Decolonising Psychology

The University of the Western Cape (UWC), in partnership with the University of Kansas, University of Pretoria, University of South Africa, University of Witwatersrand, South African Medical Research Council and the Society for the Psychological Study for Social Issues, hosted a successful colloquium, entitled: Towards a Decolonial Psychology: Theories from the Global South on 21 and 22 February 2019.

The aim of the 2-day conference was the careful deconstruction of the colonial heritage of psychology. Director of International Relations at UWC, Umesh Bawa, explained that in South Africa and the global South, issues faced by the poor, marginalised and most vulnerable are not always adequately addressed by the psychology we learn. The colloquium was a means of engagement about the development of psychology – which blends both the contributions of the North and South.