Stages of colonialism in Africa: From occupation of land to occupation of being
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Bulhan, Hussein A.
Abstract / Description
This paper draws primarily on my own scholarship, supplemented by the limited academic resources available in the “peripheries” of the world where I live and work (namely, Somali society and Darfur, Sudan), to consider the relationship between colonialism and psychology. I first consider the history of psychology in justifying and bolstering oppression and colonialism. I then consider the ongoing intersection of colonialism and psychology in the form of metacolonialism (or coloniality). I end with thoughts about decolonizing psychological science in teaching, social, and clinical practice. To decolonize psychological science, it is necessary to transform its focus from promotion of individual happiness to cultivation of collective well-being, from a concern with instinct to promotion of human needs, from prescriptions for adjustment to affordances for empowerment, from treatment of passive victims to creation of self-determining actors, and from globalizing, top-down approaches to context-sensitive, bottom-up approaches. Only then will the field realize its potential to advance Frantz Fanon’s call for humane and just social order.
Keyword(s)
coloniality decolonial metacolonialism Franz Fanon AfricaPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2015-08-21
Journal title
Journal of Social and Political Psychology
Volume
3
Issue
1
Page numbers
239–256
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Bulhan, H. A. (2015). Stages of colonialism in Africa: From occupation of land to occupation of being. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 3(1), 239–256. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v3i1.143
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Bulhan, Hussein A.
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-11-26T12:44:52Z
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Made available on2018-11-26T12:44:52Z
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Date of first publication2015-08-21
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Abstract / DescriptionThis paper draws primarily on my own scholarship, supplemented by the limited academic resources available in the “peripheries” of the world where I live and work (namely, Somali society and Darfur, Sudan), to consider the relationship between colonialism and psychology. I first consider the history of psychology in justifying and bolstering oppression and colonialism. I then consider the ongoing intersection of colonialism and psychology in the form of metacolonialism (or coloniality). I end with thoughts about decolonizing psychological science in teaching, social, and clinical practice. To decolonize psychological science, it is necessary to transform its focus from promotion of individual happiness to cultivation of collective well-being, from a concern with instinct to promotion of human needs, from prescriptions for adjustment to affordances for empowerment, from treatment of passive victims to creation of self-determining actors, and from globalizing, top-down approaches to context-sensitive, bottom-up approaches. Only then will the field realize its potential to advance Frantz Fanon’s call for humane and just social order.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationBulhan, H. A. (2015). Stages of colonialism in Africa: From occupation of land to occupation of being. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 3(1), 239–256. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v3i1.143en_US
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ISSN2195-3325
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1358
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1721
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v3i1.143
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Keyword(s)colonialityen_US
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Keyword(s)decolonialen_US
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Keyword(s)metacolonialismen_US
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Keyword(s)Franz Fanonen_US
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Keyword(s)Africaen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleStages of colonialism in Africa: From occupation of land to occupation of beingen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue1
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Journal titleJournal of Social and Political Psychology
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Page numbers239–256
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Volume3
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Visible tag(s)Version of Record