The Paideia Endowment Governing Board invites members of the Luther College community to propose presentations on the 2021-2022 theme "Decolonizing Paideia?  Revising the Products and Processes of Education."

This year’s Paideia Texts and Issues Lecture Series asks us to consider how we at Luther College might revise the liberal arts education we engage in (paideia in its Greek sense) to relieve it of the morally troubled weight of its colonial legacy. In the U.S. and many parts of the world, academics and activists have called for decolonization━of a discipline, of a curriculum, and in some cases even of individual courses. In many of these cases, “decolonization” means a recognition of the ways in which colonial and neo-colonial contexts have shaped what counts as knowledge, how people craft and revise knowledge, and who gains access to knowledge as both product and process. Who decides what we teach and learn?

How might our disciplines, our curriculum, and our pedagogies be considered “colonial,” and in what ways can and should they change? What approaches can creative examples and case studies offer us? Can pedagogical strategies from one discipline or set of disciplines aid in decolonizing others?  How might we measure success or achievement in decolonizing paideia?

Proposals for lectures, debates, artistic performances, panel discussions, faculty/student collaboration and other presentation formats are welcomed.  Participants will typically offer a 40-45 minute presentation followed by questions and responses from the audience. A small honorarium will be awarded to participants who submit a manuscript of their presentation for possible publication in Agora: The Liberal Arts at Luther College.

Everyone is encouraged to submit a tentative presentation title and a brief proposal (250-500 words) by Friday, May 15.  An online proposal form is available below. For more information, contact Paideia Program Director Kathy Reed.

Members of the Paideia Steering Committee are Kathy Reed, Storm Bailey, Mike Johnson, Brian Caton, Mike Garcia, and Dean Kevin Kraus.