Engaging Identities and Cultures in a Globalized, Postcolonial India: Implications for Decolonizing Curriculum and Pedagogy

Abstract

This essay draws on postcolonial and globalization theories, educational research and scholarship in both the U.S. and India, and Akash Kapur’s, India Becoming: A Portrait of Life in Modern India as an illustrative study in order to discuss identities, cultures, and education in “economically liberalized,” globalized, postcolonial India, with particular reference to urban contexts. The effects of privatization, corporatization, and discourses of efficiency and accountability are evident in the educational contexts of both countries India and the U.S. Educators and scholars confront the challenges of resisting recolonization in terms of curriculum, pedagogy, research, and discourse.