocentric paradigms that continue to shape education, philosophy, and cultural identity. Drawing from the works of Kwasi Wiredu, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Okot p’Bitek, and Amílcar Cabral, this chapter explores how the imposition of Western epistemological frameworks disrupted indigenous African knowledge systems, altering perceptions of religion, philosophy, and social organization. It interrogates the legacy of missionary scholarship in misrepresenting African religions and critiques the role of colonial education in perpetuating mental subjugation. Additionally, the book highlights the urgent need for African scholars to reclaim indigenous languages as tools for knowledge production, arguing that linguistic decolonization is essential for epistemic sovereignty. By engaging with both historical and contemporary African philosophical discourse, this chapter advocates for a radical restructuring of African intellectual traditions to align with the lived realities, values, and ontologies of African societies.

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Conceptual Decolonization and the Struggle for African Epistemic Liberation: Reclaiming Indigenous Thought in a Post-colonial World

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年

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  • Stephen Onyango Ouma

摘要

This chapter critically examines the enduring effects of colonial epistemologies on African thought systems and the ongoing struggle for conceptual decolonization. Despite political independence, African intellectual traditions remain deeply entangled in Eurocentric paradigms that continue to shape education, philosophy, and cultural identity. Drawing from the works of Kwasi Wiredu, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Okot p’Bitek, and Amílcar Cabral, this chapter explores how the imposition of Western epistemological frameworks disrupted indigenous African knowledge systems, altering perceptions of religion, philosophy, and social organization. It interrogates the legacy of missionary scholarship in misrepresenting African religions and critiques the role of colonial education in perpetuating mental subjugation. Additionally, the book highlights the urgent need for African scholars to reclaim indigenous languages as tools for knowledge production, arguing that linguistic decolonization is essential for epistemic sovereignty. By engaging with both historical and contemporary African philosophical discourse, this chapter advocates for a radical restructuring of African intellectual traditions to align with the lived realities, values, and ontologies of African societies.