Digital colonialism in language education: from the global North’s celebratory discourse to capitalist colonization of the global South .

Abstract

Western epistemological approaches in language education have traditionally constructed a celebratory discourse on technological development by promoting “hyperbolic narratives of the big data revolution” (Milan; Treré, 2019, p. 320). This dominant epistemological approach is contextual and it is designed to serve the interests of the industry, governments, and science of the geographical place in which it is framed - the Global North. In this paper, we call for an epistemological change in the positivist take on Big Data, and we challenge its seemingly universal and beneficial mindset. We seek to show that the theories on digital literacies - although considered to be critical of traditional literacies - have not touched upon the realities of digital capitalist colonization of the Global South. The article tackles digital colonization by presenting and analyzing the coloniality of knowledge, power and being in the Global South. The coloniality of knowledge manifests itself through the colonization of education and common sense in the Global South. The coloniality of power emerges in the form of digital capitalism, platform capitalism and surveillance capitalism. And finally, the coloniality of being takes the shape of digital influencers who market themselves. We seek to contest and de-Westernize the discourses on digital literacies in language education classrooms by revealing the power’s opacity they create.