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Title
Academic Dependency on Western Disciplinary Knowledge and Captive Mind Among South Asian Sociologists: A Critique
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008:
Author(s)
Publication Date
2016
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008
Open Access
Yes
Abstract
This paper examines how academic dependency of South Asia on the West has resulted in what has been termed 'captive mind', and its impact on the knowledge production process of South Asia. To this end, it observes that the relationship between Western centres of Social Science teaching and learning vs. those of the global South, in particular Asia, is an unequal one that stems from the colonial past, leading to the treatment of Western methods and types of knowledge production as superior and therefore worthy of imitation. The application of American and European methods of studying the Social Sciences to Asian settings without due adaptation, it argues, has rendered South Asian Sociology largely incapable of generating original knowledge to contribute to the growth of an emancipatory sociological imagination that will function for the benefit of the populace. Therefore it appeals to South Asian Sociologists - and other Social Scientists - to abandon the practice of studying regional social institutions as if these are exotic phenomena, practices, norms and ritual, and evolve their disciplinary framework in more critical, creative, and relevant ways.
Publication Type
Journal Article
Source of Publication
Social Affairs: A Journal for the Social Sciences, 1(5), p. 1-12
Publisher
Social Affairs
Place of Publication
Sri Lanka
ISSN
2362-0889
2478-107X
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020
Peer Reviewed
Yes
HERDC Category Description
Peer Reviewed
Yes
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