My References are Embodied: A Book Review Of “Social Justice, Decoloniality, and Southern Epistemologies within Language Education: Theories, Knowledges, and Practices on TESOL from Brazil”
Dr. Alex Alves Egido, Federal University of Maranhão, São Bernardo, Maranhão, Brazil
My First Thoughts: They Know Where I Come From
My references are embodied. They not only exist, but they look like me, they sound like me, they know and lived my struggles; or, at least, similar to mine. They know where I come from. These were my initial thoughts when I received the ad material regarding “Social Justice, Decoloniality, and Southern Epistemologies Within Language Education: Theories, Knowledges, and Practices on TESOL From Brazil”. Published in early 2023, this book was edited by a Brazilian applied linguist, Vander Tavares[1], who had the opportunity, courage, and sensitivity to collaborate with other Brazilians on bringing together writings, in English, to present and put, first and center, Southern—more specifically, Brazilian—epistemologies to an international readership. All applied linguists— I guess—shall have either a paper-based or an electronic version of one of Routledge’s handbooks. I bring this information mainly to argue for the real impact of having such a book, focused on Brazilian epistemologies, published by this company. It means, in simple terms, that the chapter authors' ideas will definitely reach the readers globally, almost without geographical hindrances. Put briefly, having a publication solely on Brazilian-based reflections regarding social justice and decoloniality in applied linguistics takes the field to another level; it recognizes our work and values our thoughts.
The book is organized in five sections, namely: Social justice through TESOL for and from the South; Decolonizing constructions of TESOL teacher education and educators; Southern-based knowledges and pedagogies; (Re)imagining TESOL through Brazilian perspectives; and Confronting the hegemony of the English language in research and teaching. For the purpose of this book review, I am not presenting and commenting on it based upon such a categorization.
Within this vein, in the following paragraphs, I focus on the chapters’ content from a holistic perspective, not aiming to separately or extensively introduce and discuss them to the reader of this book review. Also, as a reader who is unquestionably and overwhelmingly constructed of my own lived experiences, interests, and readings, I alert the reader that the content here depicted is a result of my selection, which will be, inevitably, different from yours when and after reading the reviewed book.
As a reader, I see an intrinsic connectedness amongst the chapters; for instance, the first section focuses on English language classroom practices, either carried out or suggested, and the second one also addresses such classroom-based experiences, regardless of the part names given to them. My argument is that such processes (viz. teaching, research, and learning, which all happen concomitantly) are not separate, and the book editor, Vander Tavares, seems to agree when he states that “the chapters in this volume speak to and from multiple and intersecting voices, places, and positions, thereby making their place(ment) fluid between and across the five parts” (p. 5). In that sense, such a categorization proposed by the editor seems to be didactical to orient the readership, and not exactly clear-cut divisions amongst the chapters.
Chapter Content: The Voices From The South[2]
It is fruitful that the book chapters cover a vast range of reflections regarding the complex, challenging Brazilian reality of English language education; however, the readers will find key concepts across the chapters. Abyssal line is one of such concepts, and it was employed by the authors of the chapters for various reasons[3]. This concept, as proposed by de Sousa Santos (2007), is depicted as what “separates science, philosophy, and theology, on one side, from, on the other, knowledges rendered incommensurable and incomprehensible for meeting neither the scientific methods of truth nor their acknowledged contester in the realm of philosophy and theology” (p. 47). Oftentimes, the abyssal line exemplifies the ideological and long-standing division between epistemologies from the Global North and those from the Global South, in which the former is seen as science and the latter as culture (Mignolo, 2009).
Hence, the abyssal line is oftentimes brought up to explain the idea behind Southern epistemologies, as historically been undervalued by most of the international academic community. It is also worth mentioning that such Southern-based conversations proposed by the chapters’ authors are informed by Southern-based references; for instance, Lynn Mario Trindade Menezes de Souza, Paulo Freire, and Bala Kumaravadivelu works are frequently cited to denounce this historical undervaluation of Southern epistemologies.
As far as the authors’ addressed contents are concerned, a considerable number of the authors report on and problematize classroom-based experiences, centering on students’ written productions (see Juliana Zeggio Martinez, Eduardo Diniz de Figueiredo, and Polliana Milan), Brazilian, either national or local, memories/stories of violence (see Rosane Pessoa and Marco Túlio de Urzêda-Freitas), children’s literature-based teaching plans elaborated by English language teachers (see Isabela Ramalho Orlando), teachers’ practices related to lingua franca (see Sávio Siqueira) and to African and Afro-Brazilian cultural themes in English classes (see Andiara Nascimento and Vander Tavares). Others showcase a vast repertoire of indigenous children’s literature that can be taken to English language education classrooms (see Vander Tavares and Isabela Ramalho Orlando). Also, a considerable number of them report on or problematize classroom-based experiences within higher education (see Ana Karina de Oliveira Nascimento and Ana Lúcia Simões Borges Fonseca; Ana Paula Duboc; Isabela Ramalho Orlando, among others).
As I have previously mentioned, the aspects presented in relation to the chapter contents are not extensive, but a holistic reading of them. I hope these paragraphs provide a glance of the authors of the chapters local epistemologies and where they come from.
Reading Leads To Questioning; Questioning Leads To Reading
When reading a book like this one, critical reading is a necessary but complex undertaking. As the reading goes on, so shall be the questioning of the ideas presented. As new questions emerge from the reader’s contact with the book, additional resources or books for a thorough understanding of the ideas/ insights presented in this book might be sought. In sum, this book is not complete in itself but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what the Southern (Brazilian) epistemologies have to offer. Some questions, though, arise: in order for those from the Global North to learn with the epistemologies from the Global South, will the latter always need to publish in English? Will it always need to be in English-speaking publishing houses? Who has actually been dictating the terms of this conversation? These are some of the questions for all of us to reflect on.
The readership of this book relies not only on international applied linguists interested in the epistemologies that have been constructed in the South (Brazil), but also on Brazilians who have the opportunity to learn with an array of ideas, thoughts, and practices regarding social justice and decoloniality in the country. Within this vein, the content of the chapters, focusing on social justice, hugely contributes to TESOL practitioners who are eager to learn with others’ practices (in this case, with Brazilian colleagues), which may lead to better and more effective ways to respond to English students’ social, political, historical, and personal needs around the globe, which, in my understanding, are materialized in their language repertoires. However, the choice of publishing the book by Routledge and its cost being in dollars may lead to the conclusion that the main readership is, indeed, international applied linguists, and not the Brazilians. I wonder: who can actually afford to buy the book? Do in-service language teachers from the Global South have the English proficiency to read the book, or even the time needed? Aren’t we, the readers, and even the chapters’ authors way more privileged than we actually think we are? These are questions for all of us.
Finally, I leave you with the words from the book editor, Vander Tavares (2023), who ends the Introduction with the following: “The hope is that this volume can also help to inspire other Southern localities that have struggled to gain recognition and to establish a place for themselves in the international arena to (re)imagine and change TESOL now and in the future” (p. 7). As you read the book, may you all be inspired as I were, and shall we inspire others.
References
de Sousa Santos, B. (2007). Beyond abyssal thinking: From global lines to ecologies of knowledges. Review (Fernand Braudel Center), 30(1), 45–89. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40241677
Mignolo, W. D. (2009). Epistemic disobedience, independent thought and de-colonial freedom. Theory, Culture & Society, 26(7), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276409349275
Tavares, V. (Ed.). (2023). Social justice, decoloniality, and southern epistemologies within language education: Theories, knowledges, and practices on TESOL from Brazil. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003332336
Dr. Alex Alves Egido is an English language professor at the Federal University of Maranhão (Brazil), and visiting scholar in the SLS Program (MSU, USA).
[1] I understand that my choice of presenting all authors here cited by their full names is also a way of embodying their references, which may be read as a decolonial attitude.
[2] The names I indicate between parentheses refer to the authors of the chapters.
[3] Sometimes, to problematize who has been considered the ideal English speaker (see Sávio Siqueira), to question the assumption regarding who is the authority when it comes to writing and publishing research in English (see Nara Nília Marques Nogueira), among other motives.