can the center speak for the subaltern?

moving across the borders to decolonize philosophy for children (p4c)

Autores

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2026.94251

Palavras-chave:

fpc, pós-colonialidade subalterna, decolonialidade, pedagogia de fronteira

Resumo

Esse artigo apresenta uma crítica pós-colonial da Filosofia para Crianças (FpC), apontando que, apesar de suas aspirações democráticas, o programa corre o risco de reproduzir a violência epistêmica e as hierarquias coloniais em contextos raciais, coloniais e indígenas. A partir de “Pode o subalterno falar?”, de Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, o artigo analisa como os fundamentos universalistas e eurocêntricos da FpC silenciam estruturalmente as vozes subalternas, na medida em que privilegiam as normas da filosofia analítica anglo-americana e marginalizam epistemologias alternativas. O conceito de “violência epistêmica” de Spivak mostra que até mesmo as tentativas bem-intencionadas de inclusão podem reforçar a invisibilidade dos subalternos quando seus discursos permanecem incompreensíveis dentro dos sistemas de conhecimento dominantes. Em resposta à impossibilidade que Spivak identifica, que encerra a possibilidade de um discurso subalterno autêntico, abordamos o conceito de “pedagogia fronteiriça”, de Henry Giroux, para explorar maneiras de decolonializar a FpC. Giroux reimagina os espaços educativos como lugares de negociação crítica, onde os sistemas de conhecimento dominantes e subalternos convergem, fomentando práticas transfronteiriças que questionam as reivindicações de neutralidade epistêmica. A pedagogia fronteiriça promove a indagação contextualizada e pluralista que valoriza os modos de raciocínio oral, narrativo e afetivo, junto com as tradições canônicas. O artigo propõe considerações e estratégias para a implementação de uma práxis decolonial da FpC, incluindo o uso da escuta etnográfica, a integração (e interrogação) da cultura popular e os sistemas de conhecimento indígenas. Ao sintetizar a crítica diagnóstica de Spivak com as considerações práticas de Giroux, esse artigo busca reposicionar a FpC como um potencial espaço para a justiça epistêmica, o diálogo pluralista e a educação transformadora, responsável perante a história, a diferença e o poder.

Downloads

Não há dados estatísticos.

Biografia do Autor

soudabeh shokrollahzadeh, allameh tabataba’i university, school of psychology and educational science, department of childhood education

Soudabeh Shokrollahzadeh is a faculty member in the Department of Childhood Education at Allameh Tabataba’i University in Tehran. She earned her PhD in Philosophy of Education from Shiraz University, where she also completed her master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature. Her research interests encompass a diverse range of topics within children’s literature, philosophy for children, and education. She explores children’s responses to picturebooks; Young adult novel, dialogic pedagogy, particularly through the lens of Bakhtin, and the intersections of children’s literature and philosophy. Additionally, she focuses on the evolving perspectives on children’s literature within the educational program of Philosophy for Children (P4C). Soudabeh has published articles in various academic journals and contributed chapters to works like The Philosophical Power of Fairy Tales from Around the World published by Palgrave Macmillan and The Routledge Companion to International Children’s Literature. Her conference presentations address topics, including the application of Bakhtin’s theory to bilingual storytelling, the importance of citizenship rights in education, fender ideologies in Iranian folktales and Iranian nonsense poetry. Through her body of work and scholarly endeavors, she seeks to promote the importance of children’s literature as a vital component of educational and literary studies, advocating for a dialogical approach that enhances young children’s understanding and engagement with literature and philosophy.

Referências

Alexander, R. (2019). Borders: Pedagogies and epistemologies. In D. R. Ford (Ed.), Keywords in radical philosophy and education: Common concepts for contemporary movements (pp. 50–66). Brill Sense.

Beverley, J. (2004). Subalternity and representation: Arguments in cultural theory. Duke University Press.

Bressler, C. E. (2007). Literary criticism: An introduction to theory and practice (4th ed.). Pearson.

Chetty, D. (2018). Racism as “reasonableness”: Philosophy for Children and the gated community of inquiry. Ethics and Education, 13(1), 39–54. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449642.2018.1430933

Elicor, P. P. (2021). I am keeping my cultural hat on: Exploring a “culture-enabling” philosophy for/with children practice. childhood & philosophy, 17(35), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2021.54161

Elvis, L. (2023). Attentiveness, qualities of listening and the listener in the community of philosophical inquiry. childhood & philosophy, 19, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2023.76451

Gandhi, L. (1998). Postcolonial theory: A critical introduction. Routledge.

Giroux, H. A. (1991). Modernism, postmodernism, and feminism: Rethinking the boundaries of educational discourse. In H. A. Giroux (Ed.), Postmodernism, feminism, and cultural politics: Redrawing educational boundaries (pp. 1–59). State University of New York Press.

Giroux, H. A. (2005). Border crossings: Cultural workers and the politics of education (2nd ed.). Routledge. (Original work published 1992).

Gregory, M. R., & Laverty, M. J. (Eds.). (2018). In Community of Inquiry with Ann Margaret Sharp: Childhood, philosophy and education. Routledge.

Guha, R., & Spivak, G. C. (Eds.). (1988). Selected Subaltern Studies. Oxford University Press.

Kanu, Y. (Ed.). (2006). Curriculum as cultural practice: Postcolonial imaginations. University of Toronto Press.

Kennedy, D., & Kohan, W. O. (2021). Some ethical implications of practicing philosophy with children and adults. childhood & philosophy, 17, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2021.61025

Kohan, W. O. (1995). The origin, nature and aim of philosophy in relation to philosophy for children. Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children, 12(2), 25–30. https://doi.org/10.5840/thinking199512219

Lipman, M. (2017). The Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children (IAPC) program. In S. Naji & R. Hashim (Eds.), History, theory and practice of philosophy for children: International perspectives (pp. 3–11). Routledge.

Nayar, P. K. (2015). The postcolonial studies dictionary. Wiley-Blackwell.

Ndofirepi, A. P. (2011). Philosophy for children: The quest for an African perspective. South African Journal of Education, 31(2), 246–256. https://doi.org/10.10520/EJC32271

Nodelman, P., & Reimer, M. (2003). The pleasures of children’s literature (3rd ed.). Allyn & Bacon.

Padilla Rosas, E. J. (2023). From neutrality to intentionality: Notes for a philosophy of liberation for/with children. Analytic Teaching and Philosophical Praxis, 43(1), 15–25.

Quijano, A. (2007). Coloniality and rationality/modernity. Cultural Studies, 21(2), 168–178. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380601164353

Rainville, H. (2001). Philosophy for children in Native America: A post-colonial critique. Analytic Teaching and Philosophical Praxis, 21(1), 65–77.

Reed-Sandoval, A. (2019). Can Philosophy for Children contribute to decolonization? Precollege Philosophy and Public Practice, 1(1), 27–41. https://doi.org/10.5840/p4201811284

Reed-Sandoval, A., & Sykes, A. C. (2016). Who talks? Who listens? Taking “positionality” seriously in Philosophy for Children. In M. R. Gregory, J. Haynes, & K. Murris (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook of philosophy for children (pp. 219–226). Routledge.

Sanders, M. (2006). Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak: Live theory. Continuum.

Sharp, A. M. (1976). The teacher as liberator: A Nietzschean view. Paedagogica Historica, 16(2), 387–422.

Spivak, G. C. (1985). Can the subaltern speak? Speculations on widow sacrifice. Wedge, (7/8), 120–130.

Spivak, G. C. (1988). Can the subaltern speak? In C. Nelson & L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the interpretation of culture (pp. 271–313). University of Illinois Press.

Spivak, G. C. (1999). A critique of postcolonial reason: Toward a history of the vanishing present. Harvard University Press.

Spivak, G. C. (2011). An aesthetic education in the era of globalization. Harvard University Press.

Wardell, S. (2025). Ethnography: The basics. Routledge.

Wurtz, J. (2024). Leveraging P4C as a tool for CHamoru education: Encouraging the decolonization of Guam’s public education through Philosophy for Children. Micronesian Educator, 34, 18–33.

Publicado

2026-01-26

Edição

Seção

dossier: racism, colonialism and philosophy for /with children: praxis in non-ideal contexts