Decoloniality in the SSH : a pending challenge

An Interdisciplinary Doctoral Seminar to share decolonial experiences

Over the past few decades, the social sciences and humanities have increasingly engaged with the so-called decolonial turn, understood as an epistemic stance that critically challenges the Western tradition and its values, especially those related to power, gender, race, reason, and univocity. The goal is to understand coloniality as a form of domination through patriarchy, racism, sexism, and classism, known as a ‘colonial horizon’ that influences every aspect of life and society. Drawing from the critical tradition, Indigenous epistemologies, and the experiences of social movements, decolonial thought challenges the idea of a ‘universal paradigm’ that shapes existence, sociability, and knowledge creation. Such a turn requires a commitment to include alternative paradigms that affirm the legitimacy of multiple ways of thinking and being, promoting inclusion, diversity, and interdisciplinarity. This seminar adopts a workshop methodology to discuss and share experiences on applying decolonial methodologies for conducting research and practicing science differently by integrating knowledge, methods, and values rooted in diverse cosmologies and intellectual traditions.

Objectives

• Promoting the inclusion of a decolonial approach in doctoral research in social sciences and humanities. 

• Discussing inter and transdisciplinarity in social sciences and humanities. 

• Knowing and applying decolonial methodologies to social sciences and humanities.

Potential audience

• PhD students enrolled in any Belgian doctoral programme can validate this seminar for a total of 9 ECTS credits.

Agenda:

History: Professeur Adrian Masters (University of Trier)
Date: March 4th, 2026

Philosophy: Professeur Rolando Vázquez Melken (University of Amsterdam)
Date: April 13th, 2026

Sociology: Professeur Dounia Bourabain (Hasselt University)
Date: April 24th, 2026

Anthropology: Professeur Marie Deridder (UCLouvain)
Date: May 19th, 2026

Séance des doctorants: Presentation of PhD participants
Date: June 16th, 2026

Place: Salle Ladrière, College Mercier, UCLouvain. 

Format: 

The seminar assumes a workshop format, having five sessions from February to June 2026; the exact dates are still to be defined. Each session will feature ongoing academic experiences from various fields, with a focus on practices that promote a decolonial approach in defining research objects, designing and implementing methodologies, analysing data, and presenting findings.

Each session begins with a 60-minute presentation by the invited speaker, who will share insights, proposals, and experiences related to the application of decolonial methodologies in their research within social sciences and humanities.

Following the presentation, a discussion will be opened between the speaker and participants, providing space to raise questions about the decolonial approach and to exchange potential research ideas.

A final session will be held to share the proposals between the participants and exchange comments and suggestions. 

Evaluation and participation: 

After the four sessions, each participant is expected to submit a short proposal (500 words) outlining how the decolonial approach could be applied to their own research project or used in selecting a research topic. These proposals will be shared with the four guest speakers, who will provide brief feedback on each submission.

Seminar language: English 

Information: marco.ambrosi@uclouvain.be